A/N: And we continue on!

"How in the world did you get all these injuries from a child!" Ayako exclaimed in a huff as she yet again slapped another band aid over one of the several cuts covering Mai's body.

A scowl formed across Mai's pain stricken features and she flinched as the miko roughly applied first aid. "She was tough! Don't let her size deceive you, and besides it was not like I could fight back for real against a kid…"

"Ha! You're much too kind Mai-chan!" Bou-san patted her from behind. "At least we were finally able to see what the family was talking about with our own eyes. Though, I doubt it will be much of an issue after tonight since I purified this place!"

"Don't you mean it won't be an issue since 'I' purified this place!" Ayako retorted angrily shooting a deadly glare in the monk's direction.

"No, no since yours never work! I definitely handled this one myself!" Mai could feel the tension in the cold, uninviting room rise considerably.

"They do too work you conceited, lame excuse for a monk!" The bitingly harsh words only added fuel to the fire.

"Since when, you anything but pure, old wanna-be miko!" That was it, how dare he cross that fine line. No man anywhere ever said that to a woman and still walked away intact especially not to her. Ayako would make sure he would never be the same again after that comment.

"Why you bas-" The fight was imminent and Ayako had already balled her fists, ready to strike until Naru's cool and commanding voice stopped her.

"We'll end things here for tonight and resume in the morning." Naru turned his back and headed toward Lin and the monitors. It was clear that all conversation was at an end. John quietly followed Bou-san out the door and Mai could hear Ayako pick up the previous battle as soon as she passed the threshold of the base room and away from the glaring eyes of their boss. Masako shot Mai a haughty smirk as she practically sashayed after the rest of the team.

Mai wanted to smack that look off her face so, so badly…just once, that's all it would take to make her feel better. But Mai let go of her anger gracefully and sighed. She slowly trudged over to the couch and flopped down dejectedly. It wasn't really that big of a deal anyway…she could practically sleep anywhere after all.

"What are you doing?" Mai startled at Naru's voice despite herself. She never could get used to it…it didn't seem to matter how many times he talked to her…she still got that strange tingly feeling when he spoke to her directly. He was looking at her with great interest and Mai just knew she was starting to blush for no reason what so ever.

"I was…uh, kicked out of the room…" The mumbling tone couldn't hide the feeling of stupid Mai was feeling at that very moment. Naru would probably berate her with a lecture on her failure as a human being and that she needed to stop it before it infected his grandeur. "The room only had two beds…but I was just going to sleep here or sneak into the room later…" Mai tried to explain and avoided eye contact at all costs. She was going to get an ear full any second.

Oddly enough, Naru remained quiet with a disapproving look firmly in place…Mai hated that look, probably more than any lecture she could get…that look surely topped them all. It was not like it was her fault anyway. "Stay the night in our room." Naru finally spoke smoothly, though he seriously wondered if Mai had even heard the invitation.

A furious blush stained Mai's face and she tried to stammer out a reply but it was impossible. She knew he enjoyed teasing her but that was going a bit too far. She'd rather sleep on the floor than suffer the probable heart attack she would no doubt suffer if she was in close proximity to Naru at night.

Defenseless sleeping expression…disheveled hair, rumbled pajamas from sleep…sheets and blankets strew over a warm bed…the look that he would have upon first waking…

It was too much, way too much. Mai's fantasies were out of control with no hope of recovery. She was already lost to her wild imaginations and was surely going to collapse at any moment from over stimulation. Forget about a heart attack…it would be a full blown cardiac failure.

Naru hid his amusement well but he really did enjoy seeing Mai's reactions to his teasing. She was always so expressive and sporadic. She was all over the place, jumping from one emotion to the next with hardly a thought. "There is a day bed in our guest room in addition to the two beds." A sly smirk formed on Naru's face as he explained with great pleasure. "It would at least be better than the couch…and being alone…"

It was true; Mai couldn't agree more about that. There was no way she would be able to refuse now even if she wanted to…not that she really wanted to or anything in the first place. "F-fine…" Mai reluctantly agreed and followed Naru and Lin down the lavishly furnished hallway to their designated guest room.

Lin found Naru's actions slightly surprising even if that surprise didn't show on his face. There were several other options than what he had chosen that would have been much more logical. It was starting to become apparent that Naru had an affinity toward Mai that maybe even he didn't quite realize yet. It was nice to see him actually take interest in another human being and not just his research or work.

Mai entered the dimly lit, modestly decorated guest room nervous as hell. Just as Naru had said, there was a day bed located under a large window against the far wall. Naru watched as Mai fidgeted in her seat on the small bed. He found the sight much more entertaining than he probably should have. "Do you need something, Mai?" He smirked as she jumped at the mere sound of his voice. He knew perfectly well what was wrong with her but it was fun to see how jumpy she was.

"No!" Mai voiced hastily thought it was obvious that there was something troubling her, though it didn't take a genius to figure out what.

"Alright." Naru practically cooed as the words left his mouth. "I'm turning out the lights so someone won't peek as we change." Mai could practically hear the smirk that was no doubt plastered to his face as the room went dark.

Rustling noises echoed throughout the room and Mai dove under the covers as quickly as she could. She had stupidly left her bag in the room she was supposed to be sleeping in, but she didn't need to change…it was not like she was going to be able to get any sleep anyway. There was no way she was going to be able to calm down enough to fall asleep.

The room was silent and Mai could hear the soft breathing of the men on the other side of the room. Was Naru asleep? Was he listening to her too? Mai internally hit herself over a thought like that. There was no way he was paying any attention to her any longer. He had probably forgotten about her as soon as his head had hit the pillow…she was not worth his consideration; that was just the way he was and that fact would not change.

Despite Mai's own thoughts, she fell asleep relatively quickly although she was not fortunate enough to have a dreamless night…

~x~

Darkness faded to light and Mai found herself in the hallway of the house at what seemed like an earlier time. Sunlight poured in through old but clean windows and Mai could even hear the birds chirp from the trees just outside. The girl she had fought with earlier rushed passed her after a toy down the hall. Mai followed with endless curiosity since she had no idea what else she was supposed to do.

Several other family members passed her by as she meandered through the house watching them complete ordinary, mundane daily chores. The kids played, the laundry was completed, homework and business were taken care of, and meals were prepared. It all seemed so normal and Mai wondered why nothing was happening.

Was there a purpose to her dream or had she just stumbled into it without reason? "Why…why am I here?" Mai questioned herself out loud unintentionally. What else was she supposed to do?

"Because you can be…"

Spinning on her feet, Mai flipped around to see her guide standing behind her. No matter how many times he did that, she could never get used to him popping out of nowhere like he did. He always caught her off guard and it scared the heck out of her more than it ever should have. "What kind of answer is that!"

"The right one." He answered with a soft chuckle and started to walk away briskly. Mai quickly followed Naru's lead and found herself back at the play room where the two children were occupying themselves with copious amounts of toys. "What…is that?" Mai questioned as she watched the little girl's aura darken.

"She's being possessed." Naru explained grimly. It dawned on Mai suddenly that she must have been seeing the events prior to the girl attacking her. Just how long had she been possessed? What drove her to the base room that evening?

"It's not safe for you here; you should leave the house as soon as you can." Mai turned to face her dream Naru and was met with a serious expression.

"…But this already took place…I'm fine and John already exorcized the little girl." Mai continued to watch the scene before her though she was rather confused with the warning she was receiving.

"That's not what I meant…"

"Hrm? Then-" Mai started but her vision suddenly faded and changed to a montage of images, like a slide show of all the family members going through the exact same event as the girl from earlier had. The odd darkening and the seemingly empty possession, Mai saw it all as if in fast forward, every event that had happened since they had made the house their residence.

Mai shuddered as she watched the family member's possessed bodies meander the house or garden before being discarded like used goods. It seemed like there was no rhyme or reason to the behavior and it seemed unable to occupy any one person for long before it hopped one to the next victim.

"Why won't it go anywhere?" Mai finally asked when the images slipped away to nothing and her background faded to neutral. No matter how much she saw, it was the same thing repeating itself over and over again. The 'spirit' just moved from one person to the other never ending. It did nothing, made them do nothing, and then just discarded the body until it picked the next body to inhabit and do the same exact routine over again. Didn't it have a purpose or goal in harassing the family? Why wasn't it doing anything or asking for anything? What in the world did it want?

"…It's already seen you…before the medium or the miko…or any other others. You are unguarded, it's going to…" The voice faded before Mai could hear the end but she knew that her guide had been talking with deep concern in his voice and frankly, it scared her.

"Wha…wait!" Mai called out with desperation but his figure was already disappearing from her sight. "Tell me more, please…" She pleaded in a last ditch effort to find out what he had wanted to share with her but it was already too late; she suddenly awoke with a jolt and without finding out anything more. Mai opened her eyes to a dark, cold room…it was still night. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she stared up into the darkened room.

Mai knew she was prone to being possessed, but she had for the most part gotten used to it. She was not strong and she was unguarded and oblivious half the time…she knew that she was. She didn't like to acknowledge it…but the truth was that she 'was' spiritually inclined and rather in tune with the paranormal whether she liked it or not. Maybe her senses where just higher than most or her ESP helped, but either way she seemed to be a favorite target for spirits and the like. Mai was convinced she has an 'attack me' sign on her somewhere…

That had to be it…

With that thought in mind, Mai rolled over and fell back to sleep. Her bed was warm and her eyes were heavy not to mention that it was still dark outside. She had a feeling things were going to get more interesting…much more interesting…

~Chapter 4 End~

A/N: Let me know how you liked it! Thanks for reading!