Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape, or form. I just like to play with the characters.

Warnings: Later chapters will contain violence and injury descriptions.


Monday afternoon - SPR Office


Lin walked into the room, but that action wasn't what drew Mai and Naru's attention to him, he was sure. For Mai, it had to be the curly-headed blonde woman chatting at his side, passion and energy rolling off her like perfume. For Kazuya, it was the picture the two of them gave off with their professionally cut suits; his darker vest and tie contrasting with her bright red top hat, and the gold lines that squiggled down the black sides of her penguin-tailed coat.

Try not to stare so openly at clients.

"Ahem," Lin cleared his throat, bringing his coworkers back from wherever their thoughts had wandered. "I'd like to present Mrs. Melinda Kawai, ringmistress of the Carnival theme park on the outskirts of Tokyo. She was a little hesitant to come here directly, so we met first at Tully's for a cup of coffee."

"Please, call me Melly," the woman said, doffing her top hat, then rolling it down her arm to catch it in her slim fingers. "Melinda makes me sound like my mother, and the woman's been dead for years, thank God in Heaven."

"Um, nice to meet you," Mai piped up, tearing her eyes away from the outfit to put down her pen and notebook. "Can I get you some tea? Coffee?"

Melly smiled, placing her top hat on the coat rack near the door. Under the black, red, and gold suit jacket was a faded red shirt with ruffles and lace. Complementing the top half was a long black skirt with more lines and symbols in red and gold. Her shoes were boots, which, in the few minutes it took to unlace them, allowed Lin to grab his slippers and move into the main room.

"Coffee again please. Being the ringleader of my park is a job that consumes my time, my sleep, and my energy."

I think being the leader of anything consumes all that and more.

"Haven't I read about Carnival in the news recently?" Naru had been standing in the doorway, blocking Mai's way. "Two teas as well."

Lin hid a smile as she stuck her tongue out at Naru when Melly was looking around the room. Then she disappeared into the small side kitchen.

Kawai's smile dimmed.

"Please, have a seat," offered Lin, gesturing toward the couches and chairs. "This is who I was talking about."

"Ah, just the right person to help me out then." She sat in one of the chairs, leaving Naru and Lin the couch. "At least, that's how you introduced him, and that's how I'll need him."

Melly turned back to Naru.

"Yes, we've been in the news recently, and while supposedly there's no such thing as bad publicity, my profits and intake would like to disagree."

Mai came back into the room with a tray, handing over the coffee first on a little saucer, two creams and sugars on one side and a small spoon on the other.

"Thank you dear," said Kawai-san, letting out a sigh. "Ah, caffeine... add it to chocolate and truly, there is the ambrosia of the gods."

Or a nice cup of Hong-Kong style tea, but to each their own.

"You're welcome," said Mai. "And your theme park is really fun, my friends and I loved going there." She blushed a little bit. "We haven't been back in a while actually, just too much to do with university."

"Understandable, and it's good to hear you remember us fondly, but not many still think like that." Two sugars went in, but no cream. "There are the newer parks now, indoor with electronic games and anime collaborations, such as Namjatown, or outside ones with water rides for the hot summers, like Toshimaen. And that's not competing against concerts, live performances, or other forms of enticing entertainment." She blew on the hot liquid, then took a tiny sip. "However, I love my home, my people, and my job, so I'm happy enough to limp from year to year."

"You're here for a different kind of help though." Naru took his tea from Mai with a nod. "Besides marketing and publicity. According to the papers, you, your park, and your customers are being haunted."

"...it's still strange to have another person accept that rationally. Most people say the word 'haunted' and others laugh."

Mai's smile slipped a little; Lin watched as Naru's eyes flickered towards her.

"We've seen and been through enough that it's something we no longer laugh at, if we ever did, and we're not going to laugh at you," Naru said in a calm voice. "Quite the opposite in fact."

Truth. Lin shut the door on his memories of the cave system in the woods, the cave by the sea. This will be a good chance to stay away from caves for a while.

"I know we briefly went over everything at Tully's, but I'd like to hear the details you left out before, now that I have a computer in front of me. Could you go over everything again?" asked Lin, moving into action. He pulled over the company laptop from near Mai's notebook, and opened a new document within a few clicks. "I haven't read the papers, and I'd like to hear of those incidents in your own words before I go looking for the articles."

And I know you were leaving out information earlier, in case you were overheard.

Melly nodded, taking another sip from her mug and wrapping her hands around it.

"Mind you, I don't have the dates in my head. That's all in the paperwork at the office... but the first problem started with the damned complaints. One person came in, an irate woman, saying that someone had pinched her ass. We reviewed the tapes of course; I won't stand for that shit at my park. There's where our luck was on both sides of the toss up. She'd been standing in an area that was in full fucking view of the cameras, which meant that all of us saw it. Nothing. No one. She'd been completely alone the entire time. Woman was scared, her face going white after seeing that, and we were left wondering what the hell had happened. Oh, sorry about the cussing. Akira tried to cure me of that years ago, but it never took."

"Akira is...?"

"Was. Akira was my husband." Another sip of coffee. "He died a few years ago of a heart attack."

"Oh!" said Mai, her exclamation catching Melly's attention. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It takes a while to get used to. Not having anyone to share the good things with, or even to help spread out the stress of the bad things. I could have used his presence for this, because it got worse. After her, more and more complaints, all from women, began pouring in. Most of them we could check through the cameras, but like before, nothing. Then, there were the kids."

"Most of them?"

"Kids?"

Melly nodded at Mai, but answered Lin's query.

"Most of them meaning we have some... private, or half-concealed places due to placement of the cameras. We don't normally worry about them, but then this shit start up. And the kids thing wasn't me, but one of my workers. He saw a small child playing alone. When he asked if the kid was lost, the kid giggled, and said he was playing with his new friends. Pointed around him, named them, said what the looked liked even. New guy thought it was cute, you know, little kids making up invisible friends. Until the story started circling around the break rooms. One of my older employees, who's been with me for years, recognized all of the kids. They died at, or around, our park."

"What?!"

That was certainly something she didn't mention at the cafe.

"Provide us names to get started with, or the events they were involved in, and we can start an investigation from that angle as well," commented Lin, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

Melly nodded, a hand stroking her chin as she shut her eyes.

"Those never go away. Five kids in all, and hopefully no more than that."

The sound of typing intensified.

"Years ago, before all the cars started getting cameras to check blind spots, there was an accident in our parking lot. One of the cars backing out didn't see the kid. Another child was 'pranked,'" spat Melly, eyes narrowing in anger, "by her older brother, and ended up dying because of it."

Pranked. That's a new one.

"You don't think that was an accident?" Naru's voice slid in, solid as ice.

"No, I don't, but I don't blame the kid either." Melly took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "My anger's pointed firmly at the family. I did a side investigation on them, after I had to answer questions about bruising patterns. From what I could gather, both parents were abusive, and the girl was growing up, if you catch my meaning. The police ultimately was ruled it as a joke gone wrong since they lacked evidence, but my personal opinion?" She opened her eyes. "I think the brother found a way to save her."

Ah. I understand the word choice now.

"That's horrible," whispered Mai, eyes wet and watery. She was still holding the tray, which was the only reason her hands weren't shaking.

"Agreed." Melly nodded, then shrugged. "I did all I could. Helped the police, kept myself well away from those damned 'parents.' Also told the kid that he has a job with me as long as the park's open."

"And does he work for you now?"

He could be another point to work from.

She looked at Lin.

"Yeah. His sister's accident happened at one of the attractions, so I have him working in the cafe. Graduated junior high, never went to high school, but he's hardworking. Good enough worker to keep him on anyhow, no matter my promise."

"The others?" asked Lin,pulling the conversation back to its main topic.

Better to get this over with than to drag it out.

Melly sighed, letting her head roll back so she could look at the ceiling.

"Two others were the park's fault. One of my ride operators let someone under the height requirement on, and the kid was injured. Died a few days later at the hospital after complications. Another kid was able to slip through some broken barriers around a ride to grab a hat. He was kicked in the head; died instantly."

"What about the final one?"

"The last one was a damned shame, something that none of us could have prevented. One of the few actual accidents that just... happen" She shrugged. "Kid got one of our lollipops, fell, and jammed the stick into his throat. Choked to death before he could get to the hospital."

There was a silence in the room.

"Your park is still open?"

Every time you're this blunt, I'm surprised you weren't given the nickname of Frank.

Melly raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse you? Do you still drive a car? Do you know how many accidents happen with cars?"

Point for her. Thought Lin, looking over to where Naru was stiffening.

"Oh. God, I'm sorry," apologized Melly, her lips pressed firm as she read Naru's body language. "I didn't know that would be a sore spot for you,I was just using it…. as for the park, I've taken responsibility for all I can, and somethings that I probably didn't need to, so-."

"It's fair," acknowledged Naru, interrupting her ramble with a raised hand. "And my own apologies for insinuating. Is there anything else that you can tell us?"

Blunt and yet not without charm.

Melly shrugged, chugging the rest of her coffee.

"There's one more thing. Two people have gone home to..." she paused. "Commit crimes after visiting us. Violent crimes. Neighbors have all said it didn't seem like them, and the police have said it's just a coincidence, but I don't believe it."

"Why?" asked Mai.

"Call it a hunch, sweetie." She set her eyes on Lin, then looked at Naru. "Either my park is haunted, and I want to get rid of the ghosts, or someone's taking advantage of me, and I want them dealt with. Can you help?"

Lin nodded, and Naru just gave a thoughtful hum.

"Ghosts yes. Proving someone's harassing you, possibly. Anything other than that you'll need to take to the police. You'll also need to provide expenses, and either allow me to set up our camera system, or let us tap into yours."

We don't have enough cameras to cover an entire theme park.

"Mine please," said Melly. "I don't need complaints of strange cameras and perverts. Lodging and food will be given for free up at the park since I also own a small hotel near the property; easier to entice guests into staying the weekend that way. How many people do you think you'll be bringing?"

"I need to ask my staff first," said Naru, exchanging a glance with Lin. "But at the least, there will be three of us, at the most, there will be seven."

Seven? Lin stifled a groan, schooling his face to not show any of the thoughts whirling around his head. He's leaving out Houshou again.

"I'll get rooms ready for seven."

"Do you think we'll need that?" asked Mai. "I mean, so far it's just perverts and coincidences."

"No, but I do believe that whatever this problem is, it needs to be shot to hell with as much gun power as I'm allowed." Melly's smile was full of teeth. "And that's you guys."

"Lin, please give Mrs. Kawai a contract, and explain what we'll be doing at the park. I'm going to contact the others." Naru gave a nod to the ringmaster, then walked into the side office, followed closely by Mai. Lin went over to the cabinet, straining his ears to hear the conversation.

"Are you okay? What she said about the car-"

Mai and her big heart.

He grabbed the file folder with the blank contracts.

"I'm fine, and I know she didn't mean anything by it. I'll contact John and Ayako."

But not, I notice, our resident monk.

"I'm already messaging Osamu; he says he's in, and he'll start researching the incidents with Carnival." There came a pause. "What about Bou-san? You said seven out there, not eight."

Good Mai. Call him out.

Naru made noise.

"Do you think he's not healed enough? I mean, I know he just got his cast taken off, and we've had a few cases, but-"

If Ayako says he's healed, then he's healed. After Kiryu, I don't think she's going to let him out of her sight.

"We were able to solve them without Houshou. Just you, me, and Lin. This case though... " there was a pause, so Lin set the paper on the top of the cabinet and began to fill out the company sections. "It looks to be bigger than those others we took. I agree with Mrs. Kawai in that regard, I don't think they're coincidences, and it would be better to be prepared."

"Then why not... do you think-" Mai broke off, and Lin could easily imagine her rubbing the back of her neck. Naru waited. Lin waited. "Do you think this will be like Kiryu?"

Good question Mai.

"No. I honestly don't think we'll have another Kiryu. That seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime incident."

"That would be fine by me," she muttered, making Lin lean in to hear her words, "if it was."

You'll find no argument from anyone here.

"I think this will be like most of our other cases. Gather data and exorcise the ghosts. Still..." Naru paused. "I'd rather Houshou heal a little bit longer. Contact Osamu, and I'll talk to the rest. Meeting's at five in the office."

Five… Houshou's usually at band practice until seven or eight… Lin waited, but the only thing he heard was Kazuya on the phone.

"Yes, could I speak with Father Brown please? It's Shibuya Kazuya calling."

The door opened, and Lin stood straight, filling in the small details such as day rates and how many people would be on the job.


Monday 17:00 SPR Office


"And that's the case," said Lin, handing out papers to the seated group.

"Could they really be connected, or just an unlucky set of coincidences?" John was scanning over the papers even as he asked the question.

Naru shrugged.

"That's what we're being paid to find out."

"I'll get started on the newspaper articles," volunteered Osamu. "And see if I can unearth anything about the people involved."

Note to self - give Osamu the notes I've already gathered.

"Is Houshou coming?" asked Ayako, looking over her paper at Naru.

I wonder what your excuse will be?

"He's currently at band-"

The door banged open, Bou-san apologizing about being late for the meeting, tripping over his feet, and trying not to land on his guitar, all at the same time. Twisting so that his back hit the wall, the musician-monk was able to keep his feet long enough to carefully set everything down, panting a little at the end.

Ah. It seems that excuse won't be needed.

Lin turned his back to the commotion, hiding a small smile.

"What?" Houshou asked, noticing that everyone was staring at him. "I'm fine. I didn't fall."

"Your practice was until seven," said Naru.

"Lin told me about the meeting, so I squared it with the band. I always do."

So easily thrown under the bus.

Lin received Naru's glare, but didn't react at all. The rest of the SPR members sat quietly in their seats, probably sensing the rising tension in the room and not wanting to draw any attention to themselves.

"Naru," sighed Houshou, cracking his neck to the side and taking a deep breath before fixing his gaze on their boss. "Did you deliberately not tell me about this meeting?"

Yes.

"You need to heal a little bit longer," said Naru, side-stepping the question. "You died. Had a knife shoved into your chest after being subjected to an honestly insane amount of torture. I wouldn't use a gadget that was almost fixed, I'd wait until it was completely fixed."

Both Lin and John winced at that analogy as Ayako sucked in air between her teeth.

"... did Naru just call Bou-san a gadget?" Mai whispered to Osamu.

This needs to be over with.

Off to the side of the room, Lin let out a sigh.

This storm has been a long time coming. Better to withstand the thunder at some point than to keep backing away from the advancing black clouds.

"First off," Houshou ticked his fingers, "I'm not a thing that needs you to fix it, I'm a human being with cells that can repair themselves. Second, that wasn't my chest that got stabbed, just like it wasn't my body that died, bleeding out on the floor. Third, and finally, I. Am. Healed. I have a clean bill of health from the hospital, my final cast came off last week, and I've even had a few days without nightmares." He jerked a thumb at Ayako. "She's the one who issued it, so if you don't think I'm healed, then you're also saying that she's lying."

"I'm not saying Matsuzaki-san is lying," said Naru, noticing the doctor folding her arms over her chest.

In a roundabout way, yes, you are.

"Funny," Ayako said, no mirth on her face as she cocked her head. "That's what I'm hearing."

"I'm saying," said Naru, "that you may need more mental, emotional healing before throwing yourself back into our line of work."

"And that's why I speak with Dr. Darren, John's friend. You know, the trained therapist I've been seeing at least three times a week since Kiryu, sometimes more." Houshou suddenly stopped, the color draining from his face.

"That's why you don't tell me about new cases anymore," he said, his voice toneless. "You think that I'm worthless. That I can't be fixed."

And this is not the path we need to take.

"No," interrupted Lin, stepping forward, "we don't, and no, Naru doesn't either" He shot a sharp glace as his charge went to open his mouth, but thankfully thought better of it. "Naru is, however, worried about how you might react when back out into the field, so he wanted to ask you privately, after the meeting."

Anything's possible.

Houshou snorted at that, but his face regained a bit of color.

"Fine. Naru, I don't buy Lin's argument for a second, but let's pretend that was true. Since I'm here, you're going to let me know about this case, right?"

"Of course he is," agreed Lin, speaking for Naru and walking over to hand Houshou the papers.

"Will you be with us?" John asked. Lin shot him a look of thanks, but the priest ignored it, along with the annoyed look Naru gave him.

Probably for the best.

"I can't come out until tonight, but yes. I'm in." He turned to Naru. "Unless the boss says that I'm not."

"Would you listen to me if I did?" asked Naru, his voice acidic.

I don't think either one of you are listening to each other right now.

"Not unless you gave a factual reason."

Naru looked around the room, reading between the lines. Lin inclined his head slightly.

You need him back; we need him back.

"It seems I'm outnumbered in my desire," he said to cheers, "however!"

The sharp tone cut through the noise.

"If you are hurt, you need to step to the side."

"I'll do that," promised Houshou, nodding his head and holding Naru's gaze. "If, in return, you'll not make that decision for yourself. That you'll trust me to say if I'm in too much pain, or that I can't handle it."

I'm not sure either of you can keep those promises, so that will be something to look forward to.

The two of them stared at each other, neither one looking away. Lin coughed. In the background, it was quiet enough to hear Masako drink her tea.

"...deal," said Naru, getting up to shake Houshou's hand. "Right. Some of you already told me that you can't make it up there for tomorrow morning, so we're going to go up in shifts. Mai, John, Masako, and I will go up first. We're going to go around the theme park during the day and see if we can spot anything; several of the incidents have occurred then so there's a chance. The night shift, Ayako, Lin, Osamu, and Houshuo, will be able to gather data at night for a comparison. After that, we'll meet in the afternoon to compare details."

Well, I guess it was good that I slipped up and wrote eight people instead of seven.

"How are you all going to get up there?" asked Houshou.

"We'll take the trains and bus," answered Naru. "Mai and I will go up first to see how Mrs. Kawai's camera system is set up, then Masako and John will join when their previous engagements have ended. Houhous and Ayako can take a car together, and Osamu will be with Lin, which will allow us to bring up the rest of our equipment, and anything else that we've forgotten."

"Yes, yes, yes, thank you test gods!" exclaimed Osamu, pumping his fist and startling everyone. "Lin, I need to pick your brain for my Chinese history test, it's coming up next month. Can I ask you questions on the ride up? I want my essay to stand out from the rest of the class."

No surprise there. Oh well, there could be worse car companions.

Lin chuckled.

"I'm not sure how much information I'll be able to give you, but you're welcome to ask. Just realize that I might refer you to Google since it's been a while."

And if Naru were with me, I think I'd get the silent treatment for the whole ride.

"Done and done," said Osamu, eyes shining.

"Everyone knows what to do?" asked Naru. There was a chorus of nods and agreements. "Good. I'll see you all tomorrow night."

Conversations erupted around the room as Lin went back to where he'd been standing before.

Somehow, I don't think it's over yet.

"Mai, you've got that religion paper due tomorrow morning right? I can turn it in for you if you leave it with me."

"Great, let me go print it out at the 7-11 then. Come with me?"

Osamu gave her a thumbs up, swiping his backpack and waiting for Mai to finish gathering her things.

"You did finish it, right?"

"No, I'm going to give my professor a half-completed paper," snarked Mai, walking past Osamu and into the hallway. "Seriously? What kind of question..." Her voice trailed off as they moved further away.

Not the ones I was worried about.

"Masako, may I wait with you for your ride?" asked John

She smiled and nodded, allowing the priest to help her up from her chair.

"That would be lovely, thank you. Should we continue our conversation on life after death and ghosts?"

"I think we left off at the fact that only some people turn into ghosts, and that it's not everyone involved in a traumatic death."

Hmm… I would have thought John would stay, but he'll probably talk to Houshou tomorrow.

The two of them left as well, John waving goodbye to the remaining people in the room before turning back to Masako.

And I certainly expected Ayako to be waiting behind.

"I assume Houshou is waiting to speak with me, but why are you two still here?" asked Naru bluntly, looking at Ayako and Lin. "Haven't you done enough already?"

Feeling a little bitter? I guess it's been a while since you've been caught in one of my more obvious traps.

Houshou opened his mouth but Ayako beat him to the punch.

"I figured it would save time and energy to have this conversation with me as well," she snapped, crossing her legs. "You weren't going to tell Houshou about this case, were you?"

Naru's eyes darted to the monk, then back again to her.

Tell the truth Oliver. Lin had to hide another smile as the countless memories that phrase invoked.

"No."

"Naru, I'm an adult," said Houshou, plopping down onto the couch. "Whether you think so or not, that means I can make my own decisions and can act on them as I choose to."

True… to a point.

"And as the owner of this company, I can choose how I run it, acting on my decisions as I see fit."

And also true to a point.

"Naru." Lin cut in, his tone a gentle rebuke. "We've talked about this. Personal feelings don't belong in company procedures."

We had to have this very talk when you decided exactly how you wanted to continue the search for Gene.

"He died in front of me," snapped Naru. "So forgive me in thinking that I don't want that to happen again."

"...maybe you should see a therapist about that." Houshou rubbed his chest as he said that. "I mean, I'm over it, and it was me that died. Technically."

Extinguishing the candle but ignoring the house fire.

"Naru, look at me. Houshou, you too." Ayako waited until both of them were looking at her. "Shut. Up.

Lin put a hand over his mouth, not quite covering a laugh that his shoulders betrayed by shaking. Both the men glared at him, but then turned back to Ayako. Lin remained silent, watching.

Thank you. They needed that.

"Naru, people have life-threatening accidents all the time. They can be gruesome, such as what you saw, or they can be silent, like an embolism. Either way, when a person has healed from them, as Houshou has, you can't continually treat them like glass. In the case of athletes, they get back to practice, or they find a new sport if they have to. He is physically fit to work a case, especially one in which the rest of us will be there to keep an eye on him."

She turned to face Houshou, eyes flashing.

"And you. Do you know why Naru's so hesitant? It's because he can't trust you. Or should I say, 'we' can't trust you."

Good. She's not pulling any punches.

Ayako took a deep breath, but kept her eyes on Hohusho's face even as hurt flashed across it.

"What we can trust is that you will do everything to protect us, but won't raise hand for yourself. I saw that firsthand; so did John. Yes, I know you did it for the best of reasons, and yes, there is even a clinical truth to what you did. In theory, it's better that one person be hurt instead of all three, so the other two can still be prepared for an escape. In theory. In real life, nobody wants to watch, helpless, as they person they love is-."

...this worked even better than I'd planned.

She stopped, her face flushing a bright red. Houshou sat there, his mouth opening and closing like the goldfish at a summer matsuri.

"Ayako-"

Not while your brain cells are still short-circuiting.

"Ayako is right," Lin cut in smoothly, talking over Houshou. "About both of you. Naru. This is not like Gene's death. Houshou chooses this to be his profession; an analogy would make him a firefighter. As the 'captain of the fire station,' it would be best for you not to sideline someone who is not injured. If you do, it could lead to more injuries to other people later on down the road. Houshou, let's take the analogy further. If you were a firefighter continually pushing your coworkers aside to run into flaming buildings, how do you think they would feel?"

"Frustrated," sighed Houshou, turning to Lin but continually trying to make eye contact with Ayako. "But-"

"No 'buts.' They signed up for this job, just as you did, and after so many cases they know that there's a possibility of being burnt. Let them do their jobs."

And if both Ayako and I can't get through your heads, then I don't think anyone can.

Both men sighed; Ayako stood up, smoothing down her bunched-up shirt.

"Sorry, but my pager's going off. I need to get back to the hospital."

Probably best to give them time to think it over. Double the time for Houshou.

"Be ready tomorrow night to patrol the theme park," said Naru.

"Um... LINE me when you want to drive up," added Houshou, rubbing the back of his head.

She nodded, then grabbed her purse and fled, high heels clicking at a fast pace down the hallway.

Time to drive the point home.

"Takigawa."

Lin arched an eyebrow just as Houshou turned to him.

"Don't mess this up," Lin said. "You have at least a two hour drive tomorrow; that's your best chance to talk to her."

And try to actually talk.

"About what?" asked Houshou, turning his hands up.

"Don't be stupid," sighed Naru. "About what she just let slip."

The monk snorted.

"Tell you what Naru. You tell Mai how you actually feel, and I'll consider taking romance lessons from you."

I wouldn't take romance lessons from either of you.

"Any idiot can see that she's in love with you, and you her."

Not helpful Naru.

"Yeah," sighed Houshou, looking at the doorway Ayako had just fled through. "Any idiot, huh?"