"We've established that Kaseko, the doll, is the vessel," Naru explained to the family with his arms crossed. "However, we've delt with a case similar to this. Kaseko, just like the Minnie case, is most likely the vessel for the demon. It is acting as the cave for a bear's hibernation. What we must figure out now is who the demon is and what it wants. I've never encountered a demon that harvests human organs, but we will find one, I'm sure. It isn't unheard of. Mai," he called the girl was using a crutch to stand by Lin's side, "call Yasuhara. Give him the details of what's going on. See what he can come up with. But he is not to come. The less people here, the better."

"Hai," she wobbled to the telephone in the corner of the room.

"Kentaro-san," John spoke, "didn't you realize something was off with your dummy?"

He shook his black hair. "Kaseko is a normal ventriliquist dummy. He's never...acted like that before; he's never acted before at all. I just heard my sister screaming and when I opened the door, Mai-san was running after her and...Kaseko was running after Mai-san. I'd never anything like it. In movies, sure. In real life? It sounds like I'm going crazy."

Mai flinched. 'Crazy?' Jeez, she really was dreaming about his family, she recalled what Gene had told her. Wait... She walked over to the research pile that Lin had already discarded himself of. "Lin-san, can you tell me what day Aya-san died?"

He looked up to the ceiling, humming. "I believe it was the fourteenth. Akemi and Akeno died the twenty-fourth. Nao-san only called us on the thirty-fourth. Why do you ask?"

She swallowed. "I dreamed about Aya-san before the fourteenth..."

His eyes narrowed. "You dreamed that it would happen before it happened?"

"Well...no, not exactly."

Naru spoke from behind her, "Explain."

She jumped at the sound of his voice. "Don't do that!" Mai caught herself with a cruch. She saw that the family of clients were gone, and felt it was fine to talk about her dreams now. She didn't know why, but she felt the less that Sachiko knew about her dreams, the safer the child was from her and the demon. "Well, I had a dream before Aya-tan was murdered, but it wasn't about her per-say. In fact, she wasn't in the dream at all. But it was like Gene was telling me that something awful would happen. No matter what, he said, we'll think we're 'mad.' Does that mean crazy in English or something?"

"What else did he say?"

Her eyes closed, as if it would help her remember easier to have them shut. "But it was what the dummy Kaseko said that I remember hearing in a different dream. I saw him telling Sachiko-chan that he would eat her soul if she dried to tell anyone. But that's all. He didn't say why. In the dream I saw Aya-tan die, he told Sachiko he'd eat her sould if she told anyone what she saw that night, in the exact same voice. It's like I saw it before it happened and then I saw it after."

Smirking, Naru said, "Seems your powers are developing." She flushed at that look. Before he ruined it, that is. "Now maybe you can be of use to us."

She said, "Don't call me lazy! I make you tea and I do earrands for you! I even rearranged your stupid bookcase last month! I may as well be a maid, not an assistant!"

"You probably should."

That way you'd get hurt less often, he added silently.

Would be so much easier to have her cleaning his house or office that having to rescue her every case. For it seemed that's the only way to ever solve a case - by sacrificing Mai's well being. And he hated doing that more than anything else. It's why he never left her side when the time came crucial. Of course she didn't see it that way. Instead, she assumed it was because he didn't trust her not to fall into a hole or almost drown. It wasn't her fault she was clairvoyant Neither could he blame her for the ghosts always finding her during a case that she was the only capable person of becoming its target.

Not this case though, he sighed. He sat up straighter.

"Not this case..." he mumbled.

He shuffled through the papers while Takigawa settled in the room, his monk attire still on from his exorcism. John Brown performed his exorcism throughout the house then. Naru, however, did nothing but look through Lin's notes. Finally, he found the paper he was looking for - a list of all the organs the demon had already harvested, or the organs that had been stolen throughout the murder cases so far.

A kidney, a heart, lungs and a liver, he read the list over and over again.

He turned to look at the man typing away on the laptop. "Lin, how did you know the demon's harvested a pair of lungs and liver?"

"I don't," he stated. "But there were two murders a few months ago that were near this neighborhood. How many murders do you hear of that organs have been stolen and not connect them to earlier murders like that? I'm sure the police think this is a sereal killer on the loose, a very psychotic one."

Mai came in from the kitchen with Masako behind her carrying a tray of tea. She saw Naru looking at the cups. "Don't worry, Mai made it. She would spill it on herself trying to carry it with one hand."

"She would spill it with two hands," Naru retorted while Mai sat the cup in front of him.

Masako covered her smirking mouth with her sleeve.

Mai ignored his insults, "I called Yasu. He's e-mailing the stuff he found to Lin-san now."

The printer kicked into gear. Lin stacked the papers together and began reading while Yasu's face appeared on the computer screen through Skype. He waved to everyone, asking how things were going on the case, other than what he'd been told about the demon doll.

His glasses gleamed in the computer screen. "I also wanted to do some research on the house and the family living there, while I was at it. Seems that Hayashi Soji is a top executive in Hong Kong. He's up to becoming the big man in charge at his business, but he's turned down the offers of promotion. In an interview, he's said that he's planning to move his family to a nice home in Osaka. He wants a more reserved life and is planning to retire to a shop keeper that his wife and he plan to build in that neighborhood later."

"So, they're really planning to move," Takigawa asked. "I'd just thought that Nao-san's husband was a complete fake, part of her imagination. She always talks about him when I'm interviewing her, but I haven't heard him call since we've been here. I haven't seen him either."

"I saw a picture," John told him, "in the living room. It's on the bookcase."

Ayako nodded. "In my interview with the monk, she said that she and Hayashi-san met at high school. He didn't think he would be attracted to her after finding out she was of American and Japanese race. His otou-san fought in the war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor over there in America. But he found that he loved her anyways and they got married."

"That's not exactly relevant here," Takigawa sweat-dropped. He hissed as he earned a slap in the face. "Ouch! I didn't mean it in an insulting way! It just isn't relevant! Who cares if she's American and Japanese?! Not the demon!" He earned another slap. He held a hand to his cheek while on his knees.

Mai said, "Come on guys. We have to be serious. Stop fighting and let's work together to find out what's messing with Sachiko-chan and her family. If we don't, she may not speak ever again."

Yasuhara laughed in the computer screen. "Man, you guys never change. Oh, Naru, about the house? It was built in the late 1980's, so it isn't too old. In fact, from what Mai told me, everything's been remodeled and furnished, right? The only thing that hasn't been messed with is Kentaro's room?"

"He didn't want anything changed; he liked the old style in there," Mai nodded.

"That's how Yang Duyi liked it," Yasu's glasses glared. "He had moved from a place in China called Shenzhen. Do you know it, Lin-san?"

Lin nodded. "It's located in South Central China. The urban population is about 3,300,000, maybe, 3,308,000 now, I suppose. The People's Republic of China jurisdiction."

"Well, you know your stuff," Yasu grinned. "Anyway, he moved from there with his dad, Jiann. Jian was into, get this, ventriloquism."

"Same as Kentaro-san," Mai muttered.

"Exactly. Jian was completely into the whole idea. So much that he..."

Lin ran his eyes over the paper, reading aloud for the young man, "'Killed his son by embombing his body. Yang Duyi was found by a neighbor several months after the young man had gone missing. He was later uncovered in the attic. His body had resembled a ventriloquist dummy, so much that a person could easily substitute a dummy for Duyi. Later, the police recovered his bodily organs from the basement of the home. They had been preserved in jars on a case in the corner of the room. Yang Jian was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for several charges of child abuse and neglect, as well as murder - mutilation. His sentence was carried out in 1999.'"

Everyone was pale by the time he finished, even Yasu, who had been forced to read and type the information out. The case was becoming more interesting - but sure more disturbing - than they had ever expected. Lin was the first to look at Naru, seeing he had too even paled at the information. Yet, he showed no emotion. They looked back at the computer screen.

Yasu said, "The demon could either be Jian or Duyi, but I'll leave that up to Naru to decided, heh."

"Most likely Duyi," Naru deadpanned.

"But he's stealing organs, just like Jian took Duyi's," Takigawa said. "How can you be so sure it's Duyi?"

"Ayako-san, what's the most valuable organs a person would think a human needs in a case like this?"

"Heart, liver, lungs, and I suppose a brain. Skin too, if you want to get all technical," she answered. "Wait, doesn't the dummy have a liver, lungs, and a heart?"

Mai added nautiously, "And skin..."

"Then all that's left is a brain," John said.

Masako looked to Naru automatically. "I suppose that's why Naru was attacked. It would want the smartest person around, wouldn't it?"

They gasped. Ayako glanced at his bruised/cut temple. John said, "If I needed an smart brain, I would definitely go for Naru-san. Or Lin-san."

Lin glanced at the priest, causing him to sweat. "Naru's IQ is higher than mine, believe it or not. It attacked Naru last night because it wanted to try and test him. If it really wanted to take his brain right then and there, it wouldn't have gone through the dummy to get to him. It would have attacked him, the same as it attacked Mai."

"Wait, so it really was trying to kill me for no reason," she cried. "Why is it always me?!"

Naru told her, "Quit making yourself an easy target."

"Easy?! Why I outta sm - No," she calmed herself. "You only want to make me angry, and it isn't going to work anymore. From now on, you say what you like, but I won't listen. Even when you want tea, I'll ignore you until you use manners. Then we'll see how you like being ignored every time you know you're right or every time you are ticked off. Humph," she plopped down on the couch with a dark innocent smile. "Go ahead, ask for tea ~"

"Mai, this isn't time for games. Get tea," he demanded.

She turned away. "I didn't hear a please."

"Mai," he warned. The others took a step back while Yasu leaned towards his computer screen. "Either you get tea or I'll cut back your pay."

She shrugged, "I don't get much pay anyways. I may as well get none."

Takigawa spat into laughter, making her smirk smugly. Naru found nothing funny, however. He bluffed, "Fine, you're fired."

"You won't fire me," she scoffed. "You like to piss me off and for me to take it and make your tea. I would be happy to resign." Ayako winced at what could be coming next. John tugged on Masako's kimono to pull her out of the danger zone. "Guess you should start to realize that without a cup of your stupid tea, you wouldn't be able to get through a day of investigation. Oh," she faked an epiphany, "I guess that's the same as needing me to get through a day. Guess you forgot how to manage with only Lin-san around, huh?"

Naru narrowed his eyes, "If I needed you, I wouldn't have gotten through the time I had before you came along and broke my camera and my assistant's leg."

"Hey! That was a complete accident, okay?! It isn't my fault Lin-san is nice enough to save my neck from a falling bookcase."

Speaking of, Lin put on a pair of earphones to listen to the clicking of his keyboard keys rather than the two arguing. Usually, he was able to listen to a bit of classical music or even ancient Chinese tunes, but now he was in need of information. The others looked between the two as they went back and forth yelling. Mai stood up from the couch, "Get it yourself, if you want the tea so bad!"

"If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have told you to do it! It's your job to assist me when I'm unable to do something at the moment, stupid."

"That's it, Oliver!" He glared at the use of his real name. "Either you learn to appreciate me or I'll seriously quit one of these days!" She grabbed Takigawa by the back of his shirt, dragging him. "Bou-san and I are going to check the temperatures of rooms again! Goodbye for now," she picked up the clipboard and thermometer on their way out. "Stupid, idiot, scientist," she yelled loud enough for him to hear.

Working their way up from the bottom up to the second floor of the home, the pair discussed Naru's lack of emotions. Takigawa slipped into the room and set the themometer on the desk. Mai hesitated at the door but eventually stepped inside. She saw the trunk at the foot of the bed.

Must be holding something old, she noted the tearing corners and the old texture of the outside.

Curiously, she bent over and opened the trunk.

"A dummy case," Takigawa bent over her squatting form. "Think we should swing back by and get it for Naru to take a look?"

"Nah, it's not really important, is it?"

"I don't know...That's pretty old looking, like, really old. You know what? We'll take it back right now then start rerecording temps. Come on, it's gonna mean something if you were intrigued by it, right?" He carried the trunk into the unsuspecting base.

"Hey, Naru, check this out. Mai was looking at this thing and it's super old. We thought you should look at it."

"And why would I want to look at a trunk as old as that one is..."

He examined it, noticing a small tearing and lettering inside. He finished ripping the inside cloth out, only to find that inside there was a claim to the box. Kentaro walked into the room demanding to know why they had his dummy trunk.

Naru said in a monotone, "Where did you get Yang Jian's trunk?"

Kentaro blinked. "I found it in the attic when we moved in."

"Did you find the dummy in there as well?"

"Yeah. I took up ventriloquism. I even gave the idea of starting it in drama club. Sensei loved the idea and taught it last year. Is it a bad thing?"

"We believe the demon hosting Kaseko is either Jian or his son Duyi. The fact that you may even have Jian's dummy can be important to this case. I'd like to see this attic."

Kentaro led them all to the attic, but Lin was forced to remain behind with Ayako. The teen pulled down the lever and unfolded the ladder leading to the largely spaced room. He helped each person up before showing them exactly where he found the dummy Kaseko. He didn't see the big deal about the attic. So he found the dummy there. So what? Masako announced that she felt sadness and despair there. However, there was no spirit around.

Naru hummed, "This is where Jian claimed to have killed Duyi. If it was Jian inhabitating the dummy, we would feel Duyi's presence here..."

"Yeah, if he was a ghost," Takigawa reasoned.

"True. Which could either mean that Duyi's passed on or that he's the demon."

Mai felt dizzy though. There was something taking her strength. It felt like her legs were ready to give way any minute now. Her hands were shaking, but there wasn't any way she could tell someone. Her jaw was going slack. Her vision was changing, a different scene unfolding beneath her nose.

"No, Otou-san! Please! I-I'm not ready t-to die! Please," the boy cried out in what sounded like...Chinese?

How can I understand a whole another language, she wondered silently. Without knowing, she was growing closer and closer until a hand stopped her. She looked behind herself, traveled up the chest and saw Naru's face.

Unfortunately, it was only Gene. He conceled her eyes when she gasped, having seen Jian clasp his hands around his own son's throat. She heard Duyi choaking and covered her ears. Tears traveled down her cheeks rapidly. She hated seeing these things. Only seventeen, she was already seeing death more than itself

Gene held her close shushing her. It wasn't as if he enjoyed showing her such violent things. He did it to help her, to keep her safe; to help Noll. When he knew someone was coming, he readied her. "Mai, listen to me. You have to wake up soon, but I have to tell you that no matter what, do not let Naru go back to the attic."

"Wh-What? Why? Is he in danger?!"

"Yes! The demon wants him! If you let him go in that attic, he'll be with me the next time you see me!"

"WHAT?!"

Turning back to her, "Wake up!"

Naru leaned over her, watching as her face made odd expressions. It was his name being muttered that had caught his attention after everyone left the room. What with Lin burning the dummy with the exorcists' assistance, he was able to watch closely and freely over Mai. No one would be able to advise him to back away and give her space. Even if they had, he probably would have only glared at them.

His fingers brushed back the petite girl's bangs for a better look at her pretty face.

It was unfair that she was in love with Gene instead of, well, him. He could have gave her the side of him he failed to show anyone else. Even dead, Gene was still hanging around. And he wasn't referring to the visits the guy made once in a while to tell him what an idiot scientist he is. The night that she claimed to love him was so fresh in his mind, he could still feel the wet tears on his fingers.

It felt exhilarating to hear 'I love you' come from Mai's lips. His heart was racing just thinking about it.

If only those words were really meant for him...

After all, it always is Gene guiding her in her dreams. He was able to comfort her because of his loving nature. Naru couldn't even give an apology when he made her cry. Sure, he's saved her life many times.

But it's usually the hugs and the sweet compliments that came from his twin's mouth and into her ears. It didn't matter whether or not he loves her. He refused to dupe himself into being with her and receive love just because he looked like Eugeune Davis.

She may love him, he could give her that much. But she loves him for all the wrong reasons.

He made to leave but was grabbed.

Mai flew up from the couch, grabbing his shirt. Panting, she told him, "No!" He blinked in response. "You're not going to the attic."

Calmly, Naru said, "Fine."

Perplexed, she examined his face. "It's that easy?"

"I was going to see what Lin's found anyways. Stupid." She glared hotly at him. He informed her, "I would appreciate it, if you would release my shirt now. It's going to wrinkle." Quickly, she released his shirt with a small blush. "Now, tell me why I am not allowed in the attic anymore."

Racking her brain for the dream she had just had, she tried to answer. "I-I don't know. Gene said that you couldn't go back to the attic though. He said the demon's after you, and I guess he thinks the attic is dangerous for you. I, um, also saw Duyi die there."

"He was killed in the basement."

"No."

Lin traveled towards them with papers. "Mai's right. Duyi was killed in the attic, but his body was em-bombed in the basement. Jian told police that he kept his dummies in the attic, that included Duyi. He had been making adjustments to Duyi's body, and left him there while on an errand. The neighbor had been feeling as if Jian was getting weird, so he checked the place out. He found Duyi's body in the basement though."

The boss was quiet for a moment, before he announced he was going to see Kentaro.

"You can't go alone," Lin reminded the teen of his own rule.

Naru opened the door. "Mai's coming too."

"Eh?" Mai blinked before running after the boy, his pace having been too fast. She panted at his side now, hunching over as she walked. He observed aloud that her poor posture would give her back problems one day. Angrily, she muttered how he was nothing but an idiot scientist that would make a girl cry every day after they married.

Realizing what she said, she turned a bright red, even more when he teased her, "Don't I make you cry everyday now?"

Angrily, she shouted, "Stop teasing me, Jerk!"

"Use your inside voice, Mai," he stated calmly.

They turned the corner and she felt herself run smack into a wall of warmth. Flushing, she apologized for her clumsiness. In a laugh, Kentaro apologized for his own clumsiness. He glanced at the dark look Naru sent him. Looking down, he noticed he was still holding onto Mai's hand, and quickly let go. "Heh, sorry about that."

"It's okay. We were just coming to see you," Mai gave a polite smile.

"I was just going to see Sachiko-chan. You guys can come along. She'll be happy to see you, Tamiyama-san. She really likes you. Maybe you can get her to talk again. After the last attack...she hasn't said much anymore."

"I like her. It's a shame that she's so scared. This ghost is horrible, and I don't mean just murdering people either."

He chuckled sadly. "Yeah."

Sachiko's room was the same girly decorated room that was in Mai's dream. The bed's comforter was of a pale pink trimmed in yellow lace. The pillows were the same pink with yellow lace, even. There was a bookcase of children's books from the first shelf to the third. The last two shelves were of porcelin dolls that gave Mai the creeps yet stunned her with their cuteness.

Still, she stayed away from them. Sachiko was sitting at her desk drawing more pictures. A box of crayons and markers was next to her while balls sheets of paper were tossed around the floor, a cute bunny rug underneath them. Naru picked up a picture to see it was of a big black figure. It wasn't necessarily shapeless, but that could be because the artist was only eight-years-old.

"Hi, Sachiko-chan," Mai sat on the bed, where she was closest to the girl. "What are you drawing?"

The child remained silent, her face hardening to keep quiet. Kentaro rubbed her hair for encouragement in vain. The room's temperature was rather warm, compared to the others, to Naru's liking. Mai tried again to get her to speak, "Can you tell me who that is?"

"Can't you talk again, Sachiko?" Kenatro's face was saddened when he went unanswered. Angrily, the girl threw a crayon in the box and grabbed a red color. Kentaro stared at the picture, "Why are you drawing Kaseko?"

Naru leaned over the girl's head to see it was the dummy she had drawn. She finished coloring in the bow. He picked up the rest of the papers to take back to base. Sachiko pulled out a drawer of several more pictures that she'd kept hidden for a while. He looked at the top and grimaced on the inside.

Bloody hell, he thought with no pun intended.

He knew what he had to do once they got back to base. He held the pictures underneath his arm and told Mai they were heading back to base. Sadly, she told Sachiko bye for now.

Inside the base, Naru used the large table to spread out all of the pictures. They were all the same - pictures of shape-less shadows, Kaseko the dummy. One was of Naru and a knife sticking out his arm, like the night Kaseko attacked him. Another, he saw was of the dummy and a young boy. Naru swallowed. Duyi, he knew.

"Lin, I'd like for Hara-san to perform a séance later tonight. I'll have Hayami-san produce the candles. When everyone returns, I'll inform them of what we've found out so far. I need to see exactly why Duyi is taking organs."

To see if my theory is correct, he added silently.