So yeah. Like I said. I'm trying for the 10th chapter while on vacation

So I bet you guys have no idea what comes next eh? Ehehehehe... I do!.. ... ... well obviously right? Nywho! I'm really appreciative for the comments. It means a lot. I really mean it! THX! Keep reading!

I don't really have much to say. Vacation is nice, but here I am, doing my best for everyone else.

By the way! No idea how hospitals work in Japan. I haven't even been to a hospital when I was the injured one... But I have been a lot of times for others...So yeah... for lack of knowledge, and ease of read, It will be a hospital that runs like a north American one... more like Canadian (eh!)

Disclaimer: I don't own ghost hunt. Sad I know. But yeah. I'm doing this for the sheer fun of having doing something with pre-created characters. Yay for no imagination! Ahah no I'm just a dork... don't mind me.

10-

About an hour after arriving at the hospital, Mai woke up. They had already taken care of her leg. At first it was a bit weird. She had seen other members of SPR shipped off to the hospital mid case. But never herself.

It was also a bit of a shock considering she didn't remember an ambulance. There was a building, and she had been looking up... She must have fallen unconscious.

The room was white, but it also gave off a feeling of blue. Somehow the atmosphere gave off that sort of aura. There was a knock on the door.

Ayako peered in, followed by a doctor. "Mai..." They walked in. Ayako sat on the side of the bed, and took Mai's hand.

"Ayako..." She said. There was not much else to say anyway.

The doctor looked at information streaming form one of the machines in the room. "Taniyama-san, you had quite a fall. From what it sounds like, off the roof of the third floor?"

"Yes." She said. Ayako's grip tightened a little.

"Then it's amazing you're as unharmed as you are!" Mai examined herself. She had scrapes, cuts, and a cast on her leg. That, and she was in pain. Seeing the needle in her arm, she was probably on painkillers as well. Her arm was red a bit too, as if it had been squeezed. He pointed at that very mark. "Someone grabbed your arm. Although, if they held on from the roof, that shouldn't have had much effect on the fall, and you would have been injured more. Something isn't right. Do you remember how you got that?"

Mai thought for a moment, and pulled out of Ayako's grip.

Ayako knew that it hadn't been there when she had jumped, yet when the rest of SPR arrived on the ground, it was there. There was no logical explanation.

"I don't remember... but it wasn't there before I fell." Mai said. Maybe it had something to do with the spirits residing in that house. It seemed really obvious that that might be it. But then Mai realized, only to her group, and maybe a few other weird people like them, would 'spirits' be a logical explanation. If she were to go on about spirits, who knows what the doctor would think.

Ayako looked at Mai. It wasn't the first time she had seen someone from SPR in the hospital. It was a dangerous line of work. But it was Mai's first time. She looked much less cheerful wearing a seriously thoughtful expression in a hospital gown, with a cast on her leg and a needle in her arm.

"All right. If you want, I can look into what made that mark." Mai shook her head.

"May I have some time with my friend?" She asked.

The doctor checked his watch. "Okay, but I'm going to be sending a nurse in 5 or so minutes to check on you. And it's probably best to sleep if you feel tired at all." Mai nodded, and he retreated.

Ayako turned to her. "Do you have any real idea of what may have happened?" Mai figured as much. She had thought about spirits being the cause too.

"I think a spirit may have grabbed my arm. Not an angry one. It was trying to stop me from falling at all. I didn't want to say. The doctor might have thought I hit my head really bad or something..." She was tired. But she had to talk for at least a bit.

Ayako nodded. "All right. I figured that might have been it. You know, you do look tired. I'll go and..."

Mai cut her off. "Stay please!" She said.

Ayako grabbed the covers and pulled them up to Mai's chin. Mai thought it was almost a motherly sort of action. It was nice, after being without one for a while. "I'll stay. But you have to sleep."

Mai nodded, and closed her eyes.

A nurse popped her head in the room. "Ayako Matsuzaki-san? There's a phone call from your work."

Takigawa was pacing around the base. Masako got the room to herself, and he took over Mai's couch. He did feel a bit bad about that. It was almost like accepting that she wouldn't be back.

Not that she would be, but still.

John was looking at the screens, monitoring the inn. Naru was at his computer, Lin was phoning the hospital to see how Mai was, and Masako was looking for Serra and Kris.

Currently, she was on the roof. John watched the screen intently. Masako was saying something. But was she talking to herself or to Serra? After what happened with Mai, the camera monitoring the first floor hall was moved to the roof. With two extension cords, it was aimed at the side Mai had fallen.

Masako left, and returned to the base.

"Serra won't respond. She's ignoring me." Nobody wanted to say anything. Somehow Masako felt even worse. "I'll be in my room." She turned away, fast enough that nobody could see the tears. As she closed the door, she brought her hands to her eyes. John, being the only one at the cameras, saw. She really does feel bad...

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Masako looked up. It was Ai Asuka. "Hara-san?"

Masako smiled again, ever the professional. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's nothing." I am sorry... Mai. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ai nodded. "On the roof. You couldn't talk to Serra could you?" Masako nodded. This time she was a bit suspicious. "I can talk to her. Please. Come with me."

"Okay..." Masako followed the younger girl up the stairs. John noted on the screen, that something didn't seem right. Ai, whom he hadn't met yet, didn't seem to walk quite right... it was similar to... Mai!

"Naru... we hve a bit of a problem. I think another guest has been possessed... This girl. She seems to walk a lot more like a guy than a girl." Takigawa saw the screen.

"Naru, even better chance of being possessed. It's Ai!" For the second time, he ran out the door first. The Masako on screen collapsed. John watched her stand back up, and then begin angrily talking to the younger girl.

Takigawa was already on scene.

"Masako?" It was just like with Mai. There was a dead sort of feel to her eyes. Looking at Ai, it was the same.

"Shut up you!" Ai said, glaring. "Its enough now okay! That last girl might die you know! You are a failure! Just because you can't give up!"

"That's not what happened! Nobody understands why! Nobody would even listen! Nobody here knows why I did it. No one here believes me!" Masako shouted. Naru and John were on the roof. "And now the whole crew is here! Well guess what! Kris is going over the edge! First time for you? Then here's some advice! If you stay with that girl, you will feel her pain." Masako, even if she was frail looking, was stronger than Ai. Masako pulled her to the edge.

Not this again! Takigawa ran to separate the two of them. Masako was not as strong as Mai, and so was easily stopped. Ai pulled back and glared. "You will not take more lives!" Ai fell over, her eyes closing. Masako similarly went limp in Takigawa's grip.

John came over and took Masako. Naru also came to her. Takigawa took Ai. "So Ai was possessed by Kris, and Masako was possessed by Serra." Takigawa said. "From what I heard, all we have to do to make her move on is find out what she thought, and say that we believe it with enough conviction. Then Kris will pass on as well." Is that okay Naru? The painless way I mean? Naru's expression was as unreadable as ever.

When Ai woke up on Mai's bed she was a bit shocked. The last thing she remembered was sitting in her room with some juice. The next shock was the presence of the team Mai worked for, but the lack of Mai in the room.

But her stuff was on the ground, so she had to be somewhere near. "Umm... Can someone tell me what's going on?" Ai asked, Sitting up and yawning.

Takigawa filled her in. "We found you on the floor in the hallway again." he lied. No reason to tell her she was possessed by a ghost and almost thrown off of a building by someone also possessed. Naru suggested that lie. It was the only thing they could do for her.

"Oh... the last thing I remember, I was in my room..." She trailed off, looking at the ceiling. "Oh well. I don't feel any different..." But that weird presence thing. It doesn't seem to be gone either... Maybe it's just in my head...

"Alright then. You can probably go back to your room now. But if something happens, call for us okay?" Ai nodded and exited. She figured Naru had probably sent Mai on another menial quest of sorts.

Masako, who had been sitting on a chair in the room thought about Mai. I need to apologize to her. "I'll be back soon." Masako left for her own room. Once their, she picked up the phone book, looking for the hospital Mai was at.

Once she found it, she dialed. "Hello. May I please speak with patient Taniyama Mai? Tell her it's a friend from work." her voice hitched when she said friend. How can I call myself that? The nurse on the other side paused a moment.

"I'm afraid she's still asleep. Would you like to speak to her doctor, or Ayako Matsuzaki, who is currently with her?" Masako nodded.

"Hello?" There was no way the nurse could have seen the nod.

"Oh right. Yes. I'll speak to Matsuzaki-san." There were about two minutes of silence.

The nurse opened the door again to Ayako's room. "You've got another caller. It's from Taniyama-san's work this time." Ayako nodded, and followed the nurse to the desk in the wing they were in. The nurse wore standard loose white clothes. She had shoulder length strait black hair pulled into a tail. Her eyes were brown. She walked lightly, making very little noise as she did.

The nurse didn't know they worked together. "Oh, that's right. I'm a friend of Mai's from work as well!" She told the nurse.

"Really? I thought you were her mother. But we have a bit of a problem in that case. I'm going to need a parent or legal guardian to talk to. To make sure they know of their child's condition."

Ayako thought for a moment. For a parent they were out of luck. Same with legal guardians. But if a plain old guardian would do, Naru fit the position.

Come to think of, Mai didn't have any sort of legal guardian... she lived on her own. She made her own way through life with her own hard earned money. "I'm sorry to say, but I don't believe there is anyone who really qualifies. Mai's an orphan. She lives on her own now too."

The nurse frowned. "Well, I need someone to do the forms for her. Because she's a minor. What about her boss?"

What if her boss is a minor as well? "I guess that would probably work..."

The nurse handed her the phone and pressed a button. "Hello?"

"Matsuzaki-san..." came Masako's feeble voice."How in Taniyama-san?"

This sentence was a bit of a thing to hear. Masako was calling them by last names now? "Masako-Chan? Is there a problem? Mai isn't angry at you..." Even if she was angry at Masako, it was clear that Masako knew this and was being cautious. Masako was ashamed. It came clear in her voice.

"Mai doesn't know what I did."

Okay. That was true, "But Mai would never, ever get angry at you about that. She would accept your apology even if it was forced, and could be seen right through by anyone. Mai is forgiving. She isn't one to..."

Masako cut her off. "I know. I'm not concerned about that. She would accept any apology. She's so polite. But even if she says she accepts it, a person's eyes say their true feeling. I would never be able to look into hers again for fear of what I might see."

Masako... Ayako was so sorry for her. It must have been hard to be unable to say anything. "I forgive you. Completely." Ayako said. "You will be forgiven by every one else too. If you're really that worried about Mai, just make sure to make some time to talk to her afterwards, okay? Stop in at the office just to talk to her sometime. And don't spend that time apologizing."

Masako was in tears. Ayako could tell by the way she spoke. "I will." there was a soft click, and Ayako gave the phone back to the nurse.

"What if the boss is a minor as well?" the nurse looked up.

"Pardon me?"

"What if the boss is a minor as well?" Ayako repeated. "You said Mai couldn't sign her forms because she's a minor. Our boss is too."

The nurse sighed. "I don't even want to know what you guys do." After a few moments, "I guess that's okay. There isn't really any protocol for that situation."

Ayako held out a hand. "You already know my name."

"Komaya, Ako." she took the hand.

Masako put down the phone. She didn't feel the need to say goodbye. And even if Ayako forgave her, she had to apologize in person as well. It was quite a relief to talk to her.

"Masako... I forgive you as well." John's voice came from the door.

It was a bit of a shock for Masako. She didn't hear the door open. "Brown-san..." She couldn't use first names anymore. It hurt to think of herself as a part of their group now.

John shook his head. "I won't respond if you call me that ever again." He smiled. "Come on. I heard what Ayako said. She's right. And I forgive you. Let's go back now."

Mai slept for quite a while. She felt bad. The first thing that came to mind was that everyone was working and she was just sleeping. Even being injured, she felt she was wasting time sleeping. Funny, because when she really was wasting time, she felt okay about it.

Mai remembered hearing that dreams are the things that you wish for most earnestly. Her dream consisted of no pain. That was the best thing she could think of. Directly after that?

"Naru..." She saw him. It made her so happy to see him.

"I'm sorry." Dream Naru said.

Mai wondered what he was sorry for. "It was you, wasn't it?" It was odd to see Naru say that. Just more proof it wasn't Naru... just her dreams.

Even if she didn't have any pain, and her leg cast was nowhere to be seen, her arm sported the red mark from being squeezed too much. "It was thanks to you that I wasn't hurt more."

Dream Naru didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry to have made you worry. But I'm all right. Okay?" She smiled.

"Does that arm hurt?" Mai shook her head. It was wonderful to see Naru concerned. Even if it was the dream one.

"Nothing hurts here. Not injuries, not words..." she leaned back, and slept deeper than before. She was tired, even in her dreams. That was certainly quite tired.

"I'm sorry." Dream Naru said again. He paused, and touched the wound on her arm. "I couldn't hold on anymore. And you were still injured."

John and Masako re-entered the room. Takigawa looked up to see them. Masako looked fragile. The moment she walked in, he considered a glare, but thought better of it. The girl had gone through enough. She wouldn't even raise her eyes, scared to see what the other's expressions were.

Naru turned to see all assembled. "If all that is necessary for the passing on of both spirits is to help Serra pass on, then we will do so immediately, before something happens." Maybe a bit late for that... "I would like to have someone with Ai Asuka at all times to prevent something from happening to her. It may be a similar situation to the one with Mai. We don't know if she has told us everything. Takigawa-san. You will go now to see her. Don't tell her of your motive."

Takigawa nodded and was gone. "Lin, stay here. You two will be attempting to convince Serra that you believe her. I will be looking for more information to help you determine what you are believing." he handed Masako a headset. She and John left.

Naru sat down at his computer and began searching. After barely 2 minutes, he picked up the phone and dialed the hospital. "Hello. May I speak to Taniyama Mai's doctor?" The nurse who picked up paused a moment.

"Can I ask who is calling?" She was typing on her computer. Naru could hear the keys.

"Her Boss." The nurse made an affirmative sort of sound. There was some silence, and then someone else picked up.

"This is Dr. Isuiro."

"May I ask about the current condition of one of your patients, Taniyama Mai? I'm her boss."

There was a bit of a pause. Some papers were shuffled. "I'm afraid that depending upon what you have her doing, she may not be able to work for a while. Her left leg is broken. Though there should be no problems with its recovery. She has a lot of cuts and scrapes from landing on a rocky surface. I get the feeling some will be infected because of debris we were unable to remove, but we have used some antibiotics which should help with that. She also has a large red mark on her wrist. Do you remember seeing that before?"

Naru still didn't know what to make of that mark. "Right when she was at the top of the building, before she fell, I didn't see it." He wasn't going to tell the doctor she jumped while possessed. "I tried to grab her arm when she was falling, but I definitely missed. It was not there at that time. When we found her on the ground, it was."

The doctor 'hmmm'ed the resumed speaking. "It really depends upon what kind of work you guys do. It would seem that it involves traveling, so she probably won't be able to work for maybe a month."

"I am not as concerned about her ability to work as I am about her making a full recovery. We don't travel that often. Maybe once or twice a month. I will make sure that she has no issues getting the proper rest she needs to recover." Lin smiled a little as he heard Naru's speech.

"Thank you. Don't worry; she'll be out of the hospital in no time. Also, from what I hear, she has no parents or legal guardians. So as her boss, you're going to have to come in once she is ready to leave. I hope that won't be an issue." Naru almost smiled.

"No trouble at all."