A/N: Once again, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my story. :D

Mai finished setting up the last camera pointing towards the lake. Her eyes were once again drawn to the murky water. The ominous spirit of a woman had appeared from there earlier, which meant that she and John had to tread carefully. Her instincts kept warning her to back away from the water, and she wasn't about to go against them.

"We're finished here," John said eagerly. Mai turned to him and smiled. However, their happy moment was ruined when the doors to the barn slammed shut. Mai and John exchanged glances.

"Gene felt a presence in the barn earlier, though he claims she's harmless," Mai informed the blond.

"Then we should leave her alone for now," John smiled at the brunette. Together they started making their way back to the house. However, the door slammed open, starling them both. Now feeling highly alert, Mai took a step towards the barn.

"I think she wants us to go in there," Mai observed, and John nodded in agreement.

"Should we go in?" John asked as he turned to Mai. She nodded in response. "Allow me to go in first," he said as he bravely went in.

Mai went after him and took the time to survey the surroundings. The barn itself was large, which made the lack of animals obvious. Aya had mentioned that the animals either ran off or were killed, so it wasn't really surprising. However, the emptiness made the place feel eerie.

John looked around as Mai closed her eyes getting a feel of the place. Gene had been giving her tips on how to better concentrate, and she was implementing what she had learned. Her eyes opened when she felt the temperature of the room drop.

"John-"

"I know, I feel it too," John said as he looked around warily.

Mai's heart began to pound when she felt something cold brushing against her leg. She moved from her spot uneasily, hoping it was a rat. Unfortunately, when she moved, she once again felt a cold brush against her hand. Finally, with dread, she looked down. When she looked down, she let out a loud scream.

John quickly turned to Mai, and his eyes widened when he noticed that a small figure had latched onto his friend. It disappeared as soon as he had turned, so the young priest looked at the frightened brunette.

"Are you alright?" He asked her when she started trembling.

Mai nodded as she numbly looked at her cold hands. She had seen the spirit of a child. He had clung to her as he looked at her in the eyes. However, he had been disfigured, so it was difficult to make out his features. He had also been drenched in blood, which indicated that it had been a gruesome death.

"Mai-"

"We should head back to base," she said as she attempted to keep her emotions at bay. John could do nothing but agree.

They walked back inside base in silence as Mai kept silent after the encounter. John kept his mouth shut, knowing that she needed some time to sort out her emotions.

Once they were inside the house, Mai gasped and ran to Gene. The blue eyed teen was leaning against the wall as he panted for breath. Aya was next to him looking at him in concern. Two other people were in the room, but Mai paid them no mind when she noticed Gene's labored breathing.

"Mai," Gene called out to her when he saw her. Aya's eyes widened as Mai walked past her. Once she was near him, he let out a sigh of relief. He was drenched in sweat, but she didn't care as she allowed his forehead to slump on her shoulder. She couldn't deny that her heart jolted at the action. Gene looked just like Naru, so her traitorous heart kept imagining that it was him. She knew he wasn't Naru, but for a moment, it really felt like she was with him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you for so long," Mai looked down in shame. How could she have forgotten? They couldn't stay apart from each other for long periods of time. Even worse, she had gone farther than she should have.

"It's okay, just stay with me," he whispered as he allowed her to lead him to the couch. He sat down as he slowly regained some color.

Ayako and Yasu walked into base with a bandaged monk. His neck was completely wrapped as he coughed for breath. Mai looked at them in concern.

"What happened?" John asked worriedly before Mai could open her mouth.

"We had a surprising visitor when Takigawa and I were working on the wards," Ayako informed them. "The spirit of a woman viciously attacked him. She managed to scratch his skin as she tried to strangle him."

"Are you alright?" Mai asked him in concern.

"Don't worry Jou-chan, I'm fine," he rasped out as he went into another coughing fit.

"The stupid monk wanted to check up on you when he should be resting," Ayako said as she glared at him.

Mai smiled at his thoughtfulness. He didn't leave until he was sure that Mai was safe. Yasu and Ayako then escorted him back to his room, leaving them with the rest of the occupants of the room.

Mai finally turned to their client, who was glaring at her. Mai mentally sighed as she realized her problem. Gene had yet to move away from her. He was clearly feeling better, but he seemed to be comfortable where he was. He kept his body pressed against her. His eyes were closed as he still felt a bit weary from their separation.

Mai's eyes then traveled to the two individuals that she had seen earlier. Another woman around Aya's age was regarding her coolly, while the young man watched her with a small smile. They all looked alike, so Mai realized that those were Aya's siblings.

"This is Touya Nakamura and Emmi Nakamura, Nakamura-san's siblings," Gene introduced them. Mai nodded to them politely and only Touya returned the gesture.

"Hello, I'm Taniyama Mai," she introduced herself as she stood. She offered them her hand to shake, but Emmi turned away from her rudely. Touya smiled politely and shook her hand, while Aya excused herself to make some tea.

Emmi did go up to John to shake his hand, which was a clear message that she wasn't welcome.

Mai kept her mouth shut since she didn't want to give SPR a bad name. However, on the inside she was fuming. Both sisters didn't like her and they didn't try to hide that fact from her.

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By the end of the day, John sat in front of the monitors. He and Yasu had gone back to the barn to install a camera since they were interested in the spirit of the child. Gene had yet to come across that spirit, so he was also interested.

Yasu sat next to the young priest as he started typing away a report of the case. He wrote down everything that had occurred that day, down to the most miniscule detail.

Mai was impressed that the bespectacled youth was completely immersed in his work. He seemed to be taking his job very seriously since he barely even blinked as he typed the case report.

Gene sorted through some newspaper articles searching for the identities of the remaining three spirits. However, the amount of crimes in the barn had been more than they had anticipated. Gene wanted to discover their identities as soon as possible so that he could help them move on.

Seeing as the men were preoccupied, Mai and Ayako excused themselves. They both took turns showering, and then they went to bed. Their room only had one queen sized bed for them to share, but neither of them minded. Ayako watched Mai as she brushed her hair. She wore an overgrown shirt and baggy shorts, nothing eye catching compared to Ayako's silky camisole and shorts pajamas. However, to the priestess, Mai was so much more beautiful.

Mai allowed herself to fall on the bed carelessly, oblivious to the red-heads thoughts. She fell asleep within seconds as her body recuperated from the day's events. Ayako continued observing Mai with a frown; it seemed that her separation from Gene was wearing her. While Ayako couldn't blame him, she felt a bit upset that he kept draining Mai's energy. The poor girl was completely exhausted, yet she hadn't complained the whole day.

"Stupid girl," Ayako whispered as she smiled lovingly at Mai. She then followed the brunette's example and fell asleep peacefully.

Unfortunately, Mai's dreams were anything but peaceful.

Mai's eyes looked around the room in confusion since Ayako was no longer by her side. The room also seemed different than what she remembered. Her eyes looked around suspiciously as she got up from bed. She peeked her head outside her room and saw a child through her peripheral vision.

Mai turned and the child took off running. Confused, Mai followed after him. The child had run towards the barn. Mai paused as she saw the ominous building and wondered whether she should follow. Her curiosity won over and she walked in.

However, the sight that met her had her covering her mouth in horror. The little boy was tied up and gagged as his tearful eyes locked onto the imposing figure above him. His skin was horribly bruised and scarred. He also had fresh blood tricking down his nose.

The sounds of horses whining didn't seem to affect the man as he pulled out a shovel. The little boy cried as he helplessly struggled against his binds.

Mai's eyes widened as she understood what the man was going to do. She desperately cried out to get his attention in order to save the child. However, her cries were ignored as the man beat him with the shovel. Blood splattered all over her as Mai cried.

"Please, stop! Leave him alone! He's just a child." Mai wept as she hovered over the boy to protect him, but it was useless. This was a memory after all. She couldn't stop the deadly blows that the man delivered to the child, who looked no more than five years old.

"Oh God!" A woman's horrified drew Mai's and the man's attention. The raven haired woman screamed in anguish and anger as she took in the sight of her now deceased son. "You bastard!" She screamed as she pulled out a rifle and pulled the trigger with no hesitation.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if the man had quick reflexes since he moved out of the way, preventing the bullet to hit his chest. Instead, it hit his left shoulder. The woman screamed again as she loaded the weapon once again. The two struggled as Mai watched in agony. The man shot the woman in the stomach as Mai turned away from the scene.

She felt useless.

"Kara," he whispered her name venomously.

The man hovered over Kara, not realizing that she held a knife. He continuously beat her, while she struggled against his hold. The woman then took a shot and sliced his throat.

She watched the man in satisfaction as he passed away. She then dragged her beaten body to hold her son. Mai watched as she lovingly stroked his hair before, she too, passed away.

Mai sat up as tears fell from her eyes. She looked up only to find the same child from her dream looking at her. It was the child from the barn, but she could make out his features this time. He had beautiful raven hair and caramel colored eyes.

Mai turned to Ayako, but the priestess was deep into her sleep. She then turned to the child once again.

"Help us," he whispered imploringly, and then he disappeared. Mai nodded even though he was long gone. She cried as she remembered that his life had been cut short because of a malicious man.

"I promise," she whispered as the door was shot open. Her eyes widened as she looked up to find Gene looking at her in concern. Noticing her state of distress, Gene's eyes softened. Being a medium, he understood all too well how much stress and heartache this line of work could bring to a person.

"It's alright, Mai," Gene said as he pulled her towards him. He gave her a comforting embrace as the brunette cried for the boy and his mother.

Hearing the ruckus, Ayako woke up. Her sleepy mind first took notice of Gene and Mai embracing. The second thing she noticed was that Mai was crying. Her mother instincts activated as she realized that Mai had once of those dreams. Ayako embraced the distraught brunette as Gene backed off.

He turned away from her as he noticed how affected Mai was. He felt guilty at seeing the brunette in such a state. He had no idea just how deeply these cases got to her since he had only been there to supply her information for the cases.

Now, he could clearly see the Mai that his brother had seen. He was now seeing the Mai that let down her guard to cry because of the injustices.

"Will you tell me what happened?" Gene coaxed her and Mai nodded as she calmed. Ayako looked ready to argue, but she remained silent.

Once she was done telling him what had happened, Gene nodded and allowed Ayako to comfort her. He knew how important it was for Mai to have the priestess there for her. He got up and excused himself as he sought Yasuhara.

Mai had just uncovered the identities of the three remaining spirits.

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Mai woke up at six in the morning and went to the base. After her encounter with the spirit, she fell asleep and had a nightmare. When she woke up, she refused to go back to sleep. She didn't want to see the gruesome images again.

The young woman entered base and noticed that Gene was already awake. Next to him, Yasu was fast asleep in the couch. He snored softly as a newspaper article lay on his stomach.

"Morning Mai," Gene greeted her. His eyes then returned to the laptop that was in front of him. He typed away as Mai frowned.

"Haven't you slept at all?" Mai asked him in concern. Gene paused in his typing and turned back to her.

"I have, Yasu watched the monitors all night, while I slept. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep much in light of our new discoveries." He admitted as he once again turned to his searching.

"New discoveries?" Mai asked him curiously.

"Kara, the woman from your dreams, was married to a man named Moriyama Tanaka. There were rumors that the man was extremely abusive to her and her son Takashi. Unfortunately, one day they disappeared without a trace. To this day, their bodies haven't been found," Gene informed her as he frowned.

Mai could tell he knew more, but he didn't seem like he wanted to tell her yet.

"That's strange, Tanaka was dead, I'm sure of it." Mai's eyebrows furrowed as she began to wonder who got rid of the bodies. Three bodies couldn't just disappear into thin air.

"That worries me. Perhaps we need to find the bodies in order to cleanse them, but who knows if they're even here. I'll have to contact Kara or Takashi to find out what they know," Gene said.

Just then the lights flickered on and off as the temperature of the base began to drop. Yasu's eyes shot open as he felt the cold. He looked around in alarm.

Mai winced as loud whispers echoed throughout the base. She couldn't make out what the voices said, but her eyes instinctively snapped to the doorway. Her eyes widened in horror as the man from her dreams stood just outside the base. The lights remained off for several seconds, and when they turned on again, he was inside the room standing in front of Gene. Mai shook at the spirit's overbearing aura. It felt so evil.

His eyes were blood red and a dark aura surrounded his figure. Mai saw the way he moved around, and she winced when the saw his bloodcurdling movements. His attention was completely drawn by Gene, who watched him warily.

They stared into each other's eyes, neither of them moving. Gene opened his mouth and said something to the spirit, but Mai couldn't make out his words. The spirit replied demonically, and Mai realized that they were conversing in a different language.

She then noticed the way the spirit took a threatening step towards the young medium. With shaking arms, Mai brought up her fingers as she recanted the nine cuts.

"Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin-"

"No, Mai stop," Gene called out to her. Mai watched as the man slowly turned to her. "No, look at me!" Gene cried out as the man took a step in Mai's direction. He then put his hands together like monk always did and started chanting.

The spirit grinned showing his rotting teeth, and with an incredible speed, he appeared in front of the brunette. Mai felt fear take hold of her, but she didn't let it deter her. She wouldn't allow him to hurt Gene.

"-Retsu, Zai, Zen"

The spirit vanished as she and Gene concluded their chanting. Mai then turned to Gene, who was looking away from her. His hair covered his eyes, so she couldn't make out his expression. His posture was rigid.

"Gene-"

"Are you two alright?" Ayako's voice interrupted as she, monk and John came running. Yasu, who Mai hadn't noticed leaving, came running behind them. He had obviously gone to get their help without her realizing that he had left.

Mai nodded and informed them about what had happened. Ayako and Takigawa frowned as they turned to look at their wards, which were burned off.

"This is a powerful spirit that we're dealing with. Earlier I couldn't feel the presence of the other spirits, but there are so many anguished souls here," Gene said as he looked down. "He feeds on the life force of others in order to maintain his disgusting existence."

Mai finally saw his expression, and she winced when she recognized the anger and hatred. At that moment, she finally understood what had been bothering him. Gene needed her in order to live, so he was feeling self-loathing.

Gene noticed her stare and turned away from her. The others continued their discussion, not noticing their behavior. It wasn't until John spoke with a clever observation, that Mai paid attention to their discussion once again.

"He could have been the one that influenced Hiro and Miho to commit those crimes. It makes sense that he needed them to supply him with souls," John commented sadly as he remembered the many victims that had perished.

"You're right. Strong spirits like that have the ability to influence others," Ayako sighed as it now made sense to her.

"So you're saying that this guy is feeding on the souls of innocent victims in order to live again?" Takigawa asked. He missed Gene's wince.

"Yes, we're dealing with a spirit like Urado," Yasuhara clarified as he nodded, oblivious to Gene's inner turmoil.

"Yes, like Urado, he's nothing more than a parasite," Gene said as he abruptly turned his back to them. He then made his way to the doorway.

Mai followed after him, while the others obliviously wondered what had happened.

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Naru moved his arm away when he realized that Masako had attempted to touch him. The medium frowned as he once again rejected her attention. Now that his mother wasn't there anymore, Naru didn't even bother hiding his displeasure at her presence.

He would not forget that she had blackmailed him into dates. He despised being told what to do, which was essentially what did when she "invited" him on dates.

"Oliver," Masako called after him, but he ignored her. She huffed as he grabbed his suitcase and proceeded to walk outside the airport. The medium then turned to Lin, who also grabbed his suitcase and followed after Naru. He didn't even spare her a sideways glance.

Lin caught up to his ward and noticed that he eyed his surroundings searchingly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. Therefore, he was surprised when Naru answered.

"Something feels odd," he admitted. He couldn't describe the feeling, it almost felt like a part of him had been returned. He frowned wondering if this feeling was because he had missed Japan. He knew that he had wanted to return, but he had been reluctant.

While he was upset that someone had taken his position in SPR, that was not his only reason for returning.

He wanted to see his, dare he say, friends again; especially, his former assistant, Mai. He missed her dearly. In his time in England, he hadn't had a single cup of tea, which surprised everyone with the exception of Lin. He couldn't stop thinking about her or the others, of course.

Which reminded him, he needed to ask Mai some questions about Gene.

Gene's face kept popping up in his head from time to time. He had even had the crazy idea to use psychometry on his dead brother's clothes, yet he knew it wouldn't work since his brother was already dead. Therefore, he had to interrogate the only person that would know about Gene's whereabouts, Mai.

Naru pulled out his cell phone and proceeded to call Yasuhara. As he waited for Yasu to answer, Lin hailed a cab.

Finally after a few rings, the young man answered. "Boss, I didn't expect to hear from you so soon after your last call. Did you miss me already?" Yasuhara chirped happily.

"Yasuhara, I want you to send me the address of your current location," Naru said as he got into the cab. Lin took his bags and got in the passenger seat. Masako walked in and sat next to him. Naru didn't make a move to acknowledge her as he waited for Yasu to reply.

Yasuhara remained silent for a couple of seconds before he finally responded. "The address? What for? Wait a minute…you're not telling me that you're actually in Japan. Are you?" Naru didn't bother answering his question. Instead, he frowned at the hint of nervousness that he detected in Yasu's tone. "I'm taking your silence as a yes. In that case, we should meet up after the case is over. Yes, that sounds like a better idea. You should rest after your long trip after all."

Now he knew something was up. Yasuhara was hiding something from him, and he didn't like it.

"Yasuhara, the address," he repeated coolly. Yasu flinched at his tone and reluctantly gave it to him. Once he got what he wanted, Naru hung up. He then gave the address to Lin.

After a few detours, they finally made their way to their new case to meet the others. Naru clenched his jaw as he felt a sense of foreboding. Yasuhara was hiding something from him, and he was willing to bet that it had to do with Mai.

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Once Naru hung up, Yasuhara looked around nervously. Should he tell the others? Ayako, monk and John were in base, but there were no signs of Gene or Mai. He quietly made his way inside base, hoping that the others didn't notice his discomfort.

"Something wrong?" Takigawa asked, noticing his distress.

"Are you worried about me?" He teased. Monk immediately tensed up at his words, and just like that, the subject was dropped.

Deciding to remain silent, Yasu knew that it wasn't his place to interfere. Naru and Gene would meet face to face, and he would be lying if he didn't want to see that happen.