! GUESS WHAT! I'M NOT DEAD! AREN'T Y'ALL HAPPY!

*dodges a series of tomatoes and other assorted foods

Okay, okay! I get it! I'm really sorry! I'm been SUPER busy lately and just couldn't find time! Forgive me angry readers?...YAY! Okay, so ENJOY the new chapter! (finally)

Disclaimer: If I owned Ghost Hunt 1. Mai and Naru would get together 2. John and Masako would get together 3. Ayako and Bou-san would have gotten together 4. Lin and Madoka would have gotten together...pretty much Everyone who should have been together would! Don't you wish that I owned it? But ...


Mai knelt in the center of her glowing circle where she was confined. Her body was hunched over, her white, angelic glow she had about her turned bluer and greyer by the second. She clutched her head, eyes shut tightly, trying to block out the figure before her. A figure with red hair and grey eyes. What was he doing to her? Why...why is it that she felt such agony running through her veins?

"How is it..." she thought "that you can torture me even after death?"

"What…what are you?" She grunted out. The man smiled down at her.

"Is that really so important to know, Mai?" He sneered, looking, smirking down at her, seeming to enjoy her pain.

Another rush of pain surged through her. It seemed as if her head was going to explode. The heart in her chest that was no longer beating felt as if it was slowly being torn open, the remains set on fire. She gasped, although the need for air was gone. "Please…stop…"

He shook his head. "I won't stop until you change."

"Ch-change?" She forced out.

"You know what happens." He said, kneeling in front of her. "The longer a spirit is bound to the Earth, the farther they slip from themselves."

Her eyes widened, her head tilted up slightly towards her murderer. "I-It's how…a spirit…becomes a-"

"A vengeful spirit, an evil spirit, whatever you like to call it."

"Stop-" Mai started, the pain his voice gave her heart was unbearable.

What was happening to her?

"It's going to happen eventually, Mai. And you know it. The revenge you want for me, the longing to be human again, the desire to be with your precious love, it's going to be too much. It'll drive you insane, to the point where you don't know what is what. Before you know it, you have a vengeance for everyone you once cared about, because they have what you don't."

"No…I would never…"

"They can't see what is right in front of them. That the person who killed you is right in front of them."

She held her head tighter. Even in the cold, it felt as if her body was on fire, while her skin felt frozen and cracked. "They don't know-"

"John and Masako. They've gotten together. They have what you didn't. John realized what Naru couldn't. They're parading around in love, rubbing it right in your face. Doesn't that...bother you?"

"I…I'm happy…I'm happy for them!..."

"And what about Naru? You had such a beautiful hatred towards him. You seem to forget, the reason you ended up in that alley that night is because you wanted to tell him your feelings. Because he left you all alone."

She couldn't deny that a small part of her blamed Naru. She died in his place. But more than anything, she wanted to keep in mind he had no idea. To forgive.

"Don't listen, Mai." she told herself. "He's just trying to make you angry. No matter what...don't...listen..."

"You're going to kill all your friends. And no one will be there. No matter how much you want justice, no one is ever going to find out. Because you've killed everyone with a speck of that ability. They'll all die, Mai. And I'm going to make you watch."

"Don't hurt them!"

"You're the one hurting them." He reached his hand to her chin, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "You will kill each and every one of them. You will torture them not only with the fact that it's you, but with pure torment. And there is nothing you can do to stop it."

The man vanished, leaving Mai alone, trembling, a pure grayish-blue now. Her body shook as she once again held her head. It was no use. She had no control anymore. She needed it. Their blood. She needed it to be spilled. She needed their deaths. She knew deep inside herself it was the only way. The only way to make her feel whole. To fill the emptiness that man gave her. She was completely dry. Her eyes were hollow, her blood now stained her clothes unlike before, where her wounds were completely closed. No, they were open now. Her veins varicose.

I don't…want to…hurt them…

But she had no choice.

He was right. He succeeded.

She was driven mad.

She arched her back and let out a deafening scream that could wake the dead.

"Kabasawa-san?" Takigawa asked their guest, who seemed to be sleeping in a plastic chair in the corner. His grey eyes opened, the smirk he had worn on his face remained. "Sorry to wake you from your nap, but we're heading back to SPR to do a bit of research."

"Oh don't worry, I wasn't sleeping." The smirk was now replaced with a warm smile. "Just closing my eyes for a moment."

He stood, following the others out the exit. He smiled, remembering her screams, her struggling, her blood.

'That's what you get, Noll. Don't worry. You'll be next.'

His thoughts wandered back to his Caroline, who had died in a fire two years prior.

"William?"

"Caroline!"

He didn't know how he had done it for the first time. He had just thought of her, closing his eyes, praying that somehow he could see her, talk to her. He had felt the energy pool inside him until his closed vision changed. And then there she was. Her long, black hair and her fair skin.

And that scar…

She hadn't been able to run because of her limp, because of what that damn Oliver Davis had done to her the year before that fire.

"Caroline, I will avenge you."

"That's alright. Really, I'm fine. I just want you to remember that I love you, alright?"

"Caroline, I will avenge you. I will kill that bastard who did this to you."

"William-"

"Tell me that you want me to kill him!"

"But I don't-"

"Dammit, Caroline, tell me!"

"William you're scaring m-"

"Caroline." He ordered, placing his hand on her cheek. Her eyes widened, seeming to change. "Tell me."

"I…want you to kill Oliver Davis."

Yes, William did hire a woman for the death of Noll's brother. But it didn't seem like enough. It didn't seem like it did Caroline justice.

He killed his love. Maybe that should have evened the odds.

But it didn't.

He would put Mai through what his Caroline had gone through. Tenfold. Because Oliver Davis didn't deserve love.

She was a stupid girl for loving him. A stupid girl like that would have gotten herself killed anyways.

And after he was done with her, he would do what Caroline wanted him to do. He would kill Oliver Davis. Soon.

"Hey." A high male voice called him from his thoughts.

Monk was walking at the front of the group, with Ayako a bit behind him. Naru was walking in the middle, as always Lin was close by. John was behind them, with Masako by his side. Kabasawa Takashi was walking by Monk. Masako looked up at all of them, eyes never wandering to the blonde-haired boy by her side.

"I was wondering," John asked the group. "If we should go on a walk before going back to SPR. It's a beautiful day after all."

"That…" Ayako wondered, stopping. The group stopped as well. She looked back at John, giving him a sad smile. "I think that's a good idea." Monk took her hand, she looked up at him. He gave her a soft smile, as if to comfort her. It appeared it did, for they kept walking hand in hand. John looked down at Masako, wondering if he should hold her hand as well. She was merely looking at the cement as they walked, blushing like mad.

John smiled and looked back ahead of him. Slowly, he slid his hand closer to hers until their fingertips just touched. In one single move, he laced his fingers in between hers. Her head shot around to face his, a look of shock on her face. He merely smiled.

She smiled shyly and lightly squeezed his hand. John kept their gaze for a few moments, then looked back ahead of him. They simply walked like that, content with the warmth each of their hands gave the other.

Suddenly, the warmth was gone. John was holding on to nothing, just air. He looked down at their entwined hands, only to find them not entwined anymore. In fact, Masako wasn't there anymore.

John halted as he looked around, wondering where she could have gone. She was nowhere in sight. He sighed, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead with the hand that had been holding hers. His ocean eyes opened once more, his hand frozen in place. There was something…something on his hand. Some sort of warm liquid. He took his hand off his forehead and looked down at his palm.

Blood.

With his left hand he felt his forehead for some sort of head wound, but there was none. Just a smeared bit of blood on his forehead, a drop of it trickling down his face.

He wasn't injured. Where did the blood come from?

His eyes widened.

Masako. The hand she was holding, the sudden disappearance…

"Takigawa!" He shouted. The entire group looked back at his horror-stricken face.

"John," Monk ran to him. "what happened?"

"Masako…" he whispered. "my hand, she was holding my hand when she suddenly disappeared."

The team looked at each other.

"This…this isn't my blood."

Then they started to run.

Masako grunted as her back hit the brick wall.

"What the…" She looked up from the ground. "Mai."

This couldn't be Mai. Her eyes were hollow, her aura was grey and…bloodthirsty…

She snickered. "Long time, no see, eh Masako?"

"Mai…" she whispered.

"Is that all you can say? Shouldn't you be talking about your…" something suddenly sliced Masako's shoulder. She screamed as her hand clutched the wound. "…relationship status?"

Masako's head shot up, eyes wide.

"How…"

"You think you can hide everything from everyone." An agonizing pain came to Masako's stomach. She clutched it, folding her body in half from the pain. Tears began to form at the edges of her eyes. "Don't you? You think your precious priest will come and save you, don't you?"

"Please…stop…I can help-"

"You think you can help? Silly girl. The only way you can help is by giving me the pleasure of killing you."

Masako had a pool of blood surrounding her. Yet, the only real wound she had was on her shoulder.

This…this isn't my blood…

She looked up at Mai, smiling down at her. Her school uniform was stained with a red liquid.

Mai…this blood…is Mai's?...

Two foggy hands came from behind Mai. Before she knew it Masako was being lifted by the neck, pushed against the brick wall behind her. She put her hands to the surprisingly tangible hands choking her, trying to pry them off her neck. But they refused to budge. More pain came to even more places on her body, agonizing her. But she wasn't truly hurt.

Mai is making me feel...the wounds she felt…

Suddenly, the ghost was right in front of her. She placed her index finger on Masako's forehead. Just that simple touch made blood begin to drip down her face. Not Mai's blood. Her own blood. She tried to cry out, for John, for anybody, but it just came out as a wheeze.

No one could hear her.

So this is how Mai felt...when she was murdered...

"The only way you can help…" Mai whispered. "…is by dying."

Crystal tears slid from Masako's eyes.

"Mai..." she wheezed.

In just that moment, Masako looked into Mai's hollow eyes. They scared her. But for just a moment, they weren't hollow. For just a moment, she could see sorrow, pain, and fear in Mai's chocolate eyes, a tear of blood sliding down her cheek. Her aura, for a moment, was white. She looked so scared, so sad. But quickly, the tear dried up, the eyes became hollow again. Masako's head hurt, like it would burt at any moment. It was so sudden, if she could clutch her head, she would, but she was too focused on not being strangled. Yet, she could feel herself losing the ability to struggle. There wasn't enough air in her lungs. She could feel her heartbeat become slower and slower…

As her heartbeat became slower, the beating rang loud in her ears. The whole world also seemed in slow-motion. She could hear voices, screams echoing in the back of her mind. Images kept changing in her vision. Mai, she was screaming, she was struggling. There was a silhouette. What...what was the person doing with Mai?

"Help! Naru, somebody, help me!"

No image lasted longer than a second, Masako could barely make out Mai in the shaking pictures.

"What is this?" She wondered in her hazy mind. "Mai...what are you trying to show me?"

The images continued, so blurry in Masako's head.

"This has to be a dream."

"What do you want with me?"

"Ah, Mai. It's not you I want." A new, more masculine voice entered the picture. Masako couldn't place it.

"He thought he'd seen the last of me. But you see, I've been watching him. And I've been watching you. I was going to attack him tonight, but after witnessing what happened tonight, I thought I'd give you a choice."

Pictures. Mai being dragged. Blood. A hand over her mouth. Mai on a wooden board. Blood. A knife.

"So answer me this, Mai. Should I kill Naru, or you?"

"MASAKO!" a scream reached her ears. Her half-lidded eyes shot open and she came back to the real world as she looked to her left. There he was, leading the others towards her. A pure happiness filled her heart.

Then, a sharp pain tore through her other shoulder. This was no slice. It was as if a knife was dug into her skin. She looked back at Mai, who had a wicked smile on her face.

"Mai," Masako thought. "what was that? Which Mai is the real you?"

"Not everyone will be as lucky as you are. They will all die." The hands holding Masako by the neck released her. She fell to the ground, coughing and almost unconscious. "But don't worry." She smiled. "I'll be back."

Mai faded away.

"Masako!" John's voice echoed around her as she felt his arms slide around her. The rest of the group gathered around them at a comfortable distance. John clutched her gently, his face buried in her hair. Masako smiled and slowly put her arms around him as well.

"I knew you'd come and rescue me."

John chuckled. "Of course."

From behind them, Takigawa cleared his throat. John brought his head up and looked up at the Monk.

"I'll explain later."

Monk gave a look that read 'you'd better' all over it.

"John." Masako whispered, tugging gently on his sleeve. He looked to her again. "As I was losing consciousness, I saw pictures in my head. I think, because of my spiritual sensitivity, I..." John rubbed her back with his hand, urging her to finish her sentence. "...I don't know who killed her, but, I think I saw Mai's murder."

The group's eyes widened.

"It was just pictures, but, she seemed so scared." Tears streamed down her face. "I think she made me feel what she felt. Most of this isn't even my blood. She...she hurt...so much..."

Then Masako finally collapsed into John's arms. He picked her up bridal style, holding her close to him.

The whole of SPR began walking back towards their earlier destination.

Ring Ring. Takigawa's phone went off.

"It's Yasuhara."


Good chapter? I HOPE SO!

OMG YASUHARA! (Y'all were wondering when I was gonna bring him into the story, huh? XD)

And congrats to Pinchfield for being the first to correctly translate the message! It was "I love my reviewers! Everybody, thank you! Merry Christmas!"

Reviews! (sigh, so many to reply to! Well, that's what I get for waiting so long to update, huh?)

Pinchfield: Hey! Welcome to my story! XD Congratulations for being the first to correctly guess the message! *applause! Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. And thanks, I'm SO happy! 141 reviews! And only 6 chapters!

BloddyXandra: Haha, thank you! Sorry for leaving you with a cliffy for so long!

Black-x-kimono-x-otaku: LOL Thank you so much! That's ok! Oooh, now I want some cake! And yes, this story is full of ANGST! (wizard angst...angst...angst... (haha, Potter Puppet Pals joke XD)) Haha, I consider your hypothesis close enough to deserve a VIRTUAL COOKIE! Thanks!

Cross your Heart for me: Thanks again! And YES! YES THEY WERE!

GaarasLoverGirlKat: Thanks for the review!

Chibi-Kyuubi-Chan: Hope you enjoyed this chapter too, then! Sorry for making you wait! Haha, I think maybe at least half of my loyal (and awesome!) reviewers did as well XD

MoonPieeNinnjaaa: WHAT SHALL WE DO? HE'S CONTROLLING MAI! ACK! Thanks for reviewing :)

PauleenAnne: SOMEONE wanted Naru to feel guilty XD And yes! He did!

-dreamingwandererofthelight-: Thank you! Sorry for making you wait! DX

Katie: Thank you! I hope you had a good Christmas! Sorry for making you wait for a new chappie!

Conejo-sama: XD haha, you had the last two word spot on! Yep, thanks!

Holmesz: Haha, creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy XD Thank you!

Chiara Nadia: Haha, thats ok. Thanks! Sorry for not uploading often!

HandsomeAngel: "Oh My Chicken Flipping God!"? Never heard that one before XD oops...hope your not a ghost...hehe...

Anonymous: Thank you for reviewing!

Felling: Yus...I have accomplished scary-ness XD mwahaha. Sorry for taking so long to update!

heavenslilagl420: Thanks for reviewing! Sorry for the slow update!

summerbirdy: I hope your year is going GREAT so far! Thanks! That's a really nice way of putting love :) Thank you so much!

Sakura Ichigo Morihiko: Well...that's what he's doing, and that's his motive :D (that's so cool, my whole chapter was like a reply to your review! XD) You were, like, SPOT ON with your assumption. Good job! Haha, thanks XD

The Roses of Color: Thanks! And I think he might find out shortly...or not...

River-Fiona-Barrels-Me: Thank you!

Emina105: "HOLYSHITAKIMUSHROOMS."? Never heard that one either...XD Thank you sooooo much! (haha, teaaaaaaaaaaaaaars yus!) Again, THANK YOU! That's a really big compliment. Sorry for the long update!

Goldfish-Con-Carne: Thank you! ACK! SOOOO sorry! I was WAY too slow :(

ember m: SORRYSORRYSORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!

Again, I'm happy to read and review any stories y'all have. It's really fun XD

And again, SORRY!

(Ps, if anyone likes romantic Asian shows, look up "Devil Beside You" in youtube. It's really good, I suggest watching!)

Until next time! (Which will be sooner!)

-Kara aka WhiteLotusBlossom547

Ugh, look at what this guilt has done to me. Staying up until 1:23 (MAKE A WISH!) grumblegrumblegrumble...