I do not own Ghost Hunt.

Chapter 4-Lady In White

We all stared at the camera. Slowly it began to slide forward. Everyone gasped and stumbled back, except for Naru and Lin that is. Again, it slid forward, gaining a few more feet. It was now only inches away from Naru's midriff and he still hadn't moved.

What is he doing? What if the spirit gets violent?

Naru reached up and placed his hand on the camera. He pushed it suddenly and the camera fell to the ground and broke. Everyone stared in shock.

"Naru, w-why did you do that?" I asked, recovering enough to stand.

"They were making a point and I made mine," he said scornfully. "Are guys just going to sit there or are you going to go and check the equipment?"

Everyone got up and ran from the room. As I was about to leave, Naru said, "Tea, Mai." I looked back at him he was now sitting in his chair, watching the feed from the camera he had broke. I nodded and walked over to the counter.

"And once you get done, clean up that mess." I looked back to him in shock. Why was he being so rude? Why was he in a bad mood now?

I sighed as I finished pouring the water and sat it on the stove to heat. I walked over to the bits of camera and began to gather them.

"Naru," I said timidly.

"What?" he growled and I flinched. Then, as anger replaced fear, I rose, my hands shaking.

"Stop it," I said, not looking up at him. I could feel his eyes on me and if I looked into them all of my resolve would be gone.

"Stop treating us like crap. I understand you're in a bad mood but don't take it out on us. We didn't do anything. You always do this!" I yelled. I heard him stand and, not sure what to do, I stood still, my hands still shaking where they were cupped around the pieces. Suddenly, I felt his hands gently touching the backs of mine, forming close to the same grip I had on the camera fragments. I blushed furiously. He was touching my hands!

"Give them to me," he said coolly. Slowly, I slipped my hands out from in between his hands and the parts. They fell into his grip and he walked to the trash and dropped them in. I stared in shock, my breathing shallow. He stood there, staring into space with his hands in his pockets. I heard an odd whistling in the background as I gawked at him, trying to form a semi-coherent thought at the very least. He looked over his shoulder at me, the oddest look in his eye. It was so soft.

"Mai, the water is boiling," he said. I started and looked at the stove where the kettle was shaking. I ran to it and picked it up off the stove and poured it into the straining pot. I waited, counting in my head, for the tea to steep. After I had brought him a cup, I turned back to the monitors.

"Naru?" i said quietly, half hoping he wouldn't hear me.

"What?" he asked, nicer than before. I let out a relieved breath.

"That woman, in the picture with your mother, the one in my dream...who is she?" Naru didn't seem at all surprised I had found out who his mom was. He sipped at his tea, seeming to contemplate something.

"My grandmother," he said dryly. My eyes widened in slight shock.

"Oh," I muttered. Such a useless word. I decided it better not to ask about his mother.

"Everything's alright, Naru," said Monk, coming in. Naru looked at him, back to his normal behavior.

"Good."

I looked down glumly.

"Hey Mai, what's up?" asked Monk. I turned with a small blush and a nervous smile and moved my hands back and forth.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all, why would anything be wrong?" I asked. He cocked an eyebrow at me. I laughed and scratched the back of my head.

"If you're done goofing off," broke in Naru's annoyed voice, "Monk I think an exorcism is in order."

"Wait," I said suddenly confused. "Why? We don't even know the centers of activity."

"We do," he said in the usual condescending manner.

"No, we don't," I said, my temper rising again.

"Yes we do, the west stairwell," he continued. I broke, mid angry thought and looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ayako.

"If I had had a chance to finish earlier, I would have told you that one of the doctors had a relationship with a man related to a terminal patient. The patient was charged with the murder of this doctor, but acquitted due to mental disease." I stared, mouth on the floor.

"So, the story of the woman being pushed down the stairs is true?" asked John. Naru ignored his question and carried on dogmatically.

"The doctor was assigned to the terminal patient research. After her death, the program was shut down, closely followed by the hospital itself."

"So," Ayako said, "Everything fits except the fact that there have been sightings of a lady in white. Was that just gossip?"

Everyone looked at Naru. Slowly he opened his eyes, a dark look mixed in with the indigo.

"The doctor who was killed was famous for always insisting on wearing a white kimono."

*******************************************************************************************************************

Monk was set up in the stair well, his mantras flowing in through our camera speaker. Naru stood over the computer as we waited. So far there was nothing. Maybe we were wrong.

Suddenly a scream ripped through the building. Naru looked up at the cameras as the rest of us began to panic.

"I'll go make sure everyone is alright," said John, running from the room.

"Wait, John!" I yelled, but Naru's arm shot out in front of me.

"Naru?"

"Ms. Hara," he said, looking at her over his shoulder. Masako nodded.

"Yes, that was one of the spirits." My eyes opened in shock. I felt suddenly horrible, so sad. Tears welled up in my eyes. I ducked under Naru's arm and ran out the room. I found the east stair way and ran to the top, audibly hearing the others behind me but ignoring them. I broke into the top floor as the building began to shudder. I sank to the ground as my sobs over took me. I could hear the wails, the screams of agony. I put my hands over my ears in hopes of shutting them out. No luck.

"Mai!" Masako yelled, running to me. I felt her hand on my back, trying to soothe me.

"Naru," said Lin suddenly. We all looked. The camera at the end of the hallway had turned to look at us, but that wasn't the most shocking of things. Before us stood a tall woman in a white kimono. Her eyes were hard and her face full of hatred. Terror such as I had never felt filled me as she looked right into my eyes.

No...

She began to walk towards us, my fear growing with every step she took. Lin called his shiki but they never touched her. She just kept going. Then she was right before us. If Masako had been shaking in fear, i wouldn't have noticed. The woman reached down for me and I closed my eyes. Nothing happened.

I slowly opened my eyes to find an empty hallway before me. I felt peace, no agony. Slowly, I began to calm myself. What had happened?

I looked at the others but they were all as shocked as me. Suddenly the door to the west stairwell flew open and Masako and I shrieked.

"Yo, what's up? Hey come on, I'm not that bad looking," said Monk. I sighed in relief and slowly I began to laugh. Masako and Monk joined me. Lin sighed and smiled. Naru just turned and walked out. It was over.

We told the owners that all of the activity was gone. They seemed truly appalled by the thought of what had happened here and had decided that the hospital would now stand as a memorial of all of those who suffered here. Mr. Takemaru thanked us fervently as we left.

"Masako," I said quietly, pulling her aside. She looked at me questioningly.

"Why did I break down like that? I know you could hear those spirits too, but why did it affect me so bad?" She gave me a soft look and turned her back on me.

"Your heart, it's so kind. You're like a beacon of hope for many spirits. They seemed to just latch onto you." I stood, my mouth hanging open as she left.

"Mai, are you going to stand there all day?" said Naru's voice from behind me. I turned to look at him with a huge smile on my face.

"Nope." I skipped off to the van. I didn't see Naru watching me from behind. A soft wind ruffled his hair and he muttered, "Idiot," before following.

As Lin pulled out of the parking lot, I sighed and looked at the sky.

Mom...

That's the end of the second case. Hope you liked it. I wanted to clear up that it was not his mom that was in the hospital. She was just in the picture with the woman who was. I wanted to say thank you again for all of the beautiful comments. My readers are really the only reason I want to keep writing so frequently. I am now back home from vacation so updates might slow but I will try to keep a pace of at least one a day.

Next Case- Dragon Lady. SPR is called out to a huge mansion where knocking noises disturb the resting. Investigators for years have been being chased away with their tales between their legs as misfortune hit them. Why are you taking this case Naru? It's too dangerous, what about us?

Update Soon

-mytruthaboutlife.