Disclaimer: Yeah, still don't own much of anything, especially not Ghost Hunt or the title Lady Labyrinth. I do own a pretty impressive collection of YuGiOh cards, though, including all the parts of Exodia...so I guess there's that.

Chapter Ten

Naru set the heavy black case down next to him. "I'd like to start by interviewing each of you myself. While that's happening, Miss Hara and Takigawa will be looking for clues in Mai's room."

"What kind of clues?" Monica asked, already back to being suspicious.

Naru shrugged. "Anything that might help us figure out how to help Mai."

Amber cleared her throat. "Um, I can show you guys Mai's room, if you want…"

I gave her a brief smile. Next to me, Masako bowed her head and said, "That would be most kind."

Naru took out his notebook. "Thank you. Amanda, you can go too, as I'd like to do this individually, beginning with Monica."

Monica sat forward on the couch, eager and smiling. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Amber and Amanda stood up. "It's just down this hallway," Amanda said, not looking at either of us.

I took a deep breath. Well, this is going to be fun.

"This is it," Amber said, stopping next to the second door on the left. The hallway was narrow, and we were all arranged in a single-file line. Amber hesitated at the door, her hand hovering over the doorknob for a split second before finally opening the door.

Mai's room was bright and friendly, exactly how I would have pictured it. One wall was nearly covered by a mosaic of pictures that showed Mai with all her friends. I saw several of the SPR crew, pictures we'd taken together on various cases, during holidays, or when we were just sitting around at the office. The muscles in my throat tightened and I had to look away. The rest of the room was an organized chaos of books, papers, and clothes. Everything was covered with a light sheet of dust. Mai's bed was still unmade, and I found myself wondering what she looked like as she slept.

Don't go down that road, Monk. You've got to stay focused here.

I sighed and scratched absentmindedly at one eyebrow. "Well, Masako, where do you want to start?"

Masako pushed gently past me, Amber, and Amanda, and delicately lowered herself onto Mai's bed. "I'll start here," she said, before closing her eyes and taking a few deep, measured breaths.

"So…what exactly are you guys supposed to be doing in here?" Amanda asked, eyeing Masako suspiciously.

I set my bag down on the floor, and began pulling out various tools and pieces of equipment. "We're investigating." I picked up a temperature sensor and walked over to Mai's nightstand.

"Using machines and…meditating?" Amanda sounded skeptical. I didn't blame her, really. In Japan, spirits and ghosts weren't that out of the ordinary. In America, those things were largely relegated to the realm of absurdity.

"She's a psychic," Amber blurted out from the corner where she was standing. I glanced over at her, surprised.

Amber immediately looked down at her feet, and I almost thought I could see a flush creeping into her dark skin. "She's…she's got a TV show," she muttered.

Amanda's eyebrows knit together, confusion evident on her face. "But I thought…no ghosts and stuff."

Amber folded her arms. "Well, I lied. You know how Monica is. I just…we need to try everything. What if they can find a way to help Mai? What if they can make her better?"

Amanda bit her lip, her eyes troubled, confused. "But…she's sick. She's in a coma. How would a ghost do that?"

Masako opened her eyes, her face serene and calmly composed. "Spirits are not always ghosts. In Japan, many believe that spirits inhabit everything. Mai's illness could very well be caused by something natural, a health condition of some kind, but it may also be caused by a malevolent spirit. Such spirits are not always the remnants of a dead person's troubled soul, and could be the result of any number of things. Sometimes, even a living person can be the cause of a malevolent energy." Masako closed her eyes again. "I'm meditating to allow my mind to focus. In a city so big, it's difficult to focus on a single building, and even harder to focus on a single room. With so many people, it's easy for me to pick up a sort of spiritual white noise." She resumed her deep breathing.

Amanda still seemed concerned, though at least she wasn't angry, as I assume Monica would have been. "Um, alright. I guess I'll leave you to that, then. I'll go check on Monica." She abruptly turned on her heel and left the room, closing the door behind her.

With her eyes still closed, Masako said, "There's something strange about that girl, but I can't place it."

"It's probably because her friend's in a coma and there are strangers in her apartment," I said.

Masako merely shrugged.

Amber spoke up. "Mai always said that Amanda had some kind of spiritual power, but she never told me what it was."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," I said. "You sensing anything, Masako?"

She opened her eyes and slowly looked around the room, her eyes far away. "Traces…memories…there was something here once, but whether it's Mai's demon is less certain…it's gone now, either way. All I see is a sort of after-image."

I let out the breath that I didn't know I had been holding. "I…I'm not sure if I should feel disappointed or relieved."

"It seems we're being cursed with ambiguity," Naru said from the doorway behind me, making me jump.

"Jeez, when did you get there Naru?" I said, pressing one hand to my chest. You're bound to have a heart attack soon, old man, a nasty voice said in my head.

"Just in time to hear Miss Hara's report." Naru leaned one shoulder against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets. "I was hoping we'd find concrete evidence of some kind of spirit; our jobs would have been much easier."

Monica appeared next to Naru in the doorway, with Amanda's face just behind her shoulder. "So I was right. There's no spirits, or ghosts, or whatever you call it, in our apartment. Mai's condition is because of science, not spirits." She made eye contact with me and smirked.

Masako stood up. "As I told your friend, not all spirits are ghosts, and some spirits are hard to detect. I sense no spirit here that would have caused Mai's condition." Monica's smirk grew wider. "However," Masako continued, "I can see your spirit, Monica. Is he your uncle, or a grandfather perhaps?"

Monica's mouth dropped open, and her face went milk-pale. "I don't…"

Masako shook her head. "It doesn't matter. He is too weak to cause you any harm; don't listen to his threats." Naru stepped inside the room and allowed Masako room to stand next to Monica. Though Masako was nearly a full head shorter, Monica seemed to shrink away from her. Masako reached up and placed a hand on Monica's shoulder. "You needn't be afraid. You are not crazy for seeing him, nor are you cursed. You have some sensitivity to spirits, but that sensitivity is probably restricted to souls you are familiar with, or strong spirits that nearly anyone can see." Masako smiled warmly, but Monica just looked at her with wide, frightened (and yet still skeptical) eyes.

Masako shifted her gaze to something just behind Monica, and for a moment I thought I saw a glimmer there as well. "He says you have something of his, something you…stole? A knife?"

Monica took a shaky step backwards, her shoulder bumping into the doorframe. "No…no he's not really there…my, my mom said it was all in my head." I felt a sudden pity for the girl. Mai knew this. She must have.

Masako smiled sadly, her eyebrows pulling towards each other. "I assure you, he is real. Perhaps you can show me this knife, and I can help this spirit move on."

"I don't…what if he hurts someone? He used to threaten to kill my brother and I…" I thought I saw tears in Monica's eyes, but in the shadowed hallway it was hard to tell. Masako shook her head gently. "I've faced far worse." She turned back to us. "I won't be long." She then guided Monica down the hallway, her hand gently touching the small of Monica's back.

I let out a low whistle. "No wonder they gave her a TV show."

Naru snorted. "You're just figuring this out now?"

Amber chimed in quietly, "Mai knew…she knew Monica was being followed by a spirit, she said she dreamed of him sometimes, but she didn't know who the spirit was or why he was there. She…she tried to talk to Monica about purifying it, but Monica refused to admit any of that was real."

"You knew?" I asked, surprised. "You never said anything."

"It wasn't my secret to tell." She shrugged. "So now what?"

Naru cut me off before I could answer. "Now I'd like to try my psychometry to see if I can find out anything about Mai's time before the coma."

"Psychometry…that's where you touch items and can see things?"

"Sort of." Naru scanned the room, looking for…something.

Amber tilted her head to the side. "Do you…use it often?"

Naru shook his head, and his expression grew dark. "No."

I shot a look at Amber and shook my head side to side. She bit her lip and nodded, her face suddenly concerned. I was a little surprised that Mai hadn't mentioned something about Naru's past psychometry use, but I guess it made sense. If she talked about that, she'd have to talk about Gene. The thought made me frown.

"Takigawa, if you'd be so kind as to interview Amanda. I doubt she'll be able to give us any new information, but it's worth a try." Naru continued searching Mai's room as he spoke.

"Sure, I…" I glanced towards the door. "Wait…" I said, an odd feeling taking hold of me. "Where'd Amanda go? She was right here, wasn't she?" I poked my head out into the hallway, looking right and left.

When I looked back at Amber, she just shrugged. "I don't know. She probably left to go to the store or something. She does that sometimes. She always gets kind of nervous about strangers."

That was news to me. "Really? She was so friendly when I first met her…"

Amber shrugged again, unconcerned. "It's not all the time. That's just Amanda, she's been the same for as long as I've known her. She'll be back. I think she's just intimidated."

"Yeah, maybe," I said, though something still felt off.

"Do you want me to call her?" Amber asked, digging her phone out of her pocket.

"I don't think that will be necessary; between what you told Takigawa and what I heard from Monica, I think we have a clear enough picture of what happened to Mai prior before her coma. If we have any questions we'll be sure to contact her," Naru said. Amber shrugged and put her phone back in her pocket.

I made a mental note to ask Mai about Amanda later on, hopefully she'd know more. You won't have time to ask her much of anything…there's going to be an experiment, tonight, remember? Suddenly my stomach felt queasy.

"Houshou," Naru said, snapping me back to reality. "Finish setting up the temperature sensors and the cameras. I doubt they'll give us any useful data, but it can't hurt to be thorough."

"Yes, sir," I said, giving a mock salute. Amber snorted, though Naru didn't pay me any mind.

The cameras didn't take long to set up. They were tiny things, almost unnoticeable unless you knew what to look for. It was amazing how far technology had come since I'd joined up with SPR. The thought of carrying any number of those old, bulky cameras that we used to use up the stairs to the girls' apartment made me shudder.

As I finished, I turned my attention back to Naru, who was still searching for something. "What are you looking for?" I asked. He continued to rifle through Mai's belongings, his fingers brushing through her jewelry on top of the dresser before he turned his attention to the contents of the drawers.

"Anything that might be a clue," he said. His eyes were barely focused as he rummaged through a drawer full of sweaters.

"Are you looking for something specific? Maybe I could, um, help," Amber said. She was still clearly intimidated by Naru, but then most people were pretty intimidated by him.

To my surprise, Naru nodded. "I'm looking for something that Mai might have been wearing or holding when she got sick or when she had her seizure. I'm getting brief, foggy flashes from all of these things, but I need something clearer, something where the memory is more concentrated." Naru pulled open another drawer, this one seemingly filled with underwear. I quickly shifted my gaze away, and tried to ignore the anger that was bubbling in my stomach. Mai would find it funny. Don't be so uptight, Takigawa. What if Naru ends up finding something useful? He didn't even bother looking, however, and I felt my muscles instantly relax as soon as that drawer closed a second later. It felt wrong to look at Mai's personal things without her permission, even if it was for a good cause.

"Um…maybe her house key?" Amber said, sounding hesitant.

Naru froze, hands hovering over the next drawer he had been about to open. He turned to Amber, his eyes dark and intense. "You know where it is?"

Amber nodded. "I was afraid they might lose it at the hospital, and I know how much it means to Mai, so I've been carrying it with me until…until she wakes up." Amber reached behind her neck, her fingers searching underneath her long, braided hair. She pulled a thin, silver chain up and over her head, a small house key dangling at the end of it. She held it out for Naru. "This will help you figure out what happened to Mai?"

Naru held his hand just under the key, and Amber let it drop into his palm. "Maybe," he said, a slight frown on his face.

Naru closed his fingers around the key as his eyes fluttered shut. I held my breath, my heart pounding a hard, heavy beat. Naru took a quick, deep breath in, his nostrils flaring. Please see something. Find something. Tell us how we can help Mai, what we're up against… I prayed silently, hoping that someone, anyone, would answer.

Naru's eyes opened again, and he let out a long breath.

"Did you…did you see anything?" I asked hesitantly.

He blinked and looked at me as if he'd forgotten I was there. Then he sighed. "I did, but it was muddy and hard to follow. Whatever this is, it took a while to affect Mai. There was no single big event that caused this, so it was hard for me to see anything specific. I saw Mai going to class, studying with her friends, watching TV…" His voice was almost wistful. He looked down at the key in the palm of his hand. "Thanks, Amber. I think you should keep this safe. I'm sure Mai will want it back." He handed the key back to Amber before turning back to me. "Let's see if Miss Hara is finished. We should probably meet back up with Lin and the others soon."

I blinked. "That's it? You're not going to look at any of the other objects? There has to be something here that will tell us what happened."

"Monk," Naru said, his voice soft and a little sad. "We're done here."

I looked down and scratched the back of my neck. "Alright."

Naru went into Monica's room to check on Masako, while Amber and I headed back to the living room to get all our stuff together.

"So…do you guys have any idea what happened to Mai? Any clues?"

I blew out a jet of air, my cheeks puffing out. "Honestly? No. Not really, or at least not yet. We'll see if the others found anything promising, and the video cameras and temperature sensors that we set up in Mai's room will let us know if anything supernatural happens."

Amber looked uncomfortable. "Do you think our apartment is haunted? I thought Masako said…" She said the word "haunted" as a whisper, as if saying it out loud would automatically make it true.

I smiled warmly. "Anything is possible, but in my professional opinion? No, no I don't. If there was a ghost, Masako would have found it the way she found Monica's follower. But we can't be too careful." I clapped a hand on Amber's shoulder. "There's really nothing to worry about here. Just try not to go in Mai's room, so the stuff we set up can get accurate readings."

Amber nodded solemnly, before giving me a shy smile. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, Houshou," she said.

"Of course. And I'll make sure to let you guys know if we find anything out."

I heard a door shut down the hallway, saw and Naru, Masako and Monica heading our way. Monica looked pretty dazed, but Masako seemed pleased with herself.

"All done?" I asked.

Masako bowed her head in assent. "Though I may not have the power of you or Brown-san, I am perfectly able to deal with many lower-level spirits. This one only needed a firm talking to and someone to show him the way to peace." Masako gave a small smile.

Behind her, Monica coughed. "So…he's just gone? I don't need to worry about ghosts or spirits or whatever?"

"You should have nothing to fear, at least here in this apartment. And perhaps you should avoid taking personal relics from the bedside of the dying," Masako's eyes narrowed slightly, "however horrible the dying person may be."

"We need to get moving," Naru said as he shrugged into his jacket. "Thank you for your help, Ladies. We'll let you know if we need anything more."

Amber and Monica nodded. Amanda was still nowhere to be seen, and I couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling in my chest.

I raised my hand and waved. "I'll be seeing you guys around, I'm sure."

Amber smiled at me, and it looked like Monica might attempt to do the same, but instead she just looked at the ground. I shrugged. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

Naru, Masako and I were all silent as we walked down the 3 flights of stairs and out into the frigid wind. I pulled my hat down over my ears and shoved my chin down into the thick, high collar of my coat. I couldn't help feeling disappointed in the whole adventure, in myself, and even in Naru and Masako. I knew it wasn't their fault that they didn't find anything with any of their abilities, but I had had so much hope in the whole endeavor that now I mostly just felt deflated. I'm sure we'll find out something tonight… I thought sourly. Naru's exorcism plan made sense, as we had to try everything, to look at the problem from all angles, but something felt wrong. I had no evidence to back up my feeling of dread, no hard facts that would prove that the plan was a bad idea, so I kept my misgivings to myself.

We were about 2 blocks away from the girls' apartment when Naru suddenly stopped and turned to us. "I didn't want to say this in front of Amber or Monica, but there's something going on with that Amanda girl."

I shrugged. "It sounds like she's just got trouble talking to strangers."

"No," Naru said, speaking so low I almost couldn't hear him. "I saw her. She was with Mai the night this all started. I couldn't see much, and most of the stuff I could see was just brief flashes and blurred figures, but there was one thing I saw very clearly: Amanda's face."

A/N: I was going to wait a little longer to post this new chapter...but what the heck, I waited you guys wait long enough for this chapter already, and chapter 9 was all screwed up for some reason for the past two weeks, so I hope you all enjoy this bonus chapter today! Don't get used to this kind of treatment, though. I will (probably) only post one chapter next week...unless I'm feeling particularly generous. Suspense is half the fun of fanfiction, right? (Well...fun for the authors, anyway.)

Thank you again for all the kind reviews! Knowing I've got such awesome readers makes it so much more fun to write this story :).