AmyNChan: I know, it's been a while for this one, but this one is going to be very tricky to write. I'm going to try not to fall into writing clichés, but you are all going to have to help me, okay? XD

Mai: AmyChan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!

AmyNChan: Nope, but I do own Yui and Kazi~! *^_^*

"It's rude to stare at awesomeness, you know," little Yui stated proudly, despite her sleepy eyes. She had caught Mai looking at her and her brother yet again over breakfast. It was starting to get a touch annoying for the young girl. On the other hand, Mai had been thinking about how quickly the child had come out of her slumber and into the kitchen once she had smelled the omelets in the kitchen. For her, it had been mildly entertaining. "No matter how much you want to!"

"And it's rude to talk with your mouth full, as well," Mai reprimanded gently. The inky-haired girl scowled as she finished the food in her mouth. Despite the girl's initial complaints, Mai had a feeling that the young one actually enjoyed the food she was given to eat. Kazi as well, as he had already cleaned his plate and was silently—yet somehow politely—asking for seconds. The woman stood to oblige him.

Preparing breakfast had been an interesting affair for Mai that morning. While she would not let the young boy anywhere near the stove lest he get burned, he had been quite helpful in preparing breakfast. He even had a few ideas of his own. Because of him, the omelets not only contained fish and cheese, but leeks and a cherry tomato as well. Despite her initial thoughts about this combination being disastrous, one bite in had proven the strange variety to be not quite so horrible after all. Evidently, the cooked leeks had made the scent which drew little Yui out of bed in the first place. She had walked to the table, sat herself down with a loud yawn, and waited for her breakfast to come out. All without opening an eye.

The strange child had also asked for a newspaper, which Mai had eventually gotten at the doorstep and handed to the little girl. Upon receiving said newspaper, the lass had looked to the opposite end of the table before hiding her face in the news. The action certainly looked practiced.

Mai had found it strange, but did not comment on it aloud.

"That's a pol-ter-geist," Yui stated suddenly, jabbing her finger into the paper—which she had hung onto all through breakfast—as Mai placed the second plate in front of Kazi. Yui was only halfway through her first plate, having been more concerned with the paper in her small hands. The headline in question was about how a certain tourist location was haunted and inviting tourists to come and check the place out, testing their mettle. "It's scaring away all the people because the janitor is mad that her mom got married to her boss."

"That's quite the assumption," Mai stated, wondering if the girl was merely guessing or making up a story to entertain herself with. Still, why such a serious child would make up a story about a poltergeist concerning love was beyond Mai. Even if her parents somehow were involved with the supernatural.

"You're gonna take the case on December 23rd," the little girl stated brashly. "Because someone's gonna get hurt and you guys don't like it when someone gets hurt."

"I'll look out for the twenty-third, then," Mai stated, deciding to play along. Perhaps if she did so, the child would be more willing to tell her what she needed to know in order to help them. Besides that, her current job—of the past three weeks—was only as a secretary for a photography studio. Not her ideal job, but it paid the bills more adequately than a few of her other endeavors. And even if she had the time, she could not take the case. Not alone, at the very least.

Since the final dissolution of the team, Mai had left the field, though not entirely. As of late, she had been taking cases alongside her father-figure of a monk and the woman she looked up to as a mother figure. However, both Bou-san and Ayako were out of the country, due to a specialized Christmas concert that Bou-san's band had been asked to play in France. They would not be returning to Japan—much less into Shibuya—until the twenty ninth.

"You don't believe me," the girl declared, her youthful blue eyes staring deep into Mai's cinnamon ones. They were challenging the woman to dare refute her claim. It was a challenge that the woman decided to avert for the time being.

"Where are your parents?" she asked, deciding to switch the topic of conversation without so much as blinking. In all actuality, she really did need to contact the children's parents and let them know that they were all right. If it were Mai, she would have been worried sick by now. The small child cast her a glare that should not be on the face of any child, as concentrated as it was.

"We don't know where our parents are..." the girl finally said, as though the intense glaring contest between woman and child had not just happened. She then took a rather large chunk of egg and placed it in her mouth, effectively telling everyone in the room that she would not speak any more on the subject.

However, two could play at that game.

"What are their names?" Mai pressed as soon as she heard the young girl swallow. However, instead of answering, the child simply grabbed her glass of water and began to chase down her breakfast. Anyone could tell that the sneaky child was thinking hard of what to tell her.

But that was okay.

Mai could wait.

Suddenly, the phone that hung on her kitchen wall screamed, demanding the attention of the woman right that instant. Our favorite brunette gave a silent, yet somewhat defeated, sigh as she excused herself from the table and left to answer the telephone.

She had a feeling as soon as her back was turned; the children would be looking at each other, silently discussing what to do next. Mai was unsure if she should be afraid she was being duped or if she should be okay with such things.

"Taniyama residence, Mai speaking," she stated professionally, yet was somehow able to slip a smile into her voice. Seeing her chance, Yui began to eat her eggs in earnest, as if she had just realized they were there. Kazi, on the other hand, eyed the woman who was now caring for them with a curious eye as she talked on the phone. He was curious as to the life style she lived. He wanted to know a lot, yet knew he was limited on asking…

If only…

"I see. Are you sure that this is the only solution?" Mai asked, all forms of cheerfulness gone from her tone. It was this tone of voice—so serious and without any hint of fun—that caused the two children to look to her in identical worry. Upon seeing the kids' concerned glances, she sent them a smile, meant to reassure them.

It did nothing of the sort.

"Of course, I hope she makes it through," she said into the phone, speaking quietly. Still, even if Yui could not hear her soft tone of remorse, Kazi could. His eyebrows furrowed in concern for this woman who was caring for them.

"Thank you. Have a happy Christmas," Mai bid as she hung up the phone. She stood in front of the device for a moment before deciding it would be better if she left the room. There was no need to worry the children even further. "I think I forgot to fold up my futon. I'll be right back."

With that, the woman swiftly exited into her bedroom, all the while her mind in a mess. After all, how was she going to care for two children in her apartment when she was now jobless once more?

Yui watched as Mo—ai left the room. Her eyes narrowed. She did not hear what had happened on the phone, so she turned to her brother, who had finished his second plate a few moments ago. She stuck her fork in her mouth.

What was that about? she inquired silently, savoring the egg that she currently had in her mouth. She loved leeks, but would never thank her brother for telling their current caretaker to put them into the omelets.

She just got fired, I think… he responded, playing with his fork on his plate. Yui scrunched up her face in confusion as she swallowed her food.

But I thought she worked at—

That's not yet, Kazi interrupted. You're getting it all mixed up, Yui.

But Uncle Gene said it was 1996, and today's newspaper said it was almost Christmas, Yui argued, setting her fork down. Her eyes narrowed, as they normally did whenever someone refuted her or her logic. I thought—

That's right, but it's not yet… Kazi stated firmly once more. Despite knowing that his sister preferred to be wholly and completely right, he knew that if they were wrong everything could turn out very bad. He had read enough stories to know, and had even read one of his father's books on the subject. Even though he and mommy had asked him not to.

So that means she's gonna get a call soon? Yui asked. She never had much patience for reading, even if it were her daddy's books. She would much rather run around and play and catch ghosts and actually do something than sit around. The only time she really wanted to learn a story was if it were being told to her.

And story-telling had been what their mother did best.

Soon, probably, Kazi mused. He turned his head towards where the owner of the apartment had left. She had been gone for a little while now. Do you think she's okay?

I don't know, do you wanna go check on her? Yui asked as she turned back to her breakfast. There was still half an omelet for her to eat and savor. The girl gladly picked up another bite as her brother silently excused himself from the table. Ever the polite little man, Kazi took his plate to the sink and gave it a brief rinsing before going through the same door the older woman had walked through only a few minutes ago.

"She's not gonna tell you good job or anything…" Yui stated softly yet stubbornly after she had swallowed a bite of food. Instead of dwelling on the fact that her brother might end up disappointed that he would not get any sort of praise for a deed well done—something that usually happened in their household—the girl decided to look around at the small apartment once more. She liked to look at things sometimes, but only when they caught her interest.

Because it was partly a kitchen, it had a stove and a small refrigerator. Too small, really, for the lots of healthy foods her mom usually made her eat. There was also a sink, but no dishwasher. Maybe Mo-ai did not use a dishwasher… Maybe she washed all of her dishes by hand? Yui thought about it for a moment before deciding she was bored and looking for something else to observe for a minute or so. What her eyes found was the table she was sitting at. Like she was used to, the table had four seats, but it looked to Yui that no one really sat in them. She frowned as she started to wiggle in her chair. It creaked loudly.

"What kind of chair creaks?" Yui asked aloud, seemingly frustrated. In truth, she was actually rather glad that the creaking sounds were there to entertain her. She pumped her feet back and forth for a while as she ate her breakfast, enjoying the movement and the odd sounds that came with it.

Other than the necessary kitchen furnishings, there was really only room for a small loveseat and a table. The table held a few pictures on it that Yui could not see all too clearly, but that was all right. She might look at them later if they still interested her.

Almost as soon as the child had finished with her breakfast—she was then in the midst of an internal debate. When she put her plate in the sink, should she rinse it off or just leave it?—the phone began to howl at her. Not in a literal sense, of course, but if one were to ask the little girl whom the sudden noise had startled, one would hear from her that it was as loud as an angry howling wolf. Of course, the little girl did not take kindly to being frightened in any aspect so she marched up to that phone to show it who was boss.

"Don't you know it's rude to call people when they're trying to eat breakfast?" Yui asked as soon as she picked up the phone, not quite caring about the fact that she had no idea who was on the other end nor the fact that this was not her house and she could not just do as she pleased. She was far too flustered for any of these menial things. She waited for a good half of a minute before she got impatient and spoke into the phone again. "Hello? Earth to rude caller!"

"Is this the Taniyama residence?" a blunt male voice asked. Yui felt herself pale and brought the palm of her hand to her forehead. She and Kazi had just talked about this! Right before he had left the room to find their current caretaker. Speaking of which, the two had not come back yet. She wondered…

"Earth to the rude child who answered the phone, is this the Taniyama residence?" the voice repeated, turning her words back on her. Yui's face flushed in embarrassment as she scowled. Not that the person on the other side of the phone could see it. Of course not.

"Yes it is," she snapped at him. Not that she would normally; it was only that he had caught her off guard. Maybe when she saw him—

Oh. That was right… He—

"Is Taniyama Mai able to answer the phone?" he asked, though Yui wondered what was wrong with his voice. It sounded a little mad to her. She frowned. She did not want him to be mad. Especially not at her.

"I'll go see if she can talk right now," she told him over the phone. "Don't move a muscle!"

With that last warning, she placed the phone down and sprinted the short distance from the kitchen wall to the bedroom door. After all, the apartment was not very large, so her feet did not have to beat harshly upon the wooden floors for very long.

Yui rapped her small knuckles on the door for a few moments before she was allowed to come in. She pushed the door open and was not very surprised at what she saw. Kazi had gotten a piece of paper and a pencil and was attempting to write out what he was trying to say. Kazi was not very good at it, but usually their parents were able to guess a few times before they dissolved into good-natured smiles and laughs. It was then that Kazi would finally 'tell' their parents what he was trying to say.

Unfortunately, he could not speak clearly to her, and Mai was a pretty bad guesser.

"Moto…ki?" she asked, squinting at the paper. Kazi, although fairly patient for a five year old, was beginning to be frustrated as he wrote the kanji again, trying very hard to keep his hand still. Yui took a few moments to figure out that Mai seemed to be feeling a lot better—that or she was very good actress—and she figured out what Kazi was doing wrong.

"They're too far apart," Yui pointed out. She would have pondered on how it was most unusual for her brother to make such a mistake. He had always been much better at her when it came to writing kanji, even if they only started learning it last year. But there was something else that she needed to tell right now. She turned to the brunette.

"He's trying to tell you to cheer up because you have a phone call," the little girl announced with a confident air. The woman blinked in surprise.

"Oh, if I had a phone call, why didn't you just tell me?" she asked kindly, ruffling the top of Kazi's head. The young boy sucked in a breath of air and did not release it until the kind woman's hand was gone. By that point, she had left her room to tend to the phone. The young boy sighed in relief, but also in disappointment. Of course she would not be able to hear him…

Of course…

"You know, there are easier ways to tell her to cheer up," Yui stated aloud, looking at her brother's upset face as he continued to sit on the futon. It made her sad to see her little brother that way, despite him only being littler by four minutes. Still, she decided to sit down next to her little brother on the futon where their caretaker had just been. Kazi would not look her in the eye.

"You could give her a hug or draw her a picture. Or maybe even help her make some tea," she continued. Though, instead of making her brother happier and more optimistic—like he usually is—it only caused him to become sadder. The small girl did not really know what to do with her brother, who usually made it a habit to smile even when everything seemed upsetting. She pulled up her knees and sat silently for a moment, watching her brother. He began to doodle on the page he had been using to try communicating with the kind woman. He was definitely sad.

"Hey," she finally said. He looked up at her. She frowned and looked away from his face, deciding to focus her attention on the door instead. She did not need to see him frowning so much. That was her job. "Good job about rinsing the dish… Mom would be happy."

Her brother looked at her for a moment, confused. She could feel his thoughts running through his head. Still, he eventually smiled, which was the point. Yui would have smiled as well if it were not for another loud noise of the morning.

The slam of the phone against the carrier.

AmyNChan: Uh oh…

Yui: What was that about?

Kazi: *holding up a sign*

Sign: If you divide the kanji up for "Cheer up"/ "元気づける"/ "Genkidzukru", it means "Origin, Care, Association, That"/ "元, 気, づけ, る"/ "Moto ki dzukeru"

Yui: So, he was trying to say "Cheer up", but the first two kanji got split up and spelled out "Moto ki" instead of "Genki".

Kazi: *nods*

AmyNChan: Still, for five years old, you're doing amazing with Kanji!

Yui: We are amazing!

AmyNChan: …such an arrogant child…

Kazi: *sweatdrops*

AmyNChan: Anyway, please read and review~! *^_^*