It was dark. It was so dark. I was laying on hard a hard surface. It was cold. Groaning I tried to roll over to my body came into contact with something solid. I stopped and just laid there. This was it. I knew this was the end. How could I have been so stupid. I messed up and now... I'm going to die. I shivered as footsteps came closer. Each step bringing my impending doom. There was no escaping it. They stopped.

"Uh...Mai? Are you okay?" I sighed in relief. It was just Yasu. "What are you doing on the ground?" He walked closer to me and stopped at my side.

I rolled over and opened my eyes meeting his for a second before I closed them and rolled back onto my stomach. "Dying." I mumbled into the floor.

"Hahaha well if that's the case then I'm going to have to tell Naru he's going to need to hire a new assistant." I glared at the floor. He crouched down next to me. "Seriously though, what's up?"

"Mfndhdbdj" I mumbled into the floor.

"...Oh! So that's what it is then. Yah, my girlfriends the same way right now. I think we have some Tylenol in the cabinet. I can get you some for your cramps if you want."

It took me a minute to comprehend what he was saying. I blushed hard and sat up. "Ew ew ew ew ew! What no! Yasu- that's not-!" I waved my hands frantically in front of me but when he started laughing I stopped. Realization dawned on me. "That's not funny." I stated.

"I thought it was." He said smiling.

I shook my head. "Na uh. Evil. That was evil."

"But it got you off the floor." He said still smiling.

Evil. Osamu Yasuhara is evil.

The redness in my cheeks started to fade. I leaned back against the cabinets as depression with my situation sunk in again.

"Anyways," he sat next to me. "What's got you so depressed to lay on this dirty floor. I mean honestly who cleans this...place...?" He stopped at my glare. I was the one who cleans this place.

"We're out of tea." I gritted out angrly my glare still fully focused on him.
A mischievous twinkle lit in his eye. "Are you sure your not on your-"

"Yasu!" I yelled.

He helped his hands I front of him this time. "Alright alright. I'll stop. Gees."
"We're out of tea and Naru's going to kill me." I stated deflating onto the ground again.

"Ooh. Right. Yah... It was nice knowing you." He got up and walked out. Sprung up and ran after him.

"Wait, where are you going? Don't leave me here." I said as he shrugged his coat on.

"We're out of tea right? I don't want to see what that man is like with out it. He practically breaths the stuff." He opened the door. "I'll go get some." And with that he left.

I take it back. Osamu Yasuhara is an angle.

I walked to my desk and sat down. The office had been pretty devoid of, well, everything. We hadn't had much work to do at all. It had been a month sense the last case and we've only had one person come in but Naru quickly dismissed them saying the creaking was because their house was old and honestly I had to agree. The only mail we had lately was bills and checks and the email was far from being spammed. I had only gotten one phone call today but quickly hung up when I heard giggling on the other side and was asked if this was Yang Ho's Pizza House. Lin never came out of his office and neither did Naru so really it was only Yasu and me. it sounded fun at first but after a week I found out all he did was study. The only thing that was even remotely entertaining was that fact that we were out of tea and that was more terrifying than entertaining. I hoped Naru didn't ask for any tea until Yasu got back with it. Speaking of which he hasn't asked for any in a while, almost two hours according to the clock.

"I'm back!" Yasu yelled.

I looked up as he came in. Wow that was quick. "What kind did you-" Yasu held the door open for a small old man. He was bald and hunched over. His hand was shaking so bad you could see it in his cane. He wore traditional Japanese clothing and had sandals on his feet which was odd because it was the middle of February.

I looked to Yasu then bowed to the old me. "Welcome to Shibuya Physic Research. My name is Taniyama Mai, how can I help you?"

"Yes hello, may I speak with your boss?" His voice was shaky but you could tell it wasn't from nerviness but rather old age.

I nodded to him and quickly walked over to Naru's office. I knocked on his door. "Naru we have a costumer." I waited for a moment for a reply but when I received none I knocked again. "Naru?" Still no reply. I was getting worried. He always answered or came out right away. Should I go in? "Um... I'm coming in okay?"

I slowly slid the door open and peaked in. The room was dark. The only source of light being a small lamp on Naru's desk. The light illuminating his sleeping face and black hair. It had gotten a bit longer. Not much, barley any. But I could tell it was annoying him a bit with how it was falling into his eyes lately.
I walked over to him. He looked peaceful and happy. He didn't look like himself when he slept. He looked like Gene like this. I smiled softly. I wonder how he was doing? Is Gene actually happy or does he just pretend to be when I'm around. It's tough losing someone you have known your whole life, the only constant thing you have suddenly gone. I could relate.

I swiped a bit of hair out of Naru's eyes then quickly pulled my hand away. What am I doing? I'm supposed to be waking him up.

"...Naru?" I whispered. There was no response again. "Naru?" I said a bit louder shaking his shoulder lightly.

He stirred in his sleep. His eyes blinked open and came to rest on my face. For a split second I could have sworn I saw all the sadness, grief, regret, and guilt in his eyes but it hardened into a glare so fast I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not.

"Um... Naru?" He sat up fully looking as put together and graceful as if he hadn't been asleep at all. His cloths weren't wrinkled at all and he didn't even have any sleep marks. So not fair! His eyes weren't even groggy at all which anyone could see as they were glaring threateningly at me. "We um have a client." I said taking a few steps away from him in fear of my life.
He nodded running a hand through his hair before standing up, grabbing his book, and turning the lamp off. He didn't say anything to me as he walked out of the room shutting the door after him leaving me standing in the dark.

Jerk!

I quickly fallowed after him, my steps sounding more like stomps. The old man was now seated on the couch with Yasu. I knocked on Lin's door informing him we had a costumer before taking a seat next to Naru.

"Mai, get some tea for everyone." Naru said. I looked at Yasu hopeful.

"Sorry boss, Mai ran out and when I went to get some I ran into Mr. Sumi." Yasu said completely throwing me under the buss.

Gee thanks Yasu. I glared at him and he only smiled. I glared harder.

Lin came out of his office and sat in the chair on the other side of Naru. He promptly opened up his laptop and placed it on his lap, hands positioned to type.

"Now," Naru began. "please start by introducing your self."

The man looked confused. He looked at me. "I thought I told you to go get your boss." He snapped

"I'm the boss. My name is Kazuya Shibuya." Naru informed quickly.

The man was taken aback. "You just a child! This is preposterous! I demand to speak to someone fit to be in charge. If anything he," he pointed at Lin who briefly looked up from his laptop to look that the man. "Should be the one in charge."

What! Who does this man think he is. I know we're supposed to respect our elders but how can I do that if they have no respect for us! You came here asking for our help and now your criticizing us! So what if Naru's young! I bet he knows more in the 17 years he's been alive than in the 80 something years you have!

"Seeing how I am 18 I'm no longer a child. Now is there something you need our help with or was your purpose in coming here today to yell about the management of my company?" Naru asked.

Wait? Since when has Naru been 18?

The old man huffed and hunkered down into the couch even more. He glared at Naru for a second seeming to debate whether we wanted to except him as the one in charge or not. Finally he sighed in discontent and started talking. "My name is Sumi Shiguro. I recently bought a rundown building on the outskirts of Tokyo. My family and I were planing on renovating it and making it into a hotel but construction doesn't seam to be going as planned." He stated. "You see, all the workers are refusing to go to work. Honestly I still don't I believe in ghost but they refused to come back unless I got professionals to help. That's the only reason I'm here today otherwise I wouldn't be waisting my time." He huffed.

Naru glared at his tone. But asked him to continue anyway.

"Last week one of the walls collapsed on my workers and he ended up with a broken leg. Sure the way it broke was strange but walls fall down all the time."
"What do you mean it was strange?" Naru asked.

"Well it was a clean cut all the way around. A perfectly strait line. The wall is a divider wall between two rooms so its only connected to anything on three sides but the cut was completely strait. No jagged edges at all. Also I've had a few workers say that bricks have been dropped on them which isn't uncommon on it's own but it's the amount of people that have reported it seams suspicious. And a few have reported seeing a man bleating and beaten to death but when they went to get help he was gone." He finished.

My eyes were wide with the amount of activity going on. How can Mr. Sumi hear all this and not believe in ghost.

"When can you have us?" Naru asked. Closing the black book he had in his hand.

"We can have you on Thursday but we have no finished rooms yet so we have no where to house you."

"That's fine. Mai will book two rooms in a hotel near by."

"Yes sir." I saluted him much to my amusement and his annoyance. He rolled his eyes and I walked over to the computer on my desk to start searching.

"Such an insolent women." Mr. Sumi said. The smile on my face dropped. I looked over to see he was looking at me in disgust. He turned back to Naru. "If you don't teach her where her place is as a women now, then she'll never learn it." He said.

"We will see you on Thursday. Yasuhara will see you out." I couldn't see Naru's face but the tone of his voice was clear indication that he was upset with what Mr. Sumi had to say.

I sat in my chair and turned to my computer as Yasu showed Mr. Sumi out. When the door closed behind them I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Naru got up and walked over to me handing me a piece of paper with the address of our next case on it.

"Call Father Brown and Ayako once you have the hotel arrangements made." He ordered.

"Just them?" I asked. It was odd for us to call John over Monk. Actually I don't ever think we have. We always called Monk as our exorcism since he didn't live to far away. And Ayako was pretty much useless unless there's a forest near by.

"Why not Monk?"

"Takigawa has prior engagements with his band. And Father Brown happens to be in the country at the moment." He answered before swiftly walking back to his office.

How did Naru know what everyone was doing? I didn't know he kept in contact with them outside of work. I giggled at the picture of him talking to Monk on the gone like a teenage girl gossiping to her friends.

"Oh and Mai," Naru called peaking his head back out of his office snapping the picture out of my head.

"Hum?" I looked up from the computer.

"You are to be with someone at all times on this case." He stated.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why? None of the activity sounds like it's targeted at women or teenagers."

He took a moment and thought about his next words. "Some old men have dangers ways of thinking and those thoughts can easily turn into actions." With that he shut the door.

Hay guys. I'm back. I have this story planed out but I'm not sure how long it will take me to write each chapter. Hopefully I'll have a new chapter every 2-4 days. Notice how I took about a week off from my last chapter to write this one. That will most likely happen every time I start a new case. Anyway. I hope you like it. Tell me what you think. Constructive critique is always welcome. Thanks guys. Oh and the new title is Axiom! I will update it when i post the next chapter. R&R

~CrimsonSarrow