Disclaimer: All characters in Ghost Hunt are the creation of the Goddess Ono Fuyumi-sama.


11:35 am, Wednesday, October 20th.

Location: Chiba Prefecture, Futtsu.

After calming down, Mai quickly told Naru and Lin about the boy she had seen and the feeling she had gotten from his presence.

"Can you sketch his face?" Naru interrogated.

"Do I have to?" Mai asked reluctantly. She'd rather not receive his answer.

There was the sound of someone approaching. "Is everything alright?" Yuri's voice cut in.

"Yuri-san!" Mai said happily, hoping Naru would forget the subject of the boy's face. She hadn't mentioned the boy's resemblance to Lin. She knew it was wrong of her, but Mai didn't want her husband to know that, for a brief instant, she was afraid to look at his face.

"Did something happen?" Yuri asked.

"I just tripped and scared myself," Mai laughed in an attempt to cover her jittery nerves. She knew that Naru wouldn't want her to reveal anything until they confirmed what had happened.

"Is Satoshi-kun here?" Naru questioned Yuri.

"No," Yuri responded, "my mother felt it was best that he stay with a friend for now. I hope that's alright."

"We shall see," Naru said, "but I would like a chance to talk with him."

"He'll be home this evening for dinner," Yuri informed him.

Naru nodded and turned his back on her dismissively. Yuri hesitated briefly before leaving the room.

"Don't think I've forgotten, Mai," Naru said scathingly. "Now sketch!"

Sighing, Mai began to sketch the boy's face. It creeped her out. She didn't want to see his face again, but she remembered it clearly.

"I see," Naru said after she had finished. "That's why you reacted the way you did."

"What do you mean?" Lin asked. He hadn't noticed the resemblance.

Mai looked at Naru pleadingly, silently begging him with everything she had.

"If you don't tell him now, one of the others will unthinkingly point it out," Naru told her callously.

Lin looked to Mai questioningly.

"It's only that," Mai began hesitantly, forcing herself to make eye contact with Lin, "he had a slight resemblance to you."

"Oh," Lin said, remembering how she had reacted.

He looked at the sketch. He didn't think it was that close of a resemblance besides the hair that covered the right side of his face.

"Mai, it's perfectly alright," Lin calmly told her.

He was satisfied with the fact that she had relaxed after viewing his features. He didn't think it was an issue worth getting upset over.

"We still have work to do," Naru told the pair. "Mai, help us carry the equipment. Make sure you stay close and if you see the boy again, use your spells."

"Okay," Mai said feebly.

She hadn't missed Naru's tone. The moment she sensed something was off, she should have at least used the Seal of Acalanatha. If the boy had been human, it wouldn't have harmed him.

"And here I thought Mai's IQ increased," was Naru's parting remark.

After they had moved all the equipment into the room, they proceeded to install it, connecting the computer and monitors with cables. As they progressed, the floor was slowly covered with various cords. After everything was connected, Mai picked up a clipboard to check the transported equipment with a memo of the gear they brought.

When done, Mai handed Lin the memo and he took it from her with a nod. She looked down at the next memo on her clipboard. She would need to take temperature readings of all the rooms next and there were a lot of rooms. Mai saw the monitors brighten out of the corner of her eye as she was contemplating how exhausting the setup would be.

"Excuse me," Yuri said from the door.

Mai and Naru turned their attention towards her.

"Yes?" Mai asked politely.

"If you'd like, we have a chabudai and zabuton set aside for this room."

"That will be fine," Naru responded. "—Lin."

Lin stood from his seat at the computer and walked to meet Yuri at the door. He followed her as she showed him out of the room. When they returned, Lin was carrying a short-legged table. Coming in behind him, Yuri brought several cushions. Lin set down the table and quickly returned to his seat. Mai went to help Yuri setup the cushions.

"If you'll excuse me," Yuri said, "I've made tea."

"Would you like some help carrying it?" Mai offered.

"Thank you, but I can manage," Yuri told Mai with a smile. She then left the room to fetch the tea.

"Wow," Mai said admiringly, "Yuri-san is so amazing."

Mai respected her polite and cool-headed demeanor. It was a contrast to her own carefree, emotional attitude. There was a short, dry laugh from Naru.

"Lin," he drawled, "I think there's someone else for you to be jealous of."

"What?!" Mai exclaimed. "It's not like that!"

Lin briefly glanced at Naru from the side, then returned his attention to the computer.

"I know what Mai likes, Naru," he said calmly, "and no woman could ever give it to her."

Mai was so embarrassed she felt like dying. The only consolation was that it seemed Naru felt the same. She couldn't see his face, but the back of his neck looked like it was on fire. He didn't say a word in response. Mai would have to have a talk with Lin later. With a simple sentence Lin could effectively shut Naru down, but it was often at the expense of her modesty.

Yuri entered the room with a tray of tea and set it on the table.

"Will you join me for tea?" Mai asked.

"I'd like that," Yuri said and took a seat at the table.

Before she sat down, Mai poured tea for both Naru and Lin. She took it to them, then returned to sit at the table with Yuri.

"You've brought an impressive amount of equipment," Yuri commented.

"Well," Mai said, "it just makes the manual labor more difficult."

"But the company at least makes up for it?" Yuri asked.

Mai looked at her sideways, wondering if she was joking.

"You're kidding, right?"

Yuri looked at Mai in surprise.

"Well, I hadn't meant it that way," she admitted.

"They kind of have bad attitudes," Mai told her quietly.

"I suppose that's no good," Yuri conceded, lowering her voice, "but they're nice to look at."

Mai laughed quietly at Yuri's comment.

"Oh, I see what you mean now."

She could tell the always polite Yuri was eager to gossip.

"They are quite handsome," Mai admitted, "but they're off limits."

"Oh," Yuri said, slightly disappointed, "it must be difficult to work with such handsome men without being able to date them."

"I'll let you in on a secret," Mai whispered conspiratorially, "I'm romantically involved with one of those handsome men."

"The tragically beautiful one or the mysterious one?" Yuri asked in serious interest.

"I'd like to think that I enjoy a good mystery," Mai responded quietly with a sly smile.

Yuri's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're really dating that quiet gentleman?"

"Actually," Mai whispered as she leaned forward, "we're married."

Yuri gasped at Mai's words. She hadn't been expecting such a huge revelation. Of the two, he seemed the most aloof and serious. His demeanor was the complete opposite of Mai's friendly and cheerful nature.

"Mai!" Naru called out in annoyance. "Stop talking about your romantic life and get back to work."

He didn't bother turning away from the monitors.

Standing up, Mai quietly grumbled to herself, "Stupid narcissist. Why does he have such supernatural hearing?"

"I'm just blessed," was Naru's smug reply.

"So not cute," Mai replied unhappily.

She motioned for Yuri to follow her as she left the room in a huff, her clipboard held to her chest angrily.

"I see what you mean by bad attitude," Yuri commented as she followed Mai down the hall. "—Where are we going?"

"Oh!" Mai said, stopping suddenly. She spun around to face Yuri. "I'm sorry, I need to conduct a preliminary investigation. Could you show me around, please?"

"Certainly," Yuri consented.

Yuri led Mai to the living room, watching as she pulled a small machine from her pocket and set it on the table.

"Is it alright if I ask what that is?" Yuri questioned.

"It's a digital thermometer," Mai answered offhandedly. "The temperature will often drop in places where spiritual phenomena occur. We take temperatures before setting up equipment in a room so we know where we should focus our surveillance."

"You're very knowledgeable," Yuri told Mai, her voice full of admiration.

"It's because my boss is strict and overworks me," Mai said with a mischievous smile. "At least, that's what I would have said in the past, but now it's from years of hard work and study. Also, I'm frequently asked these questions during investigation, so I've perfected my responses."

"I'm sorry," Yuri apologized. She felt guilty for asking questions she felt Mai was probably tired of hearing.

"Don't be," Mai told her kindly as she recorded the temperature on her memo. "I don't mind, so ask me all the questions you want. If something is off-limits, I'll politely refuse. —We should move on to the next room."

"How do you keep track of the temperatures?" Yuri asked as they walked into a new room.

"Lin-san made me a beautiful diagram," Mai told her playfully as she showed Yuri the clipboard. It had a smaller version of the house blueprints and each room had a label. "He's quite the artist."

Yuri laughed at Mai's comment. She was enjoying Mai's company a lot. Yuri didn't have a large amount of friends, but the few she had were all very serious people. She figured it was just the kind of people she attracted.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Yuri asked timidly.

"If it's not too embarrassing," Mai responded as she checked the temperature again.

"Well..." Yuri hesitated. "I just wonder what it's like."

"It?" Mai asked, not understanding what Yuri was referring to.

"Sex," Yuri said quietly, blushing.

She didn't have any experience with boys and neither did any of her friends. But Mai, she now knew, was a married woman. So, naturally, Yuri was curious.

"Ohhh," Mai said, nodding in understanding. "Well… it's pleasant."

She couldn't think of another way of describing it. She didn't know why, but the discussion of sex often caused her to feel embarrassed.

"But, that of course depends on who it's with. If it's the right person, then it's fine."

This is what Mai said aloud, but she honestly didn't know from experience. Lin was the only person she had been with and she never had any complaints about him.

"It isn't uncomfortable?" Yuri asked. "Considering that you're so petite and Lin-san's so...big."

Mai blushed at Yuri's statement. 'You don't even know,' Mai said inwardly. 'This is really too much! I thought Yuri was a good girl.'

"Well… " Mai said, pausing for a moment to think.

Her first time with Lin had been uncomfortable at first, but he had been so gentle that the discomfort only lasted for a few moments.

"Again," Mai said, feeling a little more courageous, "it depends on the person, but often you'll find that's a good thing."

This statement caused Yuri to blush again and she hid her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I don't know what came over me. I was just curious."

"It's alright," Mai reassured. She felt less uncomfortable knowing that Yuri shared her same awkwardness at these sorts of topics. "Let's go finish taking these readings."