AN A few changes and improvements

Sorry for the delayed update! Something kept going wrong when I tried to upload the the chapter...Thank you for the reviews!!

Previously:

Looking grim, Bou-san reached up with both his hands, and touched the top of the marks on the wall. They were just short of reaching over the windowsill. Then slowly with everyone watching, he ran his hands down, perfectly tracing down the jagged path.

Naru spoke as I thought the same horrible thing in my mind. "Nail marks."

File 10: Part 2 – Fiery Confinement

Day 2

"It's definitely a spirit rooted to the house. We just need to know whose spirit it is, and why it's possessing the women." Bou-san retraced the marks with his fingers and I felt as if I was the ones panicking to get out. I shivered. The soot had flaked off, but the scratch marks had dug and remained deeply etched into the wall.

We had called Masako and John to come, repeatedly apologizing for calling so late in the night. But seeing as it was important and work related, they hadn't minded a bit.

Masako raised her kimono sleeve up to her mouth in thought. "The spirits here do not reflect any feelings of revenge, but of longing." She raised her head towards the ceilings, as if looking around. "However, I can't conclude that the spirits are showing it's true emotions to me."

"Are you sure that the marks weren't here before?" John questioned.

I nodded with a serious face. "I'm positive. They appeared during the 'fire'."

Naru turned from the wall, catching our attention and having us watch for any of his input. However he only put a hand to his pocket and slightly turned his head towards the door. "Let's call it a night for today. Lin and I will watch the screens for a bit longer. Mai, Hara-san and Matsuzaki-san, lock your doors and make sure the cameras are on before sleeping."

He walked out of the room. He seemed slightly unnerved if not worried. It was an emotion somewhat unsettling to see on his face.

"Naru…"

I was able to sleep without any of my usual 'information gathering' dreams. I feel useless now…I sighed as I made my way to the base. Why didn't Ayako wake me up earlier? It's already 9:00.

As I entered the room, I ran into a startled Masako. Covering up her surprise with a shake of a disaproving head, she promptly turned back around and sat down at what looked like her original seat.

"I was just about to go and wake you." She replied to my curious face.

"Well I had to take a shower…Good morning, Ayako, John, Bou-san."

They smiled in reply. They were seated at the table Masako had sat down at. Turning around I saw Naru standing by Lin-san, checking the monitors.

"Good morning Lin-san. Naru, see anything else yesterday?"

"Nothing. We rechecked the cameras, but the fire didn't show up again."

"Like it never happened." Ayako added.

I could see that he was tired, though he was trying to hide it. I could now better understand his bit of grouchy demeanor. "Ne, did you get any sleep last night?" I softly asked.

"Lin, has the information of the mansion's residents come up yet?

"Hai. I'm printing them out right now."

I grumbled and turned away. So much for trying to be caring. But I guess Naru isn't the one to admit weakness in front of people.

I soon heard the rustling of papers and when I looked, Naru had a pile of them in his hands. After a moment of reading, he sharply looked up. "Takigawa-san."

"Eh?" Bou-san erased his smile and eyed the papers in Naru's hands. Sighing he got up from his seat with Ayako and looked over Naru's shoulder. "The background information?"

He received a nod, and the monk took the papers in his hands and began to skim them. Naru looked up and crossed his arms confidently in front of his chest. He began reciting the information he'd already read and heard.

"As Sou-san had mentioned, the first residents 50 years ago had been the Kasai family. Kasai Haru had one daughter, Noriko. His wife had passed away earlier, though not in a fire. Kasai Noriko was in love with Houko Takai, the son of the Kasai family's closest friends. They were to be married after a year of close companionship. There are the remaining records of the agreement and such that Lin managed to find."

"And? Something tragic happened, right?" Bou-san separated a short pile from the packet and placed it on the table in with a flick of his writs. I moved a few coffee mugs aside for Bou-san and saw pictures of smoke and chaos on the sheets he'd placed down.

"Yes. A fire right before their wedding that ended up with the couple disappearing. We saw the room it occurred in when we got here. After that, the incidents of fires appearing from an unknown source and the deaths of the three women occurred."

John and Masako looked up simultaneously. "The women?" The priest asked.

Oh right, he had just gotten here yesterday.

Naru shifted his eyes towards the exorcist with a knowing look. "They were from different families with no connections what so ever to this house or to each other. All three died in a fire that mysteriously went out after."

Takigawa was reading the second page from the pile when he said with a satisfied nod, "So Noriko and Takai were the ones who'd been the first ones to pass away here? It says that they had been engaged."

My heart ached for them.

Masako leaned in from my right side and I turned to her as she spoke out. "There was another person who had disappeared with Noriko and Takai, was there not?"

If Naru had been surprised as to how she had known, he kept it well hidden. "Yes. Takai's older brother committed suicide a month after the fire."

"Suicide?" I yelled out. "A connection?"

Ayako raised a finger, giving her thoughts a try. "Maybe his brother loved Noriko as well, and killed her and Takai in the fire. Then killed himself."

Bou-san rubbed the back of his head with a hand and looked at the miko. "Bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"It's not like it's never happened. And besides, it's just an idea."

Naru smoothly cut in before their arguments could get louder. "The facts aren't sure. No one knows if anyone died in the fire at all, just that their bodies weren't found."

I heard the swivel of a chair. Looking behind Naru, I saw that Lin-san had decided to join our discussion. His voice was low and serious as usual. "It could be that the spirit is taking the possession of another to try and relive the situation in which they died."

I replayed his words in my mind, much slower than he had said them.

"What are you saying?" Bou-san asked. I saw that his eyes were narrowed, as if he didn't like what he was hearing. Then I was hit with a realization, but it was John who voiced it first.

"It can't be that the spirits want to curse anyone or kill. The deaths were too random."

Lin didn't nod, but I could tell that we were on the right track. "What if the spirit wanted to survive the fire?"

"Survive?" Naru echoed in thought. We were quiet for a moment, waiting for Lin-san to clear his hypothesis up.

But he only nodded to Naru. John's eyes lit up as if he'd remembered something and said, "If a person dies in a consequence with strong, intense emotions, something of that person is left behind."

"And this spirit is clearly reenacting the fire, and women are continuously getting possessed and killed. It's bound to happen again." Bou-san stated.

"But why?" Naru questioned intently. "Why continue doing this?"

I was puzzled too. So far all of the ghosts or spirits had been bent on revenge, anger and hate. Some sort of pent up uncomfortable emotion, and now it didn't seem to be normal.

Then I remember Kenji-kun and his father.

"Well I guess that could be…"

Ayako, however, didn't seem to be surprised at Lin's thoughts. "And? What would the spirit be accomplishing by 're-experiencing' their death? Its not like they can be exorcised by those methods, whatever they're doing. The spirit must know that too."

It was silent for a moment, and we realized that we didn't know. I eyed the pictures of the fire again and thought. After all, everything up till now had been speculation. I heard Bou-san sigh and I looked over, meeting his eyes. He gave me a tired smile. "Get sleepin' Mai."

"Bou-san I just woke up…"

Looking out the far window, I could see a pond in the midst of the flowers and I felt compelled to go out. What a beautiful day…Man, I should be out with Michiru and Keiko. I brought my eyes back into the base, and thought that fresh air would do everyone some good.

"Ne, Naru." He didn't reply, but I knew he was listening. "How about we go out to the gardens for some air? Thinking outside might help –"

"If you want to waste time outside, you can go."

"…" I scrunched up my face and removed my hands from my hips. "Fine. Bou-san, Ayako, John, Masako, want to join me?"

The first to get up, quite eagerly out of her seat, was Ayako. "Okay."

Bou-san smiled, though side-glanced at Naru a few times, and John followed suit. Masako seemed to hesitate seeing that Naru had no intention of coming, but walked out with us after emitting a deep sigh.

Lin as I had predicted, stayed at the base with Naru.

"It sure is beautiful."

"Yeah."

Bou-san took a deep breath and glanced far into the fields. Beside the stone bench where I was sitting was a small pond and old oak tree. It was hard to remind myself that we were on a case here.

"Look." Masako was looking towards the lake and I saw a number of geese floating serenely upon the still water. I wished that I had breadcrumbs with me.

Ayako walked up next to Masako. "Eh…they haven't left to migrate yet."

"I guess they're waiting for the right moment." John was sitting next to me, happily looking towards the flowers. "It's amazing isn't it? Birds have natural instincts that they're born with, that take them away, and bring them back."

I grinned. "It is." I sniffed lightly as a cool breeze passed by. I drew my coat tighter, but the prickling of the icy wind bite my bare skin.

"Anyway, Naru-chan wouldn't be happy if we came back without clues or thoughts about the case." Bou-san mentioned.

Sad, I thought, he's turning into a work-a-holic as well.

Then I pouted with realization. "He's never happy."

So we decided to split up. Bou-san and I went towards the graves – it had been Ayako that had refused to go– and she and John to the farther parts of the fields. Masako wanted to remain at the lake and oak tree to stay in one position and concentrate. As I was walking away, I couldn't help but think that she was slacking off. "Hmph like it even matters."

"What?"

With a sigh, I shook my head with slow swings. "Nuh-thing."

I saw Bou-san stop in his tracks. "Well, here we are."

A short line of graves was at the side of a low hill. It was a bare looking hill, and not one of the colorful flowers had made it out this far to reach the tombs. "Bou-san," I mentioned with some sadness. "There aren't any Chrysanthemums here."

"I wonder why."

We walked up to the base of the graves, offering some respectful prayers. It was silent and peaceful, and couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary from the graves.

"Ne, Bou-san?"

"Hm?"

"Who do you think they are?" Seeing that there were three headstones, I guessed that it was possible for it to be Noriko, Takai and Jiro-san.

"I wonder…but they aren't graves."

I turned to him with surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they're like small monuments for whoever passed away. Probably their parents or relatives built it as a reminder for them and future generations."

"Is that so?" Now that he had mentioned it, I could see that the stones were too close together to have been proper graves. "Well I don't think we'll find anything else here."

Bou-san smiled at me and nodded. "Hmm…let's go back then."

I happily obliged.

Later we turned back to the base to see that Ayako, John, and Masako had seen nothing out of the ordinary. But Masako claimed to have felt a sort of 'pulling down' when she had been at the lake, as if trying to get her attention on something. We informed Naru, who said he would keep that in mind.

Then after dinner, we retired for bed.

"Ne, Masako, I'll be using the shower after Ayako comes out, 'kay?"

She said nothing, just remained passive and sitting at the edge of her bed. I sat up from the bed and tried catching her eye. "Masako?"

"Please be quiet. I'm trying to think."

My lips turned up with annoyance. "Sorry for being loud."

I didn't receive any cocky reply and I looked more closely at her. "You're really thinking?"

I saw her twitch.

"Mai, it wouldn't hurt for you to try it out sometime."

There's what I'd been waiting for. "What –"

"Will you two stop?" Ayako cut in. Her hair was dry and she had no makeup on her face. Her voice was laced with a bit of a pleading wine."Go to sleep." She reached her bed, now in her yellow pajamas and pulled back the covers.

A mischievous grin curled up on my face. "It's not any different with you and Bou-san- "

"Ehh? W-what are you talking about?"

I giggled at her reaction.

Masako got up from her spot on the bed without warning and began walking away with a small bag in hand. Worried, I stopped joking around and stood up. "Don't wander away, remember what happened last time?"

Masako stopped in her tracks and looked back at me, her eyes looked cold and I felt my own widen. "Eh?" Maybe I just walked into a landmine.

"I'll be washing up first." She smiled a sweet smile that made me feel uneasy. Before I could protest, Masako had already walked into the bathroom and briskly shut the door.

"Man…"

Never mind, I'll just take a shower in the morning.

Turning on the nigh-vision camera, I flicked off the lights and fell deep asleep.

It was warm. Springtime warm with a constant, beautiful brightness. But I suddenly remembered that it was winter. The middle of November. My eyes shot open.

"Eh? Where am I?"

Observing my surroundings, I didn't recognize the room I was in. Fading sunlight seeped in through a nearby window, and in the beam of light I saw a young woman sitting. She rocked back and forth, all the while watching the door as if awaiting someone. There was no doubt a sort of loneness in the room. It disappeared a few minutes later when a man entered.

Who is he? Sou-san?

Squinting my eyes, I saw that he was much younger. Suddenly, as if it were my dreaming instincts, I knew I was in the room where the fire accident had happened. The couple embracing each other was Noriko and Takai.

Their movements were blurred and choppy, as if I was watching through a camera with limited screens. Like a memory old with time.

"Watch closely." A low voice whispered. It came out from behind, very close.

"Naru." I was startled by his sudden appearance, but quickly recovered. "What should I watch for?"

But he only shook his head and slowly raised a finger at a dark swirling mist. It evolved into the shape of a man, and took a human form. I sensed immediate danger from him and braced myself for whatever might happen. It looked like he'd come in accidentally, but upon seeing the couple, his breathing quickened. No, he'd been looking for them.

He'd entered, unbeknownst to Takai and Noriko, whose backs were turned against him. In both the man's hands were glints of light: in his left he held a lit lantern, and the right a sharpened dagger catching the reflections of the flames.

"No…" I whispered. "It's dangerous!"

Naru held be back with a silent shake. I began to tremble. Their movements were still blurry and the scenes were becoming difficult to interpret with their increased speed in movement, but this is what I think I saw:

Takai had finally sensed the man behind them, and with a sudden tension through his body had pushed Noriko behind him. She took a step back, her eyes wide with anger and fear. The man had set down the lantern and tightly clutched the knife in both hands, although not pointing it at anyone.

That was when I saw that he was talking. I couldn't hear, or make out the words on his lips, for he appeared to be mumbling. Noriko's suddenly shouted something and pointed towards the door. She looked towards the place where I was standing, next to the fireplace. Takai walked forward, but stopped dead in his tracks when the man slashed the knife in front of him. He pointed to the fireplace and smiled evilly. Noriko shook her head and screamed.

Was he threatening her? Telling her a horrible truth?

Then the struggle began.

Her loud yell had temporarily startled the man, a moment that Takai had decided to take advantage of. He jumped forward, managed to grab the man's wrist, and smack the knife away. Noriko tried to get around, constantly seeming to call for help, but the man had knocked the lantern over and encouraged the growing flames by kicking over a chair. She quickly backed away to the windows.

Takai was pushed down. I was surprised and frightened at the other man's strength and ferocity. He seemed to be driven mad. He followed Noriko, but ducked just in time as Takai smashed down the flaming chair. It landed with a loud thud where Takai's head had been moment's before.

"Oh my god…" I whispered.

Then, suddenly, I saw flames surrounding me. My fingers curled over the carpeted floor and I couldn't move my legs. The man had run out after giving his brother one last look. The door caved in as Jiro rushed out.

"Takai-kun." I whispered. Crawling with the support of the wall next to me, I saw Naru's face instead. "N-Naru!"

"Mai." I was alarmed at the weakness of his voice.

He was bleeding. Badly. All down his shirt was red blood flowing, and at the center of his chest was a stab wound. A glint caught my eye and looking down, I saw the bloodied dagger he had pulled out.

"Mai, listen to me." His breath was labored, and he smiled lightly at my concern. I felt my own chest tighten. "It's all right, the wound's not deep…Mai…climb out the window and get out. It's not as high up here, although you may sprain an ankle. You …have to get out."

"No!" tears were falling out. How could he even suggest me leaving him behind? "Come on Naru, please."

Somehow, I was able to half-drag and crawl Naru to the base of the window with me. "Naru…" I was roughly pushed and, startled, landed against a wall. I coughed. Thick smoke was sinking into my mouth and nose, which caused me to tear up wildly. Hot…the heat was getting intense.

"Mai! There's not much time. We have to get out."

I could barely hear him, but I felt strong hands push me up. No use, my strength was gone. The flames were starting to reach me, delighted at a new source of fuel. Smoke clouded my visions and I thankfully fell unconscious before the flames could consume me. I tried to yell, but either my voice was lost within the roaring flames or it never came out.

Help us...

"Mai!"