An investigation within an investigation

by WiseDragonGirl

Another day, another case for Shibuya Psychic Research. Naru has gathered the usual team and they go to a house to investigate the reported ghost-like activities. But Houshou Takigawa has his own investigation to worry about. He suspects that one of the team is actually a werewolf and he'll need to figure it out soon, because soon there will be a full moon again.

The company Shibuya Psychic Research had been contacted by a family to investigate their house. Doors opened and closed by themselves and the people living there experienced temporary moments of amnesia: they would suddenly forget where they were or what they were doing, but after a moment it would come back to them.

Kazayu Shibuya, the head of SPR, had contacted the regular experts and exorcists to assist him: the Buddhist monk Houshou Takigawa, the Shinto priestess Ayako Matsuzaki, the Catholic priest John Brown and the medium Masako Hara. Shibuya's assistants Koujo Lin and Mai Taniyama had joined him as well and would aid him in the investigation.

Of the professional exorcists, only Masako and John could be recognised by their clothes, John wore his clerical collar in a black shirt and Masako wore a kimono. Houshou and Ayako had brought their ceremonial attire, but they would only change into that when they would attempt an exorcism. Now, Houshou dresses casual with a plain, green t-shirt and jeans, while Ayako wore a fashionable skirt and blouse.

The build-up of the investigation went as usual, they picked a room which they called their base and they plugged in various screens to monitor the paranormal activity in the house. High-speed cameras, infrared cameras, sensors, and microphones were set up around the house to record everything that would happen. Temperature drops would indicate the presence of a ghost, cameras could capture what was going on, the microphones could capture weird noises. SPR used the best technology available to hunt for ghosts, but relied on the experience of the team as well.

Ayako stood in the room with her arms crossed, giving a haughty impression. After Naru commented that if she had time to stand there, she might as well do some work, she snapped that she was invited by him and couldn't be expected to do any heavy lifting. Houshou watched it with a smile. At least Ayako brought some liveliness to the investigations, although he knew he had to be careful with his words around her. She'd slap him if she deemed a comment inappropriate and it wasn't difficult to cross that line.

He had to admit he liked it when she pretended to be so important, when she in fact hadn't done many successful exorcisms. Except that one time and his respect for her had greatly improved after that.

"Yo, Naru," Houshou said as he waved to Shibuya. "John and I are going to the kitchen to set up the video camera there."

"We are?" John began, but quickly changed it to: "Yes, we'll be right back," when Houshou put his elbow in his ribs.

Naru gave a barely noticeable nod and didn't give the two men any attention as they left the base. As always he was caught up in the preparations and was already thinking about the many theories that could explain the occurrences in this house.

After they closed the door, John looked at the monk, who carried the tripod with the video camera on his shoulder and put his free hand in the pocket. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

Houshou looked over his shoulder to make sure no-one had followed them. "There have been some mysterious deaths every time the moon was full," he whispered to John.

"Why is that important?"

"They happen mostly in or around the city where SPR is located and also at places where we were working a case when the moon happened to be full."

"How do you know?"

Houshou shrugged and pushed the door open of the kitchen. "I read the newspaper during one of the recent cases, and one day it described a death caused by some kind of animal, based on the injuries the reported theorised it could be a big dog." He opened the legs of the tripod and put it on the ground. "A really big dog. And that happened during the night the moon was full. I recalled it wasn't the first time I read something like that in the newspaper, back home the newspaper once reported a disappearance and when they found the remains two days later the person seemed to have been eaten. When I tried to find the article, I came across several articles about missing or death persons, one even mentioned a massacre of chickens at a house in the outskirts of the city. It all happened in a night in which the moon was full." He frowned as he checked the camera. "The first article that described a mysterious and gruesome death in the city that I could find was a few days after our first assignment together had finished. The one with the abandoned school and the E.S.P. girl." He saw John nod to show he recalled the case. "After that such things happened at an almost monthly basis."

"Almost monthly?"
"There were some gaps, but those months that didn't have any strange animal-related deaths or unsolved disappearances around the city, that's when we were away with SPR."

John looked at him in disbelief, but that expression changed to horror. "B-but…" he began, but he saw Houshou put his finger to his lips.

The monk turned to the camera and bend forward so his face hang in front of the lens. "Yo Naru! It's set up. Me and John will have a look around the house now!" He grinned and waved, but when he stood back up, he had a serious expression.

Together they left the room.
"You think it's a werewolf, don't you?"

Houshou nodded, that was indeed his suspicion.

"Do you think it's one of us?" John whispered, not wanting anyone to hear it, even though no-one was around.

"It is someone of SPR. You and Masako and Ayako don't live there, so I excluded you. More importantly, you three weren't at the scene yet when the moon was full during one of the cases. So, it has to be someone who lives in the city where SPR is, works for SPR and is present there from the beginning till the end. Naru, Mai or Lin."

"Forgive me for asking, but what about you?"

"When a few of those unexplained cases happened, I was either at the temple of my family or somewhere with my band. If you want to include me as a suspect, be my guest, but I think my band-members would have noticed if I turned into a big, hungry werewolf."

John nodded. "What do we do now?"

"We wait, we observe. There will be a full moon in two days, so my suspicion will be either confirmed or proven wrong. I hope the latter." He looked at John. "Will you help me find out?"

"And the others?"

Houshou thought about it for a moment. "I'm fairly sure both Masako and Ayako aren't the ones, so we can tell them. More eyes will make it easier, but it will be dangerous for them to be outside when the moon is full. I don't want them trying to find it, you know? But you tell Masako and I'll tell Ayako." He saw John nod. "And one last thing."

"Yes?"

He showed John a small, cardboard box. "Bless these for me, will you?"

John took the box and opened it. He stared at the silver bullets he saw in there.

"You know the legend just as well as I do. Only silver can injure or kill a werewolf. Blessed silver works even better. So…"

"Of course, no problem." John put the box in his pocket. "I will give them back to you when I'm done." He paused and sighed. "I just hope you won't need them."

Houshou gave the young priest a pat on the back. "You and me both, John. You and me both."

Later that day Houshou saw Ayako and Mai talking to one of the residents, most likely a conversation related to the case. This time he couldn't keep his head at the reason SPR was there, all he did was look for clues in his three suspects.

"Hey there, young lady," Houshou said, putting his hand on Mai's head. "Let the grown-ups talk for a moment, will you?"

Mai glared at him and seemed ready to give him a piece of her mind.

"Don't tell me you like hanging out with this old woman, do you?" he asked.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ayako slapped the back of his head. "Who are you calling old?"

"Ouch! Mai, she hit me!"

"That's your own fault, you're so immature sometimes! Sheesh." Mai turned around and walked away.

"If you came here just to call me old," Ayako began, but stopped when she saw how serious the monk looked.

"We need to talk," he said as he took her by her hand. "Come."

He looked for a place where they could talk in private, away from others, but also away from the equipment they had put up around the house. He took her outside and they walked through the neatly kept garden as he told her about his suspicion.

Ayako's face changed from scepticism to worry.

"You're free to laugh at me of course," Houshou said at the end. "Just don't tell Naru, Lin or Mai."

Ayako rested her elbow in a hand and put with her fingers some hair behind her ear. "No, I believe you," she said, "but what do you think we can do about it?"

"Well, you know, if we can confirm there is a werewolf and discover the true identity, then we can confront them and if the werewolf agrees to be locked up every time the moon is full we don't need to do anything."

"Do you think that's all we need to do?"

"Do you think any of them will want to kill people every month? They care about human life…" he rubbed the back of his head, "even if some of them don't show it well."

"You mean we only know for sure Mai would hate the fact she could be responsible for killing people."

"Yeah, well, Naru may seem cold, especially back then when he talked about bringing the curse back to the students, but he did come up with a plan to save them. Naru is level-headed, he'll understand it's necessary. Lin too. Mai is compassionate, she'll agree to be locked up if it will save others."

Ayako nodded slowly. "I think you're right. You really thought it through, didn't you?"

Houshou grinned and for a brief moment they just looked at each other.

"My, my don't you make a lovely couple," the elderly woman of the house commented as she shuffled closer with a cane.

Immediately Houshou and Ayako created distance between them.

"Me with this old lady? Nah…Ouch!" He grabbed the top of his head.

"Watch your mouth, monk," Ayako snapped, waving her fist at him.

As the investigation went on – Naru soon determined that the poltergeist-phenomena were caused by the teenage daughter and not by a ghost, but the moments of amnesia still needed to be explained – the two days had passed and the day of the full moon began.

More than before were John and Houshou keeping an eye on their three suspects. Mai seemed restless, she paced around a lot and went outside a few times. Did she perhaps feel this was her night? Naru seemed to be on edge, he claimed he hadn't slept well, but maybe it was a biological unrest because the moon would be full. Lin was more silent than usual and seemed to want privacy even more than before, he claimed he had been up late to work, but maybe he tried to hide the unrest he felt.

"So, what's the plan?" John asked.

"We'll see what they'll do in the evening, if we lose track of them we try to find them." Houshou looked at the many screens. "At least this ghost-hunting set-up will be useful to us as well."

They day slowly came to an end, the blue sky started turning orange in the west and slowly the sky darkened from the east.

A few hours later it was completely dark. John stood next to Houshou and looked at the sky, followed by a glance at his watch, illuminated with his flashlight. The moon hadn't risen yet, but it would in about ten minutes, according to the meteorological institute. Did it involve direct moonlight? He thought so, but according to the stories the werewolf would also feel an urge to go outside.

Together they watched the window through which they could see Naru and Lin, they were looking over some data, as they usually did around this time. Ayako was with them, defending her newest theory that someone had forgotten about someone in this house in the past, who had died during the neglect, and now it caused people to temporarily forget where they were and what they were doing. She couldn't explain why that would cause amnesia, but she usually blamed earth-bound spirits to the phenomena in the previous cases, so this was no exception.

Masako joined them. "I lost sight of Mai," she told them.

"That's not good," Houshou muttered. "Where did you see her last?"

"She was on her way to our room, I stayed with her as you asked. But she said she saw something outside and climbed through the window."

"So, either she really saw something and foolishly rushed into a possible dangerous situation, like she did more often, or she used it as an excuse to get outside." He scratched the back of his head. "The young lady is already causing trouble. John, maybe you and Masako can look for her. She can't be far." He looked at the young priest. "You have a gun with you, right?"

John nodded. "I just hope," he began.

"That you won't have to use it. I understand." He turned back to the window. "I will keep an eye on them with Ayako."

A few minutes later both Naru and Lin got up and walked away. Ayako came to the window and opened it.

"Naru is going to the toilet and Lin to the kitchen for a cup of tea. Do you want me to follow one of them?"

"Stay with Lin, I will see what Naru is up to."

Ayako smiled a bit. "Isn't it dangerous to be outside now?"

"Not until the moon is in the sky. Keep an eye on the time, Ayako. If Lin is the werewolf…"

"I know," Ayako interjected and winked. "I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."

Houshou wasn't exactly reassured, but he nodded and went inside to see if he could find Naru. When he reached the toilet, Naru wasn't there. The teenage daughter could tell him that her brother had seen a light near a tree and Naru had insisted on seeing it. Houshou cursed and ran outside, but of course he didn't see Naru anywhere. The teenage daughter had followed him.

"Tell me, miss, did Naru seem strange to you?"

"No," she said. "He seemed as distant as ever, but he was interested in this new clue."

That did sound like Naru, but maybe he just hid his unrest well. Naru rarely let anyone see how he felt.

"Where did they go?"

After the daughter had pointed him in the right direction, Houshou went to look for Naru.

Ayako followed Lin into the kitchen, she watched him pour tea in a cup and walked to the fridge to get a can of soda for herself. Lin drank his tea in silence, as usual, and she sipped from the can. Suddenly he grabbed a small flashlight and went to the backdoor.

"Wait," Ayako said, quickly putting the can down to follow him. "Where are you going?"

"To check on the camera near the shed," he replied as he opened the door. The shed was one of the places where the amnesia had been reported, every place it had been reported was monitored, but the results had been vague at best.

Ayako looked at the clock, there was still time before the moon would show itself, not only did it have to rise, it had to climb above the tree-tops to be seen. "I'll go with you," she offered.

"Fine," was all Lin said about it and with that short word allowed the woman to accompany him. She took a flashlight as well and joined him outside.

Together they walked towards the shed. Since Ayako used her flashlight to illuminate their path, Lin put his in the pocket of his shirt. They walked in silence.

So far Lin seemed to behave normally, but Ayako looked for the smallest details that would give away how he truly felt now that the full moon was almost visible.

They were close to the small wooden structure when the sudden sound of snapping branches spooked her and she shone her flashlight towards a group of trees. She kept her flashlight aimed at the dark trees, trying to see anything in the darkness, but when she didn't see anything she sighed and turned back to Lin. Who was gone.

"Hey, you could have waited for me," she said as she walked towards the shed. But when she opened the door, Lin wasn't there either. "Lin?" she asked as she stepped outside and walked around the building. "Lin!"

Ayako decided to go back to the house, maybe Lin really was the werewolf. She wouldn't be safe here. An ominous howl sounded through the area and Ayako froze in fear. She slowly turned around to look at the trees, the moon peeking over the tops. The moment she saw that her body started moving, she turned to make a run for the house.

Before she could, she heard the voice of the oldest son of the family call her respectfully by her title.

"Why are you outside?" she asked him. "We told everyone to stay inside."

"I went to check a light I saw with Mr. Shibuya, he told me to get a camera from the house. What was that sound just now?"

"Something dangerous," Ayako replied as she took his arm. "We have to get inside, now."

A creature larger than a man, covered in black fur, watched the two humans next to the shed. It stood on its hind legs, with an arched back. It opened its sharp claws in anticipation and a bit of saliva dripped from the corner of the wolf-like snout. It got on all fours and ran towards them as it howled.

The howl made Ayako stop dead in her tracks. Slowly she turned around and saw the werewolf rise to its hind legs, baring its teeth. Next to her the teen boy shone on it with a flashlight, unable to do anything but stare at the creature.

It made one step towards them. And another. It rose a paw to slash its prey.

Ayako screamed.

A loud and short bang sounded through the area. The werewolf cringed and yelped as it stumbled back, almost falling as it stood on its injured leg. It looked up to see what was going on.

Houshou held his gun as he ran towards Ayako and the teenage boy. He positioned himself in front of them, aiming his gun at the werewolf.

"One step closer," he warned the creature. "And the next bullet will go through your heart."

The werewolf readied itself to attack again when a second gun-shot sounded. The bullet missed, but the werewolf turned around and fled. Even with the injured paw it ran fast over the grass and soon disappeared between the trees.

"We heard the howl and then the gunshot," John explained when he and Masako reached the others. "Shall we..."

"There's no way we can catch up," Houshou sighed as he lowered the gun. "We can search for it, but…" he turned around to Ayako. "Ayako, are you okay?"

Ayako nodded.

"Did it injure you?"

Slowly Ayako shook her head.

Houshou took her by the arms. "Ayako?"

"Oh Houshou," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, I was so scared. I thought I would die. I…I…"

"It's okay, Ayako," Houshou said as he gently stroke her long hair. "It's okay. It's gone now. If you're not injured by it, then we have nothing to worry about."

"I'm not," Ayako said, looking at him. "Thanks to you."

The monk smiled at her. "Like I would let anything bad happen to you."

Masako hid a knowing smile behind her sleeve.

"What do we do now?" John asked.

Houshou looked at the gathered people. The teen seemed shaken up, but he couldn't blame him. "What were you two doing outside anyway?" he asked them.

The boy told him about the light he had seen and that he went to investigate with Naru, which corresponded with the story the sister had given, but that he had been send back to the house to get a camera. When Houshou asked if Naru's behaviour had seemed unusual, the boy said he had seen nothing strange, just that he had frowned at the tree while trying to determine how this clue fit into the whole picture. Then Ayako told them about going to the shed with Lin, who suddenly disappeared before the howl, followed by the appearance of the werewolf.

"So, it's one of them," Houshou concluded.

"Not Mai?" John asked.

"Still possible if you two haven't found her." Houshou paused to see how Masako and John would react, but they shook their head to show they hadn't found her. "Although I think that if it was Mai, the fur of the werewolf would have the colour of her hair. This werewolf had black fur. Those two have black hair." He looked at the trees. "John and I will see if we can track it down. Masako, Ayako, please go to the house."

"And if you can't find it?" Masako asked.

"Then we'll see who it is based on who returns this night or who will have an injured leg in the morning."

"Right!" John said. "Any injury it got now will still be there in the morning."

Houshou and John tried to track the werewolf down, but after two hours of searching they returned to the house. They couldn't find it.

Back at the house they saw Mai with Masako and Ayako. They had all stayed up until the two men returned. Houshou glanced out of the window. The moon was still full. It wasn't Mai.

"Have you told her?" he asked the other two.

"They have," Mai whispered. "Naru or Lin. One of them is a werewolf, right?" She fiddled with the seam of her shirt. "I heard the howl, I didn't know what it was."

"You're in luck the werewolf didn't go your way," John said.

Ayako huffed. "Her luck almost got me killed."

Houshou smiled a bit, but that didn't hide the fact he was tired. "Did Naru or Lin return yet?"

The others shook their head.

There was nothing else they could do, so they decided to go to bed. The men went to their room and the women to theirs. None of them slept very well, they kept listening to the silent night, but they didn't hear any howls or other noises that would give away the presence of the werewolf.

The next morning they had breakfast together in the kitchen when Lin entered. His gaze moved over the gathered people at the table, but it was impossible to guess what he was thinking. One thing was obvious: Lin was tired.

"Where were you all night?" Houshou asked when their eyes locked.

"Out," was all Lin said. He sat down at the table too and poured some tea in a cup.

"Aren't you going to eat?" John asked.

"Not hungry."

John and Houshou looked at each other. Not hungry because he was tired, or because he had eaten something large during the night?

Any question they asked about his whereabouts that night remain unanswered, he was his usual, stoic self and ignored the others completely.

Fifteen minutes later Naru entered the kitchen, he limped with his left leg. Everyone at the table stared at him.

"What?" Naru said, with his usual bluntness.

"Where were you all night, Naru?" Houshou asked.

"Who says I was away all night? I just came back from checking the equipment at the shed. Unlike you all, I got up early."

"And your leg?" Ayako asked.

"I must have hurt it in the shed."

"Or you are the werewolf I shot last night," Houshou commented between two sips of coffee.

"Don't be ridiculous," Naru said, but Lin looked silently at the monk.

John looked at Naru. "We can explain, please hear us out."

It seemed like Naru wanted to decline, but Lin decided they would hear them out. He told Naru to sit down and gestured to the priest to begin, who in turn looked at the monk for support.

Houshou told them everything. He began laying out the evidence he had discovered that had lead to the theory, the various news reports he had found, always at a place SPR was for a case or at their home-town, always following a full moon. Then he told them what had happened last night. At the end he looked at Naru.

"Do you remember anything about last night?"

"Tell the truth, Naru," Lin insisted.

Naru sighed. "I blacked out. That happens sometimes."

"Once a month maybe?" John asked carefully.

"I'm not a werewolf!"

"We haven't seen you transform," Houshou said with a calm voice, "but the indirect evidence suggests it is you."

Naru got up. "You have the wrong one. Instead of looking for werewolves you all should be focussing on the case." With that he left. He limped towards the door and closed it behind him.

Everyone looked at Lin now.

"I didn't know," he admitted, "but I believe you. There were times he wanted to be alone. I don't know if this happened when the moon was full, I never paid attention to it. It happened only a few times that I noticed he wasn't at his room at night, but he always had a plausible explanation for it. I didn't question it."

"And now?" Masako asked.

"Maybe Naru is telling the truth, but the indirect evidence does suggest it's him." He looked at the group. "Now that you know this, what do you plan to do? Do you want to kill him?"

Mai gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Masako looked at the table with a sad look in her eyes.

Houshou leaned back in the chair. "And fight our way through you and your shiki first?" He chuckled, but soon looked serious again. "No. If we can make sure Naru won't get out when the moon is full so that he won't make any more victims, I'm cool with it. I'm not a judge nor an executioner. I'm pretty sure John won't kill him, that's against his religion."

John nodded slowly to that.

"Besides, Naru probably doesn't even remember what happened during the night, how can we hold him accountable for things he doesn't even control?"

"Are you sure he doesn't know?" Ayako asked.

Houshou shrugged. "Evidence suggests he doesn't. According to the few confirmed cases I found, people who suffer under the curse of the werewolf don't know what happens. They wake up in their broken bedroom or at a place they don't know. And the reason they don't tell anyone is because they are too ashamed that they 'sleepwalk' and never even suspect what they really are. The one that did figure out what he was locked himself up every month. If there are malicious werewolves out there, people who know what they are and look forward to the change, I don't know about them. Right now, I'm willing to give Naru the benefit of the doubt, but we need to keep him inside when there is a full moon."

Lin agreed to that and they finished their breakfast. Now he was willing to share where he had been that night: he had heard the same sound as Ayako had and had left to see what it was. He assumed Ayako hadn't seen him walk to the trees, because he had walked outside the beam of light. When she left he had assumed she went to check the shed, so he had taken his own flashlight and started the search. When he had had heard her call his name he had been ready to turn back, but that's when he had heard that howl. Worried that it might be something dangerous he had gone further to investigate.

When breakfast was over the group went to find Naru and they told him what they had discussed. Naru dismissed the idea he was a werewolf, but admitted he had blacked out when he went to investigate that light that had been seen and that he didn't know why or where he had injured his leg, but he assumed he had been sleepwalking.
After this the investigation continued as normal.

During the investigation, Houshou and Ayako spend increasingly more time together, just sitting together, with or without talking. They often flashed a smile to each other. Houshou sometimes winked at her.

It was getting more and more obvious how the two felt for each other and when they had a moment, Mai and Masako talked about it.

Mai admitted that despite all the bickering they had done in the past, she always had felt they had a connection and that they had cared more about each other than they had wanted to admit. With a grin she reminded Masako that they had compared them to an old married couple before. In turn, Masako recalled how the monk was the first to get to the door when Ayako was locked in a room in the very first case they had all worked together, and had called her by her first name too.

The investigation came soon to an end. It turned out there was a spirit and it caused the temporary amnesia every time it tried to touch someone in an attempt to try and communicate with them. It was Masako who felt the presence and Mai saw her death in a dream. They also concluded this spirit was the same as the figure Mai had seen when she had left the house that night the werewolf had come out. After they had confirmed her identity and how she had died, Masako channelled her. They helped her move on and everyone went home.

One month passed and during that month Ayako and Houshou went on several dates together. They even spend a few nights together.

When the day came the moon would be full again, they all gathered in front of the building of SPR. They wanted to make sure Naru wouldn't hurt anyone.

While they were still convinced it was Naru, he remained convinced he wasn't a werewolf. Still, he agreed to go to a vacation cabin Lin had rented for the night. They would keep him there with closed curtains, so he wouldn't be influenced by the moon, and return the next day.

Ayako and Masako wouldn't join them. Ayako didn't want to face the werewolf again and Masako couldn't bear the thought Naru was one.

Houshou would drive and stood next to the car when Ayako walked over.

"Please be careful," she said to him.

"I will," he promised, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry too much, okay?"

"I can't promise that," Ayako whispered.

Houshou smiled at her. "I love you," he said and after Ayako whispered back she loved him too, he held her face with both hands and kissed her.

Mai, Naru and Lin took place on the backseat, John took place on the passenger seat and Houshou took place behind the wheel.

They left for the cabin, Naru sat between Mai and Lin and seemed utterly displeased by this whole trip, but he knew they wouldn't let it rest unless he gave in and this was probably the best way to prove he wasn't what they thought he was.

The cabin was remote, the exact reason they had rented it. It stood in the middle of a grass field, the first trees were an easy twenty metres away.

The sun was already on its way down when they parked in front of the cabin and brought the few items they had packed inside.

Naru kept to himself and read a book in the small, but cosy living room. The wooden furniture gave a rustic impression. The other two rooms at the ground level were a kitchen and a bathroom. Upstairs were three bedrooms.

As Naru read and gave the impression he couldn't care less about where they were, Mai tried to keep herself busy with making coffee for everyone. As Lin and Houshou started closing all the shutters, John tried to encourage Mai by saying everything would work out just fine.

When all the windows were shuttered, Houshou came into the kitchen. He carried a bag, which he put on the table and he took several boxes from it.

"What's that?" Mai asked.

"Ayako insisted on making something to eat. She said, and I quote, 'four guys and Mai, you will not have a decent meal there'."

Mai sighed, that certainly sounded like Ayako. She wondered if she should be offended or not, she probably should, but all she thought about was Naru and the reason they were there.

John helped unpacking everything. "What did she make?"

"Some vegetable soup we need to warm up. Salad. Some sandwiches with spicy chicken or bacon or cheese."

"She's spoiling us," John commented with a smile.

"She sure is," Houshou agreed, grinning from ear to ear.

"How can you two smile right now?" Mai asked.

"Why wouldn't we?" Houshou asked, but then he saw the sad face. "Hey, young lady," he said as he ruffled her hair. "Cheer up. It will work out just fine. If we can keep him out of the moon, nothing will happen."

"And we have to do this every month then?"

"Unless you have a better idea."

Mai shook her head, this was the best idea. "I suppose I'll warm up the soup," she suggested. "I'll help," John offered and went to look for a pot to put the soup in.

"So how is it with you and Ayako?" Mai asked. "Do you fight a lot?"

The monk chuckled. "Nah. I'm not saying we agree on everything, but we don't fight as much as you saw us do during the cases. We might start living together though."

They placed the pot on the stove and poured the cold soup in it.

"For real?" Mai asked, for the first time that day she smiled. "A Shinto priestess and a Buddhist monk together."

"A musician and a doctor," Houshou added. "I don't think we'll need to worry about ghosts or money when we live together. I did promise her that if we look for a house, we'll take one with living trees and build a shrine for her in the garden. We'll devote a room to Buddha for me. And of course, I'll need a place to play my bass guitar, you know. And we'll have a bedroom with a big bed for obvious reasons." He grinned as he gestured to John. "You pretend you didn't hear that. Marriage isn't planned yet. The living together-thing will be test of our relationship."

John smiled. "I hope everything will work out for you two."

When the soup was ready, they brought everything to the round table in the living room: the warm and cold food, and some plates, bowls and cutlery they had found in the cabinets.

They dined mostly in silence. The only one attempting to make conversation was Houshou and it were Mai and John who replied to him. The other two just ate their food and kept to themselves.

After the dinner, Naru stood up and announced he would go to his bedroom.

"Do you think that is wise?" Houshou asked.

"I've already put up with this nonsense of coming here. Is it too much to ask to have a little privacy?"

"Just don't go outside. Remember that you promised us."

Naru didn't reply to that, he turned around and soon they heard his footsteps going up the stairs.

"The shutters are closed, and we nailed them shut," Lin reminded the monk.

"True, but I'm not sure the wood will really keep him inside."

Lin didn't reply immediately. "Why do you say that?" he asked eventually.

"Because me and John and Yasuhara, we talked about it, I think maybe two weeks ago, and we think that Naru-boy is really Oliver Davis, who did some pretty amazing things with his PK."

Lin stared at them.

"I can tell you exactly why we think that, but just tell me if I'm right or wrong."

After a hesitation, Lin nodded.

"So how can we keep him in his room?"

That's when they heard breaking wood. Lin and John ran to the stairs, but Mai ran to the door.

"Mai!" Houshou called after her.

Mai pulled open the door and stepped outside. "Naru!" she called. She saw him standing a few metres away from the house, looking at the clouded night-sky, and stepped towards him. "Naru, please, come inside."

He didn't answer her.

"Naru, please."

He turned to face her. "There's nothing wrong with me, I just wanted to be outside."

At that moment some of the clouds disperses, revealing the full moon. Naru slowly turned to look at the moon.

"Naru!" Mai called out, but covered her mouth as she watched in horror how Naru began to change.

He screamed and fell to his knees, clawing in the ground. The sound of cracking bones filled the sky and his body contoured in ways Mai would have never considered possible. Naru grew and his skin got covered in black fur.

The transformation seemed to last forever and mere seconds at the same time. The creature that rose to its feet looked nothing like Naru, it opened and closed his claws, rose its wolf-snout to the sky and howled. It stepped towards Mai with an arched back, saliva drooling from its mouth.

"Naru, please," Mai whispered. "I know you're in there. Take control of yourself! Please!"

The werewolf seemed to hesitate for a split-second, but then ran towards Mai.

Mai opened her mouth to scream, but was unable to.

A gunshot sounded and the werewolf stopped dead in its tracks, just centimetres away from Mai. The creature stepped back with shaking legs, clawing at his chest. The blood oozing out of the wound was barely visible on the black fur, but stained the white claws red. The werewolf crumpled to his knees, letting out a whining sound. It collapsed and fell to his side. As it died, the body started shifting again. It shrank, bones changed and clicked, hair disappeared. Moments later it was Naru who lay in the grass, the red blood on his chest contrasting with the pale skin.

Mai stared at him and looked behind her, where she saw the monk lowering his gun. "Y-You killed him!" she yelled.

"You would have died," he defended himself.

Mai pointed to Naru. "You killed Naru!"

"I killed a werewolf. One who can do PK! We asked him to stay inside, but when he felt the urge to go outside he just went!" Houshou walked closer. "Do you think I enjoyed it? But it was him or you, so I chose you!"

Lin and John joined them, they looked at the two and then went to Naru's body. John knelt down to pray, and Lin did his best not to cry.

That was something Mai couldn't hold back, she covered her face with her hands and sobbed. When she felt the arms of Houshou around her she grabbed his shirt and put her forehead against his chest.

"I'm sorry, Mai, I know what he meant to you. But I couldn't stand by and let him kill you. He would have."

"I know," Mai sobbed. "I saw it. There wasn't anything human in his eyes."

Lin joined them and Houshou looked at him. "I'm sorry Lin, I know you cared about him too."

"I saw what happened," Lin said after a moment of hesitation with a broken voice. "Naru wasn't himself. This wasn't his fault, but… he was dangerous. I… do not hate you for what you did."

"I thought you would," the monk admitted.

Lin looked at Naru's body. "I was ready to call my shiki to fight Naru when I saw you had your gun. And Naru… he told me a few days ago that if I saw he was truly dangerous, that I had to end it. He vowed to me he wasn't aware of being a werewolf and he didn't want to believe it either, but in the off-change you were right and he was wrong, he gave me the approval."

They stayed in the cabin that night, Lin called Naru's parents to explain what had happened and promised to take care of things. Mr. Davis understood and even though the grief sounded clearly through his voice, he thanked Lin.

They brought Naru inside, Lin and Houshou washed his body, removed the bullet, closed the wound as well as they could and dressed him. After that they called the emergency services to report he had died. Lin lied about a congenital heart disease that Naru's father 'confirmed' when they later called him to check that. The police wanted approval for an autopsy, but neither Lin, who was Naru's caretaker when they were abroad, nor his father gave the permission, so his death went unexamined.

As Naru's body was prepared to be brought back to England, the usual group gathered to give their final farewell.

Houshou had his arm around Ayako's shoulders, who leaned into him. Masako cried as she touched the cold and pale skin. Mai had a sad look in her eyes but didn't cry, she had shed all her tears the night Naru had died. John stood next to her, but he would travel with Lin to bring Naru back to his parents.

"At least he's with his brother now," Lin sighed.

"Brother?" Mai repeated.

That's when Lin explained they had come to find Naru's twin-brother who had died, but no-one knew exactly what had happened of where it had happened.

"I will continue the search," Mai stated boldly. "For Naru."

"That is kind of you," Lin said.

"We'll help of course," Ayako said, and Masako only nodded her approval.

"Of course," Houshou agreed. "We can't let Mai wander around by herself. She needs supervision."

Mai pushed the monk. "I can take care of myself!"

"Right, right, if you say so."

Mai huffed, but Lin looked grateful and nodded to them.

After Naru's body had been loaded into a plane and John and Lin boarded it, the doors closed and the plane rose into the sky.

Mai, Masako, Houshou and Ayako watched it fly away. It was the end of working together through SPR, but they would work together on a new case in honour of Naru and find his deceased brother.