The Bureau Files: Series 2

by Catsafari

Haru's back with the Cat Bureau, but juggling her two separate lives is proving trickier than she thought. It would be a lot easier if certain people didn't go wandering into other worlds too... Cover art by Angie/drawerofdoodles.

10. The Haunting of Fenland House (Part 1)

The Bureau Files: Series 2

ooOoo

Episode 10: The Haunting of Fenland House (Part 1)

The woman fled through the building. The others had gone – no, been destroyed – and now only she remained. She was the last one standing. She sped past the uniform doors, along a corridor where the lights dipped in and out of brightness and only her hard footsteps echoed off the walls.

She fumbled at the lock of a door that only differed from its neighbours in the number it bore at its head, cursing viciously under her breath. Her fingers found their way and the handle yielded. She stumbled into the room.

She slammed the door behind her. Turned the lock. Slumped to the ground with her back resting heavily against the door she had fought so hard to open. She dropped her head into her hands and tried to wipe away the memories that would haunt her for as long as she lived – although there was no saying how long that would last.

Something moved.

Something in the room with her.

She snapped her head up and stared into the darkness. The room was almost bare of personality; a lone suitcase rested against the wardrobe, a single book had made it as far as the bedside table, and a wash kit was the lone occupant of the bathroom. It wasn't a place to live, only to visit.

She rose uneasily to her feet and started towards the shadow in the darkness. A familiar face stepped into the light.

"Oh." The woman sighed and a small, relieved smile rose to her lips. She relaxed. "It's just you. For a moment, I thought..." As she trailed off, realisation struck. Her eyes widened in horror. "No. No, please no..."

The familiar face stretched into a smile. The smile continued up the cheeks, tearing apart the skin until the unearthly grin reached the ears. All familiarity was gone. The eyes flashed.

The fangs lunged for her.

ooOoo

"And now," Baron said with a decided note of satisfaction, "that portal isn't going to be opening any time soon." He finished off the final engraving of the spell into the painting's frame and stood back to admire his work. "No more Neverland, at least not until we want."

Haru tilted her head as she examined the carving in the frame's corner. "So, that's it? That's the binding spell?"

"That shall keep the portal decidedly closed and the painting hopefully dry. If we want to open it, all we need do is remove the symbol and re-awaken the magic."

The brunette was quiet for a moment. Then, "That painting had been left in the spare room for the past twenty years and, as far as I know, never opened before. Why would it open now, of all times?" She looked to Baron. "You remember how it reacted – it seemed to respond to me."

"I don't know. It may have simply been a coincidence."

"I thought you didn't believe in coincidence."

"I believe that sometimes the worlds line up strange happenings for no good reason but that it had to happen at some point."

"It's just as well it didn't open any time sooner," Haru muttered. "Goodness knows what my mother would have made of it had she suddenly been dragged into Neverland."

"Small mercies."

"Small indeed. We were nearly killed on several occasions."

"Life is dangerous. You could be killed crossing the street," Baron reminded her.

"Heaven forbid I ever die from my own inability to look both ways." A shrill ring denoted an incoming text on Haru's phone. She glanced at it, beamed, and grabbed her bag. "Talking of ordinary life, I need to get going."

"I take it this is your weekend away you're referring to?"

"Of course. Hiromi's panicking because, as of yet, I still need to pack. Now, remember what I said – this is my weekend away, so I don't care what happens here – unless it's end-of-the-world material – I'm not to be disturbed," Haru reminded him. "I need at least two days where I'm not worrying that I'm about to be called back for a journey into Middle Earth or Narnia... Anyway," she added with a bright smile, "you managed for years without me; I'm sure two days won't make a difference."

Baron smiled softly as the brunette snatched her book from the coffee table and dropped it into her bag. "Heard and understood, Haru. All I have to say is this: Enjoy yourself."

The young woman grinned and ran out of the Bureau. Baron watched her leave the Sanctuary and return to her human height. "It's going to be a very quiet couple of days," he murmured.

"Is Chicky gone then?" Muta appeared out of a side door – one that regularly appeared and disappeared depending on the cat's need for a kitchen – with a freshly-baked cake already half-eaten. "Dunno why she's so adamant about the two-days' rest. It's not like we've had a case since the Neverland incident. And that was a week ago."

"Nearly two," Baron agreed. "But she merely needs a few days when she doesn't feel like she's on call. Two days where she can simply live her human life."

Muta grunted and took another quarter of the cake.

"Of course," Toto said, swooping in to land on the balcony rail, "you know this means something is bound to crop up while she's away."

"Well, whatever it is," Baron answered, "we'll just have to face it. It is, after all, what we do best."

"That, and sticking yer nose where it isn't wanted," Muta added.

ooOoo

"Haru! You've got your feet on my bag!"

The brunette scowled and tried to move her long legs anywhere but where Hiromi's bag was spilling across the car bottom. "Well, maybe if you tried moving it," she suggested, none too subtly.

"Any more complaints from you two, and I'll turn this car around!" Michael caught Haru's gaze in the rear-view mirror and made a deliberate act of rolling his eyes. "Honestly, you're like children."

"We're best friends," Hiromi amended. "It's pretty much the same thing. Haru – you're getting footprints on my–"

"Yes, I know. Look, it's not my fault Michael's car has about the same footspace as an economy-class aeroplane ticket."

"Are you insulting my ride?"

"I'm making an educated observation."

Tsuge, who was thankful to be sitting in the passenger seat and not in the back with the two girls, glanced to their designated driver. "Turn left at the next junction, and then a right five minutes later." He raised his eyebrows at the women. "And, before you ask, Hiromi, yes, we're nearly there."

"I wasn't going to ask," his girlfriend sulked.

"No, but you've been asking for the past four hours."

Haru shifted forward in her seat to get a better view of the map in the young journalist's lap. "So, what's so great about this hotel you're dragging us all to?"

"Well, it's been recently built on a drained marsh – huge building, very impressive, very lonely landscape – and it was all set to make a few bucks from tourists passing by, but for some reason or another, it's been scaring off all its customers."

"Perhaps the food's terrible."

"Terrible enough to give people nightmares?"

"You haven't tried Haru's shepherd's pie," Hiromi giggled.

"Hey!"

"Look, my point is – oh, left here, Michael – my point is that this hotel is, according to the locals, haunted."

"Haunted?" Hiromi scoffed. "How can it be haunted if it's only just been built? I thought only old buildings got that kind of history."

"All I'm repeating is the gossip," Tsuge said. "Anyway, my editor said I should take a look at the place, and with the rapidly-dropping prices of the rooms, the expenses were enough to cover all of us."

"So this is work, not a holiday," Haru said slowly.

"Aw, come on, Haru! It's not every day that you get to go on an adventure!"

Haru caught Michael's eyes at Hiromi's excited outburst. It looked like he was biting back laughter at the other woman's misplaced judgement. "So what kinds of stories are there?"

"Oh, there's stuff about strange people walking the corridors at night, people going missing, things like that. But who's to say that isn't just rumour?"

Again, Haru caught Michael's eyes. There was a question in his gaze, to which she shook her head. No, the Bureau wasn't getting involved with this place. Heck, they hadn't even heard of such a hotel. That now thought, Haru started to wonder if it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact her friends. She shook the thought as quickly as it had come – after all, it could be just stories. She had spent over a year with the Bureau and now she was seeing monsters everywhere!

"Have people gone missing?" Michael asked calmly.

"Some people have apparently just left without warning, but it's not as if any bodies have been found. It's probably just a case of people getting scared and leaving on the spur of the moment, but, whatever the reason, the hotel is pretty much empty now. In fact, I think we're its only guests."

"That sounds creepy," Hiromi whispered. "Imagine being the only people in a huge hotel..."

Haru had had worse.

"We'll book into double-rooms," Michael reassured her. "You girls can take one, and Tsuge and I will take another. That way we won't be alone."

"What if there are ghosts though?"

"Then if I die and it's your fault, you'll be the first one I come back to haunt," Haru said to her best friend. Hiromi stuck her tongue out right back. Haru rolled her eyes and shifted her feet, doing her best to avoid kicking Hiromi's luggage while relieving the cramp building up in her muscles. She sighed, long and low.

So much for an ordinary holiday.

ooOoo

Fenland House, as the hotel was known, jutted out uncomfortably from its surroundings of semi-natural mire. It rested near enough to the main road to be one of few places easily accessible to tourists, and yet far enough away that, save for the small, winding road leading to the building, there was near no sign of civilisation or the outside world. Even the noise of the road was silent.

As Michael pulled up the car in the deserted car park, all these thoughts flittered past Haru's mind in a rushed jumble. Whoever had built the hotel, had been striving for ancestral mansion exterior, with what looked like thick stone walls, but she was privately sure were just an exterior show, and even an attempt to tempt ivy to climb its front. It was large and sprawling and altogether quite creepy, standing alone in the middle of the moorland.

Haru recalled the last time she had been in moorland – her first case with Darcy Baker and James Dawson – and seriously hoped that nothing of the sort would happen here. But moorlands had that quality to them that simply promised mystery. Mystery and danger.

"Hey, dreamer, wake up!" Hiromi was already halfway to the main entrance – huge suitcase behind her and her bag over one shoulder – while Haru stared up at the hotel. "We'll leave you out here otherwise!"

"No fear," Haru muttered. She took her suitcase, passed by Michael, and started after her friend.

"Creepy, right?" Michael asked, softly.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one getting that vibe."

"And here I was, hoping this weekend away would help you escape from the creepy and bizarre."

"For your information," Haru whispered back, "the Bureau is not creepy and bizarre."

"I'm not saying they are. I'm just saying that the cases you go on are nuts."

"Michael–"

"Oh, come on – you said you went to Neverland last week. Neverland. You almost got eaten alive. By mermaids."

"It's only happened once–"

"And don't get me started on the hunter and his deadly game – for goodness sake, Haru; he was going to shoot you. For fun."

Haru paused for a moment. "When you put it like that, our cases do seem a little twisted."

"Yes. Yes, they do."

She beamed to the young man. "Which is why I'm enjoying a relaxing weekend with some of my closest friends. And, yes, before you ask, I did tell the Bureau that I'm not to be disturbed. This weekend is all about my human life." Haru glanced out across the moor. "I'm just not entirely sure what I've signed up for."

"Oh, come on, Haru; ghosts? You can't believe there's an actual haunting going on here."

The brunette turned to her boyfriend, completely deadpan. "Michael, I'm friends with a living figurine, a breathing statue, and a talking cat. What wouldn't I believe?"

There was a long pause. "Touché."

"Thank you."

"Hey, hurry up, guys!" Hiromi lingered impatiently at the hotel doors. "It's cold out here! Get inside so we can sign in!"

"She does know she could just wait inside, right?" Michael whispered to Haru.

"This is Hiromi we're talking about."

"I'll tell her you said that."

"You wouldn't dare."

ooOoo

"Right, it looks like we have a couple of hours before they serve dinner; do we want to meet up before then or do people want a chance to rest before dinner?" Tsuge asked to the group as they received their room keys.

Hiromi made a face. "I don't know about you stinky boys, but I need to clean up. See you at dinner." She started into a run for the lift. "Bagsy first use of the shower!"

Haru's expression bulged in disbelief and she started after her friend. "Hey! No fair! You take forever to wash!"

"Too bad you were too slow then, snail!"

Michael and Tsuge exchanged glances. Until today, they hadn't had the pleasure of meeting one another, but Hiromi had insisted that Haru be allowed to bring Michael, just to make things more equal. There was the awkward silence of two near-strangers realising that they would probably be spending time around each other for the next two days.

Michael smiled weakly. "Do you mind if I grab the shower first?"

"No. Go ahead."

"Thanks," he answered with deliberate politeness.

While Tsuge and Michael were tiptoeing around one another, Haru was exploring the twin-bed hotel room that would be home for the next couple of days. The room was large and modern, and the window overlooked the lonely moor. She stood by the ledge, staring out as she tried not to recall the last time she had been on heathland. She paced away and picked at the map of their hotel. If it weren't for the unruly rumours running wild, she suspected the place would be making a tidy sum. A library dominated the east wing, a large pool and conservatory in the south wing, and several lounges and bars dotted throughout. The buffet bar ran along the top floor, looking out also onto the bleak surroundings.

She banged on the door to the bathroom. "Hiromi! How much longer?"

All she received in return was the loud, oblivious singing of her best friend. Haru groaned. She lived with this woman; she knew that Hiromi would happily spend the best part of an hour in the shower. She had a while to wait. "Fine, fine. Suit yourself." She rolled her eyes and dragged a fresh jacket from her semi-unpacked bag.

Time to find that library.

The hotel was a maze of lookalike corridors, tastefully decorated but with the same impersonal touch of a placed visited, but never truly lived in. As she rounded a corner, map tightly in hand, she very nearly walked straight into someone.

"Sorry – oh, Michael." Her face brightened. "Did you decide to go exploring too?"

For several seconds, the young man made no reaction. Then, very slowly, he blinked. He opened his mouth, as if to answer.

"Miss? Miss, what are you doing out here?"

Haru turned to face the woman, who was the receptionist who had given them their keys earlier. "I'm sorry, I was just looking for the library – and then I saw Michael and–" She pointed back to where her boyfriend had been, only to see an empty corridor. "What?"

The woman glanced to the corridor and then back to Haru. "There's nobody there, miss."

"I don't understand it. He was right here–"

"There's nobody, miss. Nobody at all. You should go back to your room now."

"But..."

"Please, miss. Go back."

Haru opened her mouth, closed it, and then simply shook her head. "I think I've been travelling too long today. That's what it must be. Travelling tiredness..." As she returned back towards her room, she couldn't remove that image of Michael from her mind. She was sure she had seen him – but if that were the case, where had he gone?

ooOoo

"Hey, Haru. Haru! Hello?" Hiromi swung into her friend's view, waving a friendly hand before Haru's face. "You in there? We need to get going for dinner."

Haru blinked and tore her eyes up from the book. "What? Now?"

"Unless you want to starve, yah."

Haru's stomach growled in response. She bookmarked the page and set the novel by her bedside table. "Alright, alright. I'm coming. Did Tsuge say it was a buffet dinner?"

"Yep. We just pick up what we want. Apparently it's all in the hotel fee, so we haven't got to worry about how much we take."

"Which is perfect for you."

"I know. All-you-can-eat buffets were made for me."

"Uh-huh." They bumped into the boys as they exited, at which point Hiromi wove her arm around Tsuge's and abandoned Haru completely. This was the reason the lighter brunette had insisted her friend could bring Michael along. The other young man smiled sympathetically and slowed to Haru's pace as Hiromi skipped ahead.

"So are you settled in and unpacked yet?"

"Not a chance. I think I'm going to be living out of my case for the next two days. Say, Michael," Haru abruptly asked, "where did you go earlier?"

"I'm sorry?"

"It's just that I saw you earlier, and you disappeared so suddenly that you gave me a shock–"

"Haru, I haven't left my room once since arriving," Michael said slowly. He gave a weak smile that failed to pass across any humour in the least. "Tsuge and I were struggling to get the wi-fi working. Where did you say you saw me?"

"Just... in the corridor." Haru shook her head. "I must be more tired than I thought. Fudge, I'm so embarrassed; I actually thought... I was so sure I had seen you..."

"Are you in the habit of hallucinating?"

"No. But, then again, I suppose my usual life is so bizarre that my mind can't come up with anything stranger than Bureau business," she said, attempting wit.

Michael's raised eyebrow indicated she hadn't wholly succeeded. "One of these days, your Bureau work is going to get you killed."

"Life is dangerous, Michael. I could get killed crossing the street," the brunette said offhandly, mimicking Baron's remark from earlier that day.

"Yes, but in ordinary life, you're not normally in danger of also being eaten alive by mermaids or attacked by your own nightmare."

"I'm really starting to regret telling you about Neverland."

"No, I'm glad you did. It means I can imagine just what kind of gruesome death you're facing whenever you disappear away."

"Oh, you think you're so funny."

"Am I not?" Michael stole a quick kiss from her, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "You're smiling."

"And you're cheating," Haru whispered, but now the smile was infectious. She kissed him back. "You're not allowed to kiss me into submission."

"It works, doesn't it?"

"Michael Banner, you're a cheater."

"Hey, guys, less on the PDA, please." Hiromi stuck her tongue out at the couple. "You're embarrassing me."

Haru simply stuck her tongue out back at her friend. "It's payback for all the years you put me through. Anyway," she added, rolling her eyes to the dining hall, "who, exactly, are we embarrassing you in front of? This place is a ghost town."

Even the kitchen staff were gone, having finished setting up the food and now leaving the only guests to their meal; apart from the small group of four, the room was utterly deserted. Even the bright, modern lights couldn't quite banish away the feeling of emptiness.

Michael gave a low whistle; it travelled across the breadth of the room, unhindered by any other noise. "You weren't kidding when you said they were struggling to get guests, Tsuge. Looks like people took the stories seriously."

"It's strange," Haru murmured.

"It's so cool!" Hiromi – who worked at a hotel-pub, and so was familiar with deserted dining areas at the end of a shift – skipped into the middle of the room, laughing up to the high ceiling. "It's like a feast set out just for us."

"Which is kind of what it is," Haru reminded her friend, but Hiromi was past caring.

The smaller brunette danced in the centre of the room, enjoying the echo of her laughter coming back to her. "Oh, come on, guys; you have to admit it's cool. I feel like a VIP here. And the space... It's so roomy here..."

Reassured by Hiromi's enthusiasm, the others quickly pushed any doubts back about the quietness of the dining room and started to pick at the dishes. Hiromi shamelessly took advantage of the space and spread out her food across half a table, playing with the decorative candle centring the table.

"You're going to burn yourself," Haru warned idly as she joined her friend.

Hiromi flicked her fingers closer to the open flame, playing with how close she could get to the fire without touching. "I think I'll risk it."

Haru shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"You know, you can put your finger right through the flame, if you do it right," Tsuge remarked, taking a seat beside excitable brunette. He passed a finger through the top of the flickering flame without any apparent injury.

"Thanks, Tsuge," Haru said with a groan. "Now she's going to burn herself for sure."

"Hey, you're right!" The girl in question had discovered the truth of Tsuge's comment and was putting it fully to the test with much ooh-ing and ahh-ing. "So cool..."

"You can deal with her when she burns herself," Haru muttered to the young man. Her attention waned, shifting to the room about them. One side of the room was a huge panel of windows that looked straight over the moor, now dark with the set sun gone; they rose up to a high ceiling that was painted with a spiralling, beautiful fresco. The building really was beautiful – but all that couldn't overcome the general air of unease. Haru's eyes moved down to the other side and froze as they came to the far-side door.

Somebody stood in the doorway.

The light from the corridor beyond outlined their form and only a darkened silhouette remained. But it was enough for Haru to recognise the form. They were human-sized, true, but Haru knew those feline ears, the top hat resting between, and the long tail swinging gently.

She backed out of her seat so suddenly that she broke Tsuge from the story he was telling. Hiromi and Michael both looked to their friend with worry.

"Haru?" Michael gently touched her elbow. "What's wrong?"

Haru's breath had shallowed; she dropped her gaze to meet that of her boyfriend's. "Nothing, I, just..." She looked back up, but the form was gone now. She cursed and started running towards the door she had seen Baron standing in. She spun into the corridor, red-faced and angry. She stalked down the hallway. "Dammit, Baron, you promised. You promised," she muttered to herself. "No Bureau business, not today, not tomorrow."

Someone's hand curled around her elbow; she lashed back.

"Are you finding this funny?!"

Michael blinked once in her abrupt rage. Then, slowly and seriously, "No, Haru. I'm not."

Haru deflated, glancing once back along the otherwise-empty corridor. "Sorry, Michael, I thought... I thought you were someone else..."

"Baron?" he offered.

"He promised me he wouldn't bother me with Bureau business while I was here," she growled. "He promised."

"Where did you see him?"

"Just... back there." Haru waved towards the doorway that lead back into the dining hall. "Didn't you see him?"

"I wasn't looking."

"So... I might have been imagining it?"

"And you might not." Michael's brow furrowed. "That said, from what I've seen of him, I don't think it's in Baron's nature to play hide-and-seek, is it?"

Haru shook her head. "At least, I hope not. If this is his idea of a joke, he'd better hide well."

"Come on; I think it's time we headed back." Michael sighed. "I suppose you really need a break from the Bureau if you're imagining him wherever you go."

"I guess you're right." Haru attempted a grin. "If I'm not careful, I'm going to start imagining monsters soon too."

"Just as well we're not in Neverland then, huh?"

She shivered, recalling the nightmare that had nearly killed her. "That's not even funny. Come on; I think it's about time I try to excuse my newfound craziness to the others."

"That shouldn't be too hard; everyone knows you're a few tomatoes short of a salad."

Haru dug her elbow into his side. "You're trying to be funny again."

"I'm sorry. Well, I'm not, but it seems like the right thing to say, so..."

"I'd stop if I were you, before you dig yourself any deeper."

"Right. Stopping now."

"Good."

"I mean, I'll try my best, but it's just so hard to keep my good wit quiet–"

"Michael?"

"Yes?"

"Shush. You're being a menace."

"Hey, Haru!" Hiromi waved to Haru once she reappeared in the dining hall. "What happened back there?"

"You looked like you had seen a ghost," Tsuge said with a twitch of his lips.

"If I saw anything, there was probably more the gravy than the grave about it," Haru answered as she took a seat. "I'm not feeling too good; I think I may have eaten too quickly or something. Actually, I think I'll head to bed early tonight."

"Aw, come on, Haru; stay a while!" Hiromi whined. "We're making hand-shadow animals by the candlelight and then were going to go explore this place – don't you want to stick around for that?"

Haru smiled weakly, thinking of the strange occurrences that had been happening since her arrival. "No, thanks. I think I'll just call it a night. Enjoy yourselves, though. Do your best to avoid getting in too much trouble."

"Course we will."

ooOoo

As the night came sweeping in and the clock struck eleven, Hiromi returned to her and Haru's shared room. She waved good night to the two boys, who had been dragged along for her exploration of Fenland House. As they disappeared into their room, Hiromi turned back to the task of finding her keys.

When they weren't immediately located in her right-hand pocket, she started to rummage through her other pockets, and then through her bag. She rattled her handbag noisily by her ear, attempting to hear the telltale jingle of loose keys.

A shadow passed over her. She glanced up to see a form by the boys' door.

"Did you forget something too?" she lightly asked. She dropped her attention back to her bag. "I'm so stupid – I can't even remember where I put my room keys – do you think Haru would hate me forever if I woke her up now?"

At the form's continuing silence, Hiromi looked back to it. "Hey – say something. Tsuge, if this is your idea of a joke–"

They stepped into the light.

Hiromi screamed.

There was a crash, and Haru burst from their room, fire tongs in hand and lethally bared. "What? What is it?"

Hiromi jabbered and shakily pointed to the empty corridor. "I saw – I saw–"

A moment later, Tsuge and Michael appeared in the hallway, both dishevelled and halfway ready for bed.

"What's all the screaming about?"

Tsuge's eyes found the tongs Haru bared. "Someone's on high alert."

"I thought something was attacking her," Haru said gruffly, and lowered the makeshift weapon.

"Like what?"

Michael moved to the smaller brunette, gently taking Hiromi's arms in his own and looking into the terrified woman's eyes. "Hiromi, what did you see?"

"It was a – a ghost!"

"What did it look like?" Haru asked, thinking of the Bureau. If Baron had mistaken Hiromi for Haru and scared her friend witless, there would be words. "Did it look... human?"

Tsuge gave Haru a strange look. "What kind of ghost are you expecting?"

"I'm just asking."

Hiromi swallowed and weakly nodded. "It... It was human. And I know it was a ghost because... because it was my father."

"Your father?" Haru echoed incredulously. "But he's... he's gone, Hiromi."

"I know," her friend hissed. "Why do you think I screamed?"

There was a stagnant pause, only filled by Hiromi's rapid breathing. Haru sighed and put a gentle arm around the other brunette's shoulders. "Come on; I think I saw a hot water dispenser in the dining hall – we can probably plug it back up if needs be. It looks like you need a warm drink."

ooOoo

"Do you think it's linked?" Michael moved beside Haru as she emptied a sachet of hot chocolate into a mug. "That and... what you saw earlier?"

"How can it be?" Haru asked. She stirred the chocolate powder viciously into the milk. "Baron's not dead."

"I know, but... even so... it's too much coincidence. First that, now this?" Michael placed a calming hand on Haru's, slowing her furious pace before she spilt the drink. "It's put you on edge."

"Hiromi nearly screamed the building down; of course I'm on edge."

"If there is a link – if something is out there – what do we do?"

"How should I know?"

"You're the one working with the Bureau," he softly reminded her.

"Yeah, well I'm not with them right now," Haru snapped. "I don't even have a way to contact them – I never thought I would need to while here. I'm alone."

"No, you're not. You have us."

"Us?" Haru echoed. She looked across the room; even with its modern lighting, the place looked desolate and spooky with the midnight air drawing in. Hiromi sat slumped in a chair, with Tsuge beside her, attempting in vain to reassure the frightened young woman. "If there is something out there, we're not prepared for it. None of us are."

"Haru, I know you're scared–"

"Scared?" she repeated tensely. "I'm furious – with myself. I should have set up some kind of back-up in case something like this happened – not been so adamant that the Bureau stay out of this–"

"Because you don't think you can handle this without them."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow, but the usual playfulness that accompanied the action was notably devoid. "If it were just myself here, fine. Maybe I would be okay. But, the crux of the matter is that it isn't. Hiromi's a shivering wreck from seeing the apparent ghost of her father, Tsuge has no idea monsters even exist and you..." She trailed off, reddened, and then began again. "You've seen how dangerous our cases can get. I need people who know what they're doing."

Michael smiled faintly, and cupped Haru's chin. "Now, that doesn't sound like the young woman who fended off a mutant eagle with nothing but a chair and umbrella."

"She's seen just how dangerous the world can get," Haru whispered. "There have been cases where I nearly didn't come back." She dropped her gaze. "I don't want to lose any of you."

"Guys, if you've finished with the hot chocolate, I think Hiromi needs the drink." Tsuge appeared between them to ease the mug from Haru's grasp. "What's all the whispering for, anyway?"

"We're just trying to work out what actually happened," Michael said lightly, as if monsters and ghosts hadn't been on the agenda. "Perhaps we shouldn't have spent so long exploring this place; it's obviously unsettled us."

"But what if Hiromi's right?" Half a smile flickered on the edge of Tsuge's lips. "What if this place is haunted?"

"Hiromi's father would be one of the last ones to come back from the grave," Haru said tightly. She reclaimed the hot chocolate and stiffly moved to where her best friend was sitting. "Hey, Hiromi," she murmured in tones far gentler than the ones she had used to address Tsuge. "How are you feeling?"

"A little foolish, if I'm to be honest." Hiromi attempted a faltering smile. She tiredly sipped at the warm drink, regaining a little of her spirits for the sweet taste. "Was I being stupid? Is it possible that I imagined the whole thing?"

"Maybe. But maybe my arrival scared it away."

"It," Hiromi echoed, thoughtfully. "You don't really think it was my father, do you?"

"Hiromi, I remember your father. He was gentle and kind and I can't imagine him ever trying to scare his little girl."

"Maybe death changes people."

"I imagine it does," Haru muttered. "But, until we're sure, let's not assume that your father is back from the grave. Whatever it is, it is possible that it's dangerous."

Hiromi's eyes widened. "You believe me. You believe me when I say I saw something. Did you see it too?"

"No... but I know something scared you back there." Haru smirked, and was relieved to see her friend manage a watered-down version. "And you're far too spunky to go jumping at shadows."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Haru smiled, but once again she spotted someone standing in the doorway of the dining room. She slowly stood to her feet. Relief flooded through her. "Baron..."

"I'm sorry, Haru?"

"Nothing." She waved it away, but was already heading to the door. "Just... stay here. There's something I need to see."

Baron's silent form regarded her, and then his silhouette shifted into the corridor beyond. The movement was deliberate: Follow me, it said.

Haru had to resist letting her feet buckle out beneath her in happiness. They had found her – the Bureau were here. She didn't have to face this alone anymore.

"The Refuge is filled with Creation magic; sometimes, that magic enables it to pick up distress calls," Baron had told her a year ago. "Especially from those who have been to the Refuge before."

She came to the doorway and glanced along the dimly-lit corridor. At the end, a familiar feline silhouette stood. "Baron," she breathed, half whispering, half sobbing his name. She started towards him. "I know I told you to stay away, but I'm so happy to see you, I'm not even angry anymore." With his back still to her, Haru reached out and gently touched his elbow. "That said, I'm not appreciating the hide-and-seek games you've been playing. If you were here, you should have just said. You scared me."

Baron didn't speak. He didn't even turn.

Haru's grip on his elbow tightened. "Baron. Say something."

The Creation turned his face and stared down at the young brunette. His mouth curved into a smile, and then kept going. The smile cracked apart face and fur, fixing itself like a Cheshire Cat's grin. Within the smile, rows of long, sharp teeth gleamed down at her. "Hello... Haru."

ooOoo

Teaser: "It could be anyone. Hiromi, Tsuge... you..." / "Haru... why are there two of you?" / The creature dissolved into green smoke, spiralling up and dashing towards Michael. It materialised behind him and sunk its shark teeth into his shoulder. "NO!" / Her fingers slid down to his throat and tightened. / A hand shot out, grabbing her forehead and smacking her head onto the hard floor. / "What about me, Haru?" Baron asked. "Would you kill me?"