Story:

Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt does not belong to me . . . yet. *eyes glint mischievously as HandsomeAngel grins deviously*

Chapter 1

My name is Taniyama Mai. I am a 16 year old high school student, who works at SPR or Shibuya Physic Research Center. On a Sunday morning, a 47 year old widow Narashima Mazumi came to see us about her home which she had moved into 1 year earlier . . .

"I'm convinced my house is haunted," Narashima-san said, struggling to keep her composure though you could see her trembling. She had dark brown hair that was greying at its roots. She had a kind face with a few small wrinkles only around her gentle naturally warm eyes, which still showed a bit of shyness despite her focus being on the problems plaguing her house. Mai patted her arm sympathetically to which Narashima-san shot her a grateful smile before turning back to Naru.

"What leads you to believe that the house is haunted by spirits?" Naru asked the woman.

"As I mentioned to you before over the phone, I live at my house with my 16 year old daughter, Nanami and our maids. My husband died 4 years ago because of an illness and the house has been in his family for almost 50 years though no one has lived in it for 15 years or so. I thought it would be a nice way for my daughter to feel more close to her father," she sighed, "They had been so close before he passed away. Anyways every time a woman who children seem to love arrives, she goes missing or ends up dead. Every time a woman is targeted by the spirits, she receives a message, 'Come join us next,' written in blood on the wall of the room she is staying in. Afterwards she will encounter many incidents until she dies or vanishes. Even when the woman left the household after receiving the message, she has ended up in some kind of accident, leading to her death."

"That's horrible," Mai cried, shuddering visibly.

Narashima-san nodded in agreement and continued, "That's not all. Often Nanami, the maids and I can hear voices, rapping and objects seem to move on their own."

"How many women have been victims of these incidents so far?" Naru enquired.

"So far, 4 women have died while 2 others have gone missing."

"Naru looks interested. I guess that means he'll take the case," Mai looked at Naru thoughtfully.

As if on cue, "Mai, call the others and inform them of this case. Tell them to pack enough for a week or so and meet at the Narashima residence at 9:30 am tomorrow," seeing Mai nod, he looked back at Narashima-san and continued, "We will be glad to take your case. We will need one room to use as a base as well as three rooms to stay in." Narashima-san nodded. Naru stood up and with one final nod, he returned to his office.

Mai stood up with Narashima-san to lead her out. "Do you think you will be able to solve these problems? I don't want anyone else to be hurt do to this," Narashima-san trailed off.

Mai looked her and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry! I haven't seen Naru be unable to solve a case yet!"

Narashima-san chuckled. "Thank you, Taniyama-san."

"Please, call me Mai. Everyone else does."

"Alright, but in exchange you must call me Mazumi."

"Alright, Mazumi it is."

Mazumi laughed. "You really are an incredible girl. I hope you will be able to get along with my daughter. Nanami is very kind, but like me she is very shy. However she will never fail to protect those who are important to her. Even when her father died, even through her tears, she comforted me. If it wasn't for her strength, I would have probably left to join him a long time ago."

"Mazumi must really love her family," Mai thought with a soft smile. "She sounds like a wonderful person. I can't wait to meet her."

Mazumi nodded, smiling. "I guess I should get back and prepare your rooms. Thank you again. And also please tell your friends to be careful. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt on my part. Of course, you must also follow that advice."

"Yes ma'am!" Mai playfully saluted with a bright smile.

Mazumi fondly ruffled the girl's hair, "I'll see tomorrow then."

"Good-bye." "She is a really kind person," Mai touched her hair, remembering her own mother and smiling nostalgically. Then she looked up with a determined look on her face and exclaimed, "Alright! We definitely have to solve this case! For Mazumi's sake!"

Lin-san, who had been watching the entire exchange, looked on as Mai walked forward unwaveringly, only to trip on a fold in the carpet. He sweat dropped.

"Eh. Where am I?" Mai looked around. "It's a house, or rather a mansion! This place is huge! . . . Wait. Whose voices are those?" She walked towards the noise. "It sounds like children," she thought as she came across a room, "It's coming from here . . ." She slowly pushed the door open and walked in. It was children playing in a large room, laughing and running around while trying to catch each other. None of them seemed to notice Mai. She laughed along with the children. They seemed to be having so much fun.

But all of sudden Mai was outside the house, which had somehow caught on fire. The entire house was burning. "Oh no! The children are still inside," Mai cried out as she heard the same voices from before, only now plagued with fear and pain instead of the joy and laughter from before. She could hear them all calling out to their mothers, begging to their mothers to save them. Mai tried to run into the house to save them, but the fire held her at bay, like an angry barrier.

"NOOOOO!" Mai turned around to see a woman with brown hair that was greying around the sides calling out to the children while trying to get in the house in a desperate attempt to save them, only to be forced back like Mai. Mai watches as the woman falls to knees crying uncontrollably and still calling out to the children. Burning tears fell from Mai's eyes as well as she watched the house burn, hearing the pleas from the children, but unable to save them. She fell to her knees as she saw the house collapse.

"Why?" she asked as darkness claimed her, "They were so happy."

Mai woke up to feeling tears running down the sides of her face. She got up and wiped them away, only to feel more follow their pat from her eyes. Mai pulled her knees close to her and buried her face in them to cry silently, unable to do anything but let her tears fall. When she gained control of herself once more, she laid down and thought, "What a terrible nightmare. Those poor children, they must have been so scared." She shivered and rubbed her arms to rid herself of the goosebumps; "It felt so real . . ." Mai shook her head to rid herself of her thoughts and looked at the alarm. It was only 5:30 am. "Well since Naru said I should go to the office at 8:15, I guess it would be best if I tried to get a few more winks of sleep before getting up," she thought as she made herself comfortable, "I hope I don't see that dream again . . ." Then she fell into dreamless sleep, not once seeing a glimpse of the burning house.

When Mai woke up, it was 7:40, which surprisingly enough would enable her to arrive at the office on time. She tiredly wobbled over to the washroom. Mai slashed her face with water and looked at herself after drying off with a towel. "I don't look that bad. At least no one will be able to tell about last night," she thought, shuddering as she remember her dream, or rather nightmare, "Honestly. Why do I always get the creepy dreams? I've lost count of the nights I've lost sleep because of these horrible dreams." She pouted as she thought about that, only to have her eyes soften sorrowfully, "But . . . those children really didn't deserve that . . ." Then she abruptly shook her head. "What am I talking about? It was a dream," she yelled, slapping her cheeks before moaning in pain, "Okay! It's time to put all of that aside. I have to get to work so Naru can't yell at me for being late again. ALRIGHT!" And with that she ran off to get ready before heading off to work.

Mai walked into the SPR, making Naru and Lin-san turn and stare her, looking shocked (or as shocked as people who were as cold and indifferent as those two could be). "What? Is there something on my face?" she asked as her hand traveled across her face to try a get a clue that could explain what was bad enough to Lin-san and Naru look like this.

"You're on time," Naru explained, regaining his composure (or whatever part of it he had lost in the first place).

Mai was outraged, "I can be on time too, you know!"

"Questionable."

"Why you . . ." Mai clenched her teeth and took a couple of deep breaths to calm down.

"Why don't stop standing there uselessly and help pack all the equipment?" Mai briefly contemplated strangling Naru, though she doubted she would be able to do any damage before Lin-san or Naru stopped her. So she settled for glaring at him while heading over to help Lin-san carrying the equipment to the van.

Mai stared out the window as she watched the scenic surroundings while Lin-san drove the van to their client's home and Naru looked over the notes.

"Wow," she breathed out, "This place is so beautiful. Look, Naru. Isn't it just breathtaking?"

Naru however didn't seem to share her thoughts as he ignored her invitation and continued to read his notes.

"Jerk," she muttered under her breath, sending a glare at him through his seat before turning back to watch the scenery, only this time in silence.

Before long though, they had reached their destination.

"Wow," Mai exclaimed, "This place is as beautiful as the scenery." It was a classic Japanese style house. On either side of the path, there was a little pond with a stone garden behind which extended to become one with the path. "Maybe the designer really liked symmetry," she thought with a little smirk playing at her lips.

Naru turned to her and said, "If you're done gawking at the house, you can start putting away the equipment."

"Fine!" she said angrily, once again muttering, "Jerk."

"Remember this jerk signs your pay check," he replied with a smirk, showing that he had heard her insult.

Mai just growled, knowing it would be best not to say anything.

Naru turned his back and left, satisfied that he had won their little argument, calling out, "Make sure you follow Lin. I don't want waste my time looking for you."

Mai turned and picked up a box of microphones, grumbling as she went inside the house. Though most of what she said was not audible, "tea-addicted jerk" and "arrogant narcissist" could be heard.

"And that's the last of them," Mai called out as she stretched. She checked her watch. It was 9:25. "I guess that means Bou-san and the others will be arriving soon. Right, Naru?"

He checked the clock and nodded to Mai, before turning back to his notes.

"Insults and a nod," she sighed, "I guess those are the only responses I'll get from."

"Mai, tea."

"And that," she added, rolling her eyes.

She walked around the house, hoping to stumble across the kitchen. Even doing so literally would be alright. She was turning around the corner when she almost bumped into a girl around her age.

"Oh sorry," Mai exclaimed, "I didn't see you." "Oh. She must be Mazumi's daughter." The girl's hair was a very light brown colour, which complimented her pale skin. She wore her hair short, only a little bit longer than a boy's, though it still gave her a distinctly feminine look. However the most noticeable part of her was her eyes. They were exactly like her mother's, including all the warmth, though they showed she was a lot shyer than her mother.

The young girl shook her head, "No, no. I should have watched where I was going. I was just lost in my thoughts. I'm sorry."

"I guess we're equally at fault, huh. Since I was too busy thinking to watch where I was going too."

The girl allowed a small shy smile. "I suppose we are."

"Well, my name is Taniyama Mai. I came here with SPR."

"Oh! My name is Narashima Nanami. Thank you for coming here to help us," she said, as she bowed deeply in gratitude.

"No, no! It's our pleasure," Mai waved her hands, obviously embarrassed by someone bowing to her.

"Well," Nanami said as she stood up straight again, "If there is anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to call me."

"Actually, if you don't mind," Mai said as she scratched her head sheepishly, "Could you show me where the kitchen is? Naru is a bit of a tea-addict."

Nanami laughed. Mai couldn't help but think it was a pleasant sound. It reminded her of chimes. Nanami was smiling openly now. "I would love to show you to the kitchen. But I have to ask, who is Naru?" she asked as she turned to show Mai the way to the kitchen.

"Oh yeah! Naru is my boss."

"Eh! I thought your boss was Shibuya Kazuya-san."

"That's Naru's real name. I nicknamed him Naru because he is such a narcissist: Naru-chan the Narcissist!"

Nanami's laughter could be heard all the way at the kitchen. The maids who saw Mai and Nanami together couldn't help but feel happy for the young girl. She was so shy so she didn't talk to many people, especially girls her age. It was good to see her getting along so well with the new girl from SPR. The two seemed to be talking like they had known each other their entire live, the way they were laughing and joking with each other.

"Ah! The tea's done. I better get it to Naru."

"Would you mind if I came along?"

"Please! It gets really boring without someone to talk to."

As they were talking, Mai felt something tug on her shoe. She looked down to see her shoelace had come undone,

"How about I hold the tea while you tie your shoelaces?"

"Thanks," Mai thanked as she handed Nanami the tea before bending down to tie her shoelaces. "Alright, all done. I'll take the tea back now." She reached for the tray, only to look surprised as Nanami danced out of her reach, grinning. "Huh?"

"I like holding the tea. So I'm not giving it back to you," Nanami grinned as she stuck her tongue out at her friend.

Mai just stood, too shocked to say anything. Then she smacked her forehead bursting out into laughter. "You are definitely the weirdest girl I have ever met."

"I could say the same about you!" Nanami couldn't stop grinning. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so much. There was something about Mai, a certain warmth that reassured everyone around her and drew them in.

"Alright, but if I get yelled at by Naru, it's your fault."

"Don't worry. I'll take full responsibility."