okay so i know it's not as long as other chapters but i've been having a bit of a lacking passion to write anything lately, not just this story

disclaimer: does anybody really believe i'd claim ownership to ghost hunt. it's a dream but only one that will happen after i win the lottery and go to japan for a month long vacation.


Lights, Camera, Action!

Where so many cinemas got their life

Being destroyed, renamed, and reborn

I could be a story all my own

The best of the best is where the next clue waits

The curtain falls; stay awake!

"I have no idea what I'm going to do, but when I get my hands on the person who wrote theses clues I'm probably going to lose it on them." Mai threatened.

"You should be focusing that kind of anger on the person responsible for all this." Naru replied.

"Oh, don't worry. I've something entirely different in mind for them." Mai informed him with a devilish grin at the prospect. She sighed and irritably rolled the tip of the pen in her teeth trying to figure out the clue.

Naru watched her for a moment before deciding that while yes, he had ticked off Mai on more than one occasion; mostly for his own amusement, he would not want to be on her bad side. Not even for a moment. At any rate, they'd checked into the third hotel of the day; paying cash and registering under fake names. Though thankfully, there was a guard checking to make sure all guests had card keys before letting them in the elevator.

"What?" Mai's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Nothing" Naru replied. "I just happen to think it's amusing how something that seems as innocent as you could be so bloodthirsty. That's all. If I were any other man I would say that it's cute."

Mai fought down a blush. "And you're the one telling me to focus." She grumbled. It had been less than a half hour since Mai had confessed to not having a boyfriend. And it had been less than at least twenty minutes since Mai kept replaying what had happened after that. Naru had told her that when he wanted something, he'd do whatever it took to get it. He'd also told her that he didn't like sharing things that were his with anybody else. If she could assume that he was right in saying that she now belonged to him, she would have a hard time focusing on anything else. "Aren't you the very embodiment of 'don't speak unless you have something worth saying'? Why aren't you following that code now?"

"I do not have to follow a code simply because I seem to be the physical representation of it." Naru replied.

"I suppose, but we need to focus Naru. We're already halfway through our time limit and we don't know how many clues we have left to solve." Mai told him.

"I'm well aware of the fact Mai." Naru answered smoothly. "Now do you have any ideas of where this might be pointing us to?"

"I think it's Broadway." Mai replied.

"And why not Times Square?" Naru argued. "Think of all the cameras and other equipment they have there."

"Yes, but also think of how hard it is to get into a studio in a place like Times Square." Mai countered. "Plus, one of the lines in the clue makes a reference to the curtain falling which makes me believe that it's Broadway we're looking for and not times square."

"Normally, I could argue logic like that but given the situation I put my trust in what you say. However, it is more pertinent to have solid evidence first." Naru replied.

"I agree completely." Mai answered through a yawn. The stress of the day was definitely taking its toll on her and she wanted nothing more than to take a nice long nap. Unfortunately there was no time for such a thing.

Naru watched her and noted how tired she seemed. "Mai, you should take a nap, it'll be too much trouble to finish this game if I'm dragging you through it while you're half-dead." He told her firmly.

Mai yawned again. "But we don't have time." She protested weakly.

"Just take ten minutes to rest." Naru replied.

Mai shook her head. "No, but maybe a shower will help." She said heading towards the bathroom. She was so preoccupied with getting there she missed Naru's head shoot up and his eyes widen.

"Do what you must, but don't take too long." Naru told her tightly. "I'll still be working on the clue when you're done." Mai nodded at him and shut the door.

When it was locked Naru let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding. He rubbed his temples with his fingers to try and let out his agitation. He knew Mai was somewhat reckless and didn't always think things through but this was ridiculous. He had already informed Mai that she now belonged to him, and that it was getting to be very hard keeping his control when he was around her, but she just didn't get it did she? Or maybe she wanted to torture him; the thought was shot down almost as instantly as it had come up. Mai would never do something like that, besides that fact he would know if she were up to something. She was so easy to read.

"Noll, hate to be a bother but it might be best if you focus on the clue." Gene pointed out.

"Well aware of the fact." Naru replied think he should go somewhere Mai wasn't so he would be able to do as he said he would. Hearing the shower startup he was all the more inclined to go. However, he decided that if he could tune out at least fifty of the annoying lab lackeys back home in his father's research facility then he should be able to tune out Mai. Should, of course, being the key word.

Satisfied, with that idea Naru kept his eyes glued to the lines, not allowing his focus to stray to any other subject; particularly a brunette, cinnamon eyed subject with a fiery attitude. He became so engrossed with the task at hand he didn't notice Mai had finished with her shower. Hearing the door open Naru glanced at the clock on the nightstand; she'd been in there a good fifteen to twenty minutes. He then looked up to find Mai clad in a fluffy, oversized towel and nothing more from what he could see. His body then reacted in the most logical way, in other words; he froze.

"Sorry I took so long." Mai apologized not even looking at Naru as she rummaged through her bag. "I shouldn't take much more than a few minutes to finish up." Without giving Naru a chance to reply Mai headed back to the bathroom.

After the door clicked shut once more Naru knit his brows together and put his hands to his temples. He bit back a groan of frustration. There was no way she was doing this unintentionally. She had to be teasing him, she just had to be. When she came back out, she looked more refreshed and had pulled her hair into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck.

Naru pinched the skin between his brows and shut his eyes at her. "Mai." He said.

"Yes?"

"You are well aware of the powers I possess right?"

"Right."

"And you are also well aware of the fact that I could destroy the whole building if I lost control of my emotions right?"

"Sure…"

"I'm sure you don't want that to happen right?"

"No, I don't want that at all." Mai said still not knowing where the man was going with this.

"Well, if you don't wish for that to happen; I suggest you don't walk around in a towel anymore." Naru finished.

Mai blushed as the pieces of the puzzle came together. "I thought you had keeping your emotions under control! You can't seriously be blaming this on me!"

"I can, and I am." Naru replied looking over the ideas he had jotted down on the notepad. "I told you before, you're mine. I wouldn't call possession of you if I didn't like you. The reason I like you is because you make me feel emotion. Now that triggers certain hormones and I'm sure you can figure out the rest." He explained.

"Huh?" Mai asked not quite getting it.

"Never mind I'll explain it to you when we have more time on our hands." Naru said dismissing the subject.

"Alright." Mai agreed. "Have you thought of anything new yet?"

"No, the best we have so far is Times square or Broadway." Naru answered.

"Well, let's try Broadway first." Mai replied. "It's closest to where we are so it'll take less time."

"If you say so." Naru said in response.

Self-proclaimed paranormal researcher Tomoaki Sakauchi was at a loss. At the current moment he was contemplating the merits of a panic room; or at the very least a more high-tech security system. Apparently anyone who wanted to could get into his lab and research facility, as exampled by the way Oliver Davis strode in earlier like he owned the place.

"Idiot." Sakauchi muttered under his breath. Still as cocky and confident as ever. And everyone admired him for it. It didn't matter that they thought he was Kazuya Shibuya; he was still the most sought after man ever.

And then, there were Ubusuna and Urado. Those two were completely insane, and he actually thought of helping them just to knock them down a peg.

It's not that he wasn't happy that a working model of one of his own inventions was out in the world. But he would have preferred it if it had been one that wouldn't cause mass destruction, chaos, and hysteria. That invention had been placed on a specific shelf for a specific reason. The reason being that it was just too dangerous to ever be used and there was no situation to ever call for its use.

"Dammit." The man cursed. At this point anything he did or didn't do was only going to lead him downhill. He knew Oliver would not stay completely blinded for long. Sooner than later he would figure out who was the creator of everything and Sakauchi was completely sure that his dad wouldn't be able to get out of this one.

All of it, every single thing would be pinned to him and there was no hiding place in the world where he could stay without drawing attention to himself because of his, odd, interests. It would probably be better for him if the lunatics won this game. Both people would be eradicated so there was nothing they could do to him. But his conscience would never let him live with that, especially since Oliver was a fellow psychic researcher and Mai was the daughter of two influential people in the parapsychological world. And besides that, Sakauchi knew he was just a useful tool to the lunatics. Once Oliver Davis and Mai Taniyama were dead Urado and Ubusuna would have him taken care of without a second thought. Because then he would no longer be a useful tool, he'd be a useless tool instead.

Sakauchi sighed, why did doing the right thing have to be so tough? "I'm dammed if I do, and dammed if I don't." he muttered. "Life sucks."

Masako was at a slight loss. The tracker was gone and she had no idea what the next clue was talking about. There were literally hundreds of possibilities in this city. Clubs, theaters, studios, well that was all she had at the moment but still; there were hundreds of those in this city. It would take hours to check everyone and by the time that happened they would have moved on to the next clue. The woman sighed in frustration; this was not going the way she had hoped at all.

"Hmm… I wonder if it would be too much to ask for the answers to the clues." She thought aloud. She shook her head not even a moment after it surfaced. She was a professional for a reason. It was because she didn't need things like cheat sheets to track down her targets. She was always fine on her own.

Masako sighed once more, she would never admit this to anyone but sometimes she missed being a simple medium. After she'd started this business the spirits still called out to her, they always called to her to help them move on. They were always so insistent, but the worst part was that Masako couldn't turn her medium powers off. So she'd always hear the voices of the people she'd killed, begging to know why she did it. Masako sighed; she only did it because she needed a challenge. She honestly didn't like disposing of well-meaning people, but they were in the way of the people with the biggest bids, so they needed to be taken care of.

Truth be told, this challenge was merely a game of cat and mouse. Once Masako caught them she would have to bring them to Ubusuna and Urado, and then watch as they were killed before her very eyes.

'Stop thinking about it' she scolded herself. 'Thinking about it will only drive you away from this.' Truth be told it also happened to be making her sick to her stomach.

Killing people herself was one thing; she was always merciful with her death delivery. Usually it was with a gun or fast acting arsenic. Just because it was her job to kill didn't want to make the victims suffer anymore then they would when they were dead. But if she knew Ubusuna and Urado, which wasn't very well but she had a good overview of their personalities, they'd draw out and prolong the death as much as they could, just for the sick sake of watching Mai and Oliver suffer. Using a gun would be most merciful, and they wouldn't simply aim for the heart or the head. Oh no, they'd take their time shooting off each and every appendage and watching the blood flow before finally ending it.

More likely to happen though, was the use of whips and knives. First a crack of the whip to create tears, and then slowly dragging the sharpened blade of the knife over porcelain skin. Carving it up like a Christmas ham. Masako shuddered, especially since she, like Sakauchi, was only useful as long as Mai and Oliver were alive. Once they were gone, Masako would become their plaything for all of about two minutes before she was shot dead. Unlike the two her death would be quick. Quick, but it would hurt like hell.

Masako shook her head once more, if it was going to be her last job, then she was damn well going to do it to the best of her ability. If it ended in her own death, then so be it. At the very least she was going to go out on top.

Gene watched his brother and Mai from where he stood in the astral plane. He just couldn't believe the luck this incident was turning out to possess. Sure, Kasai was god knows where in god knows what conditions, but Noll, his baby brother Noll, had found a woman he actually wanted. At that very moment Gene wished with all his no longer beating heart that he was still alive. Oh the hours of fun he could have teasing his brother about this. Teasing him inside his head was enjoyable, but it would be even better if he could tell Mai all sorts of embarrassing things in Oliver's hearing. Gene sighed, maybe he could try and visit Mai in her dreams sometime. That ought to be a whole lot of fun.

Turning away from the currently arguing couple, Gene focused on finding Kasai. The more he focused, the clear his picture got. He saw his little cousin with a middle-aged woman, one he could only presume was Mai's adoptive mother. At the moment her back as facing him, so he couldn't see what she looked like. But as soon as she turned Gene nearly gasped. Ayako Matsuzaki was a very impressionable woman. He had met her once before at a hospital in Japan. It was at the time Oliver had been too busy with work to come sightseeing with him and somehow he'd managed to get mugged. Ayako had found him in an alley and took him to the hospital, where she tended his wounds before other doctors came to look him over. Ever since that day Gene had always been grateful to Ayako and had even been writing back and forth after his return to America. He was pretty sure she was worried when she stopped getting letters from him, but there was nothing he could do about that.

At that moment, Gene silently swore to himself that he would do everything to help get Ayako back safe and sound.


well, i've been trying to work on character personality development. and i hope you guys like it because starting with the focus on masako everything after that is my own work, not inspired by the author whose story gave me the idea to write a vesion of my own for ghost hunt. and for those of you wondering, gene didn't know ayako was mai's mother because he was also trying to find kasai when mai was explaining it he came back right as mai finished her explanation and naru started giving his.

anyways; review!