Ducks objects being thrown Okay, okay, okay!! I get it! No more cliff hangers...at least for now. Remember to see the prologue for the disclaimer and remember to review! I know I sound like a broken record but reviews seriously make me smile and get all warm inside.

Chapter 3

"NARU!!!" Mai barely had enough consciousness to watch as Lin and Takigawa pulled Naru off her. She began to cough and struggled to get oxygen through her bruised throat and into her lungs. She watched as Naru tried to throw Lin and Takigawa off.

Suddenly Takigawa punched the younger man in the stomach and Naru's eyes closed. Mai felt hands on her shoulders and she looked back to see Ayako kneeling beside her and she threw herself into the older woman's arms and began to sob into her chest.

"What the hell is going on?" Takigawa asked as he and Lin laid Naru down on the floor. Mai told them what happened and Takigawa and Lin exchanged glances as it fit into place.

"Great. Sounds like that wonderful ghost that has it in for teenage girls has possessed Naru and now Naru wants to kill Mai!" Takigawa sighed before feeling a glare on his back and he turned to see Ayako glaring at him as she held the sobbing Mai.

"Could you possibly be less delicate, you baka?!" Ayako hissed as she rubbed the girl's back up and down. Takigawa sweat dropped before he turned to look at Lin who was checking Naru's pulse and his pupils.

"His pulse is strong. But it doesn't matter if he is unconscious….he's still possessed. We'll have to perform an exorcism." Lin told him and Takigawa shook his head.

"No way. I am not going to exorcise that ghost…maybe we should call John. He is better at it than me. Let me exorcise a ghost that isn't possessing someone and I'll be fine! Exorcise a ghost from a human…not my territory." Takigawa said pointedly and Lin sighed.

"Brown-san is in Australia. He informed Naru and myself that his mother had come down with the flu and he went to take care of her." Lin said and Takigawa's mouth dropped open before looking down at Naru and groaning.

"Then how the hell are we supposed to get that damned ghost out of him?" Takigawa demanded. Lin rolled his eyes before standing up and pulling his cell phone out.

"I'll call Brown-san. Watch over him and if he wakes up…keep him away from Mai." Lin said before walking out of the room. Mai stayed in Ayako's arms as they stood up. She looked at Naru fearfully, scared to see that expression on his face again. He didn't want to see his face contorted in that smirk again.

"Mai, your throat is beginning to bruise." Ayako said and Mai sniffled as she wiped her tears away. She looked at Naru worried. She didn't know what Naru was going through being possessed.

"What…what if John can't exorcise the ghost? What if that…thing stays in Naru?! What if…what if it tries to kill Naru?!" Mai cried as hysteria began to set in and she couldn't stop sobbing before suddenly Ayako slapped her and she looked at the priestess and took in large gulps of air.

"Don't worry, Mai-chan. John is the best exorcist that I know and trust me, I know a few. So maybe they aren't all Catholic but they are exorcists." Takigawa said with a wink and Mai smiled before nodding.

"I'm going to go lie down." Mai whispered before leaving the room with her arms wrapped around her body. Takigawa and Ayako watched her leave before turning to look at each other.

"How sure are you that the ghost won't follow Mai if we send her home?" Ayako asked the monk and he sighed.

"If it can possess Naru of all people then I have a feeling that it could follow her wherever she goes. We need to get rid of that ghost so that Mai won't be in danger anymore. We need to get John here so that he can exorcise the ghost and then we can get rid of it." Takigawa said and Ayako nodded before she shot a look at the unconscious Naru.

"Well, we have to keep him 'shut down' I guess. I'll go make a sleeping drink. It'll be able to keep him asleep for a few hours at least." Ayako said as she left and Takigawa watched her go before turning back to the man lying on the floor. He sighed softly.

'I sure hope Naru and Mai are going to be able to work this out.' he thought.

Mai was still shaking from her encounter with Naru. She touched the bruises on her throat as she lay underneath her cover. She sniffed back tears as she clutched at her cover tightly. She could still see his face as he tried to kill her. She curled into a tighter ball. Naru had tried to kill her!

'You give up to easily.' his voice echoed from the end of the case at Yasuhara's school. Mai closed her eyes as the tears silently rolled down her cheeks. She had accused him of being a murderer then as well. But he had never physically tried to harm anyone there either.

'I know I give up easily, Naru. But what else do I have to go on besides your snide comments and the way you treat me? I mean, you brought me here knowing that I could be a target.' Mai thought before turning onto her back and looking up at the ceiling and she shivered before sitting up as a familiar tightness spread through her lungs and she was unsurprised to find the girl ghost standing there.

"Before I say anything else to you, I want to know your name!" Mai demanded and she was surprised when the girl gave a laugh.

"My name is Satchi Cho." the girl replied and Mai shivered as she felt the temperature began to drop in the room because of the spectral being that she was currently conversing with.

"Well, Satchi…this ghost that's possessed my boss, the black haired guy, what do you know about him?" Mai asked.

"Nothing. He was my cousin and I caught him sneaking drugs into the temple and he shot me. I know he's placed a curse on the temple so that his spirit will kill all teenage girls that set foot on the property. I was trying to warn you and that other girl. They finally sent the blonde haired one away but they didn't send you. Although it took that injury from my cousin's spirit to finally get the other one away." Satchi looked upset that they hadn't sent Mai away.

"Well, you can thank Naru for not sending me away. He didn't even mention that I would be a potential target!" Mai grumbled and she looked up as Satchi laughed and she frowned at the ghost girl.

"I know why he didn't send you away. I was listening after you stormed out and he said something like 'I can protect her' and fine job he's done of it to. He goes and gets himself possessed by the man that's trying to kill you. That's brilliance if I have ever seen it." the ghost said and Mai felt her cheeks start to redden slightly.

"Naru wants to protect me?" she whispered as her heart began to pound in her chest before she realized that she had slapped him! "Oh, no! He's going to hate me forever! I have to go apologize!" she was cut off as the girl ghost placed herself in front of the door.

"I hate to remind you but this 'Naru' is still possessed by him. And until your exorcist friend shows up it's going to be staying that way. You have got to stay away from that boy." the ghost said and Mai realized she was right and sighed.

"MAI!" Mai blinked as the door opened and Ayako was standing there looking rather rushed and Mai wondered what was wrong. "Mai, I went back to the base room and found Takigawa on the floor unconscious and Naru is nowhere to be found!"

"What?! You don't know where Naru is?! That ghost might get him killed!" Mai tried to run out before Ayako caught her arm and Mai looked back at the priestess who was glaring at her.

"You can't go looking for him! He might kill you, Mai. Now Senata has set up the shrine for you and me to stay in while Lin and Takigawa look for him. John is taking the next flight out of Australia so he'll get here around midnight." Ayako said as she began to drag the brown headed teenager towards the actual shrine.

'Naru…please….be okay.' Mai thought as she stumbled after the priestess.

"How many places can a teenage boy hide?!" Takigawa growled as they looked in the basement, the only place they hadn't looked. Lin didn't respond as he directed the beam of his flashlight into the darker corners of the temple basement.

Takigawa rubbed his head where Naru had hit it rather hard with a chair. He had been stupid enough to turn away from the 'unconscious' boy for a moment and next thing he knew he was being shook awake by Ayako looking fearful. They had all known where Naru would go and thankfully Ayako had gotten to Mai first and got her into the shrine protected by talismans.

"Don't forget Naru is dressed in all black and it makes him a lot harder to detect." Lin told the monk and Takigawa groaned.

"Takigawa, Lin, are you guys down there?" Takigawa looked over his shoulder and felt his jaw drop as Mai was standing on the steps looking down at them from the top of the steps.

"Mai, what are you doing out of the shrine?" Lin demanded as he walked to the bottom of the steps to look up at the brown headed girl who didn't seem to be all that upset, despite the fact that her boss was prowling the grounds somewhere wanting to kill her. No she seemed perfectly fine.

"The shrine doesn't have a bathroom, Lin-san. I just wanted to make sure you two were okay." she said before Lin saw a shadow move behind her.

"MAI, WATCH OUT!!" Takigawa called before watching as Mai fell down the stairs and on top of Lin. Takigawa looked up and saw Naru up there, chuckling, before suddenly the man disappeared.

"Are you two alright?" Takigawa asked as Mai got off Lin and the Chinese man looked up. Takigawa glanced at the top of the steps and shook his head. "Dammit, he got away again."

"Naru…" whispered a soft voice and both men looked at Mai to see she had wrapped her arms around her knees and had her head resting on them. The men exchanged looks and the same thought passed through their minds.

'We need to find Naru for Mai's sake.'

Wonder if they'll ever get Naru back? Will John get there in time to stop Naru? Or is Mai going to go off and do something about it by herself? Wait and see!