I do NOT own Ghost Hunt/ Flames unwanted, go bother other people who will care

Thank you for reading/reviewing Any questions will have to be held off for it would be giving away information. Unclear on what's happening, then pm me and I'll try to explain.

Till the Bell Tolls

Bubbles are Rising

"Mai, tea."

I jolted out of my nodding off state and looked around, swearing on my life that I had just heard Naru speak. Sighing heavily and running a hand down my face, I looked at the counter in front of me with disdain. Sitting upon the counter, right in front of me, was a large coffee mug with steaming hot coffee in its glass.

I hated coffee, yet it was the last thing I could do to try and keep myself up. I hated those dreams and if nothing for sleeping worked, then I was going to stay up.

I still felt the fear coursing through my body after my last dream, having found out that it was I that had died and not someone else's memory. I just hoped to god that nothing like that would happen.

Glancing at the clock, I finally wilted, shoulders collapsing inward and my chin falling to my chest. Why was I so miserable, depressed, and filled with fear from this dream that haunted my being and from Naru leaving?

Reaching out with my right hand, I grasped the coffee mug and took a quick sip, scrunching up my face when the bitter brown liquid hit my tongue. Sugar did rarely anything for me because I could still pick up that really bitter substance.

"This is ridiculous! Why can't I fall asleep one night without that dream?"

Once again I looked at the clock and sighed. I needed to get ready for school, seeing that the last three months had been doing me no good job wise. Ayako, who has been looking out for me, was paying my bills, which had taken her a great struggle to even get the information from my hands.

She kept insisting and when I had kept refusing, she took aggressive measures. I didn't want to be a burden, but she would not let me have a say in it.

I stood in the bathroom, undressed and staring at the shower with narrowed eyes. Through my dream, I had started to fear water. Flinching when I turned the faucet on, I then stepped into the hot spray of water. At least it was hot and not that icy cold water that formed to my skin in a suffocating way.

School was dragging along that day as my head kept bobbing in each class as I tried to stay awake. I was getting worried glances from friends and teachers as I tried my hardest just to pay attention. It was halfway through my English course, when my English teacher, who was very strict, stood up and called on me.

"Mai, how do you say "Learning without thinking is a dangerous thing" in English?"

Why did I take this class?

Students were looking at me with pity and I looked at the teacher, finding a smug look on her face. Something then, snapped inside of me and I felt my mind reach out, grasping at the words that I have been taught and all the homework assignments that I had to read and do by myself to catch up with this class.

"Learning without thinking is a dangerous thing!" I snapped slightly, before my eyes widened as I realized that I had just spoken fluently in English. Some students murmured and glanced at me, others wore smiles on their faces and nodded in approval. I watched as the teacher scowled and finally turned back to the board.

"Pay attention Mai." Was all she could say as she continued to teach the class. Once the school day was over, I walked out of the building, feeling dead tired and knowing that I wouldn't be able to keep myself up tonight and, as a result, that dream would haunt me once again.

I had barely made it out of the school doors when a horn honked, scaring me. Looking toward the car that had honked, I instantly brightened as I found Monk-san waiting in his car. I quickly made my way over to him and bent down slightly to see what he wanted as he rolled down his window.

"I received a case and wanted to know if you would like to go? Ayako begrudgingly agreed just to keep an eye on you." He said while rubbing the back of his head at the last statement. For once, I felt warmth and delight swell in my chest as I was asked to go on this case.

It had been a little over three months since we even did a case. It wouldn't be the same without Naru and Lin, but I was willing to do anything to get out of that apartment of mine.

"I would love to go!" I cried as I quickly rushed over to the passenger's side and slid in, closing the door behind me.

"Alright, we'll stop at your place to get a bag packed. Plus, I believe Ayako already called your school to tell them that you'll be on a case." Monk stated while glancing at me out of the corner of his eye before going back to looking at the road.

As we pulled into the parking lot to my apartment, I got out with Monk-san following me. Once we entered my house, I heard Monk breathe in sharply.

"Jou-chan! How can you live in such a cold apartment!" he cried out in horror as he pulled on mittens and tightened his jacket. I smiled at his childishness and shrugged my shoulders. Ayako was paying my bills, so I was going to keep the price down on them no matter what.

I soon pulled out a black duffle bag and quickly packed the things I needed before following Monk-san out, locking the door to the lonely apartment as soon as I stepped past its threshold. No one would miss me if I wasn't home. We quickly picked up Ayako, who threw her bags into the back seat with me, one actually colliding with my head before it fell into my lap.

"Ayako! Watch where you throw things!" I cried as I rubbed my now sore forehead.

"Sorry Mai." She simply stated before sighing as she sat in the front seat. "So, what exactly is this case about?"

"Oh, right. Well, this family just bought a house and they believe that it is being haunted by a child. They don't know the reason for it, but they hear a child crying every so often, things being misplaced on purpose, hidden from them. Doors opening and closing, knocks and often times, their child, age seven, will hear footsteps following them."

Ayako seemed to ponder over it for a bit and I leaned forward slightly, wincing when the seatbelt pressed into the front of my chest and stitches.

"Anyone get hurt yet?"

Monk-san glanced back at me in the rearview mirror and nodded.

"Their daughter was almost drown three times in their pond."

My heart stopped and Ayako stiffened, having known only that my dream centered around drowning. Could this be the reason I have been dreaming of drowning? Yet, for some reason, my gut was telling me no, this was not the reason and I'd find out when the time came.

"Although, the mother said that the house is constantly filled with bubbles, just floating around and popping whenever they feel like it."

"Ey, bubbles?" Ayako questioned with a funny look crossing her face. My eyes brightened at the fact that I was actually going to see mystery bubbles.

"That's so cool! Bou-san, how come we never ran into a spirit like this before?" I questioned, complaining at the same time. Monk-san looked in his rearview mirror with a frown, and I sighed. It was never good if a spirit stayed in the living world. Even if it seemed harmless, there was still a reason that it was here.

"Gomenasai." I said while looking down.

"Jou-chan, we are probably dealing with a spirit of a child, so please try not to think it's absolutely harmless."

I frowned at that, finding it mean, but as Naru always told me, people's spirits change the longer that they are in the living world. They warp and are twisted through years of influence.

When we arrived at the house, I smiled brightly at the warm sensation I got from looking at it. The house was family size, not too big and not too small. There was a garden of flowers out front and a pathway to the door that was on the porch. Once we piled out, Ayako stretched, complaining about Bou-san's car seats not being comfortable. As soon as we were all out of the car, a woman appeared from inside the house with a warm face, yet worry written in her eyes.

"You must be the Monk I spoke to on the phone. Also, who do you have here?" she questioned while gazing past Monk-san and toward us. "Oh, my, I forgot my manners. I'm sorry. I'm Hisami Matsu."

I smiled while bowing toward her. "Mai Taniyama and this is Ayako Matsuzaki. She's a Priestess and I'm… well, a Latent Psychic." I stated, trying to reassure the woman that we would give some form of help with her haunting.

"Alright, please follow me." She stated while going to her front door and hesitating slightly before opening it. Once I walked through the open doorway, I felt my breath catch in my throat as I stared around me at all the bubbles that floated around the room.

Many were bouncing off the walls without popping, some were just sitting on the floor, giving off a rainbow effect within themselves from how the light was reflected, and other merrily danced with one another.

"Oh, wow!" I stuttered out, having the woman look at me and smile at my reaction.

"This is the only thing that seems to be enjoyable through the haunting. We have found out that whenever the bubbles are floating about, our ghost is happy and content, but if we anger our spiritual resident, the bubbles pop and disappear until the child finishes with its tantrum."

"Alright, we will get set up and then ask you questions on the house, and possibly on who you think the child is." Ayako stated while she poked a bubble, causing it to stick to her finger and not pop.

"I want them!" I found myself saying, surprised that I had spoken that without even knowing I had even thought it.

"Come on Jou-chan, we need to get out bags and things." Monk-san stated while ruffling my hair. I turned to follow them, but froze as a presence became noticeable from the corner of the living room. It was neither happy, or angry, but I could tell that it was curious as to who we were. Maybe a cleansing was needed to be done instead of forcefully removing the kid.

We all sat around the living room table, each holding a cup of tea and taking small sips as we spoke with Hisami.

"When did the haunting begin?" Ayako questioned while looking at the older woman.

"Ah, the haunting began last year around spring time. It was warm outside, both Seri, my little girl, and I were outside when something grabbed her and pulled her into our pond. It was almost like the child was jealous that we were not paying attention to them." Hisami murmured and sighed while looking down at her tea.

"We will try our best to get the child to move on." Bou-san stated and I gave a warming smile to the small girl with pig tails and wide, bright green eyes.

As Ayako and Bou-san continued talking, both Seri and I's eyes were following a lone bubble that seemed to have separated from the larger group. When it finally came to a stop, pretty close to Seri and I, we both reeled back as two see-through eyes appeared inside the bubble.

The lights started flickering on and off as the eyes became brighter, staring both of us down. In a couple of seconds, the flickering was over and the bubble popped, causing a scratching noise to fill the air. My hands instantly slammed over my ears to stop the painful noise from entering because of my sensitive hearing.

Hisami then frantically stood up as her hand covered her mouth as horror spread through her eyes. Looking in the direction of which she was staring in, I gasped too, followed by Monk and Ayako.

Written on the wall in child like print, was our answer to the possibility of cleansing the spirit.

"No wanna go!"

Suddenly, loud banging could be heard from the kitchen and I was instantly rushing for the room, followed by Bou-san, who was calling my name.

Mai, don't run off like that!"

I shoved the kitchen door open and stood, frozen in place as I looked around the room. The table had been flipped right over, chairs were tipped, and what was most frightening was the fact that all of the kitchen knives were shoved into the wall, right up to the hilt.

"Bou-san…this case might just be a little harder to solve…" I stated with wide, brown eyes that reflected just how scared I was.