So it's after midnight and I only just finished this chapter. Usually I'd leave it so I can edit it later, but I feel bad for all those months I pushed this story aside, so here it is.

I don't own Ghost Hunt.

(Naru's POV)

People have often told me that nothing seems to phase me. Nerves of steel, I believe it was. This is a false presumption. Just because my reactions are limited does not mean I don't experience the same turmoil of emotions.

When I returned to the orphanage, I was met with an exhausted, tearful Mai, who'd shakily explained that the children were all organized into groups and given specific schedules, so we knew where each kid should be at any given time. Noting how she was on the brink of collapse, I tried sending her off to rest, but she wouldn't have it.

"I can't sleep until I know Kara is okay." She'd answered stubbornly.

I considered arguing with her. I knew from experience that if I pushed her hard enough, I could eventually make her see reason. However, it would be hypocritical of me to do so, since I myself didn't plan on relaxing until Kara was safe, so I let it slide and sent her back to home base to review the camera footage for any signs of Kara. I doubted it would yield any results, but it would keep Mai safely occupied.

As for myself, I went straight to the nearest sensible-looking adult and asked them to take me to Kara's room. They took me to a small room on the second floor of the house, one of the only rooms that are dedicated to a single child. It didn't surprise me that Kara didn't share a room with any of the other children. I thanked the person who had led me there and instructed them to leave, stepping cautiously into the room.

I was immediately struck by how empty the room seemed. The only furniture in the room was a bed and a small dresser, and even those seemed strangely devoid of life. The bed was neatly made, echoing the fact that Kara had spent the last couple nights with Mai, and on the dresser sat three worn-out books.

This is her whole life, I thought to myself. Even I had more to my name at her age. She's completely isolated from everyone and everything. These children don't even go to school—they receive private instruction from tutors. A child shouldn't have to live like this. A child like Kara should have at least one person to depend on. She was completely deprived.

A strange ache welled up in my chest, a feeling I had very little experience with. I gritted my teeth and quickly halted my train of thought, forcing the feeling back down. There was no time for that right now. I came here for a reason.

I surveyed the items quickly, trying to decide what she might hold closest to her heart, and eventually decided on the books laying atop the dresser. As I reached for the book, I paused, noting curiously that, far from being a children's novel, the book was actually a scientific textbook. I smiled slightly, then lifted the book.

I didn't like doing this. This was one aspect of my abilities that made me feel as though I was violating another human being. Even more, I hated the thought of being in someone else's mind. The thought of such intense closeness made me feel sick. But despite my discomfort, I had to know whether Kara was still alive, and even more importantly, I needed any information which might lead me to her whereabouts.

I opened my senses and swiftly fell into another place. There was a hole in front of me, and earthy darkness behind me. Something in my arms was weighing me down greatly, but there was a desperation to hold onto whatever it was. I lifted the object and pushed it out the hole, which momentarily blocked the small amount of light coming from it. I gasped deeply, gripping weakly onto my shaking knees, then stood and pulled myself out of the hole. I rolled onto my feet and lifted the object once more, then began to stagger in the direction of a large building, illuminated by the soft yellow light of a familiar tall lamp.

Shock snapped me back to myself. I dropped the book, but I hardly noticed. In a rare moment of impulsive action, I ran out of the room, down the stairs and toward the back door of the house. Swinging open the door, I darted out into the yard, stopping under the same yellow lamp I was certain I'd just seen in the vision.

I narrowed my eyes, scanning the treeline as my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, listening for any sounds of footfall. I was certain; this is where she was heading. If she didn't pass out from exhaustion, she should be exiting the forest any second now. If she did pass out, then I would need a flashlight. Why hadn't I grabbed one on the way out?

Any scolding I might have given myself was instantly chased away when the sweet sound of raspy breath reached my ears. A second later, a small figure tumbled out of the forest, clutching an even smaller figure in her arms.

I ran forward as fast as my legs could carry me and only just managed catch Kara as she collapsed. I suddenly found myself awkwardly holding on to two limp girls, one of which completely unconscious, the other fading fast.

Through her barely-open eyelids, Kara seemed to recognise me. She mumbled "Daddy, I hit Ryo in the head."

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but she'd already passed out. Sighing, I lifted the two girls in my arms and rushed them back to the orphanage.

When I entered the building, I shouted for Midori, who I figured would be more likely to hear me versus Mai and Lin, who were on the third floor. The elder woman came running into the room a few seconds later.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She called in a panic. Her eyes darted around the room and locked onto the two girls, who I was laying on the nearest couch. Her eyes widened and she gasped, rushing over to my side. "Oh my lord, Kara! Tana! Are they okay?"

I swiftly checked their vitals, ignoring the woman's blabbering. The younger girl, Tana, was obviously in worse shape, but both girls were sporting large, unnatural looking bruises. I answered "They're both unconscious. It doesn't look serious, but they should both be taken to a hospital for an examination."

Midori nodded and rushed over to the phone to dial for an ambulance. While she was talking with the operator, Mai and Lin both came into the room.

Mai was the first to speak. "Naru, what's going on? Did you find…" Her sentence trailed off when she laid eyes on the two girls. "Kara!"

Mai ran forward and collapsed beside the unconscious girl. She gripped onto the little girl's hand, saying "Naru, is she okay? What happened? Where did you find her?"

"Mai, control yourself." I snapped, forcing her to silence her onslaught of questions. She narrowed her eyes at me, but the anger was only half-hearted. I took a breath, reminding myself that there was a correct way to speak to people, and started again. "Kara managed to find her own way back to the orphanage. I found her staggering out of the forest with the younger girl in her arms."

Mai opened her mouth, looking like she was about to start another onslaught of questions, but she was interrupted by Midori who came back in that moment to say "The ambulance should be here in a few minutes."

I nodded, acknowledging that I heard her, then stood up and said "I suggest that you call on some of the staff to watch over them until the ambulance arrives." I looked over at Mai, who was still clutching onto Kara's hand. "Mai, stay with Kara. Lin, get the flashlights."

Lin nodded and rushed off. Ignoring the women who were staring at me in confusion, I walked over to the back door and pinpointed the exact spot Kara had exited the forest. That would be our starting point. When Lin returned, he handed me a flashlight, which I immediately turned on.

Just as I went to step out of the building, a voice forced me to halt. "Naru, where are you going?"

I turned slightly, giving Mai an annoyed look. She glared, just as I'd expected her to. I answered "Obviously, I'm going to look for the place Kara just escaped."

Mai growled at my not-so-subtle insult to her intelligence. Her anger was a brief distraction from the details of the actual task I just described. Seeing my chance, I rushed out of the building with Lin in tow. I was not in the mood to argue with Mai over the potential dangers of searching the forest at night.

Unfortunately, there was very little to find. The flashlights didn't provide enough light to be able to track Kara's footprints, and the entrance to the tunnel must've been well hidden if no one had noticed it in any previous venture into the forest. Despite that small entrance being within view of the orphanage, neither I nor Lin found any trace of it.

By the time we returned to the orphanage, the paramedics had arrived and were assessing the two girls. One pitiful paramedic tried to push Mai away from Kara and had quickly met with a death glare worthy of the devil. The boy was so shaken that he allowed Mai, along with a staff member whose name I didn't know, to follow them into the ambulance. Although I didn't pay her to spend time next to someone's hospital bed, I was glad to have her off the premises for the time being.

As we watched the ambulance drive away, Lin came up to me and noted "That boy is going to be very upset."

I nodded. "Losing both victims at once and being unable to retrieve them will aggravate the spirit. It will likely force him to be reckless."

"We should remove the other children from the premises for now." Lin suggested. "It's far too dangerous for them to remain here."

"I'll entrust that to you." I answered. He gave a swift nod. "If the others were here, I would instruct them to perform a cleansing. Ryo does not appear to have advanced beyond a purely spiritual existence, so it's theoretically possible. Unfortunately, our information and resources are too limited."

Lin, never one to dodge the point, asked simply "Do you intend to exorcise the boy?"

"Yes. I believe that would be the best solution." I answered. Lin accepted my decision silently, as I expected him to. While exorcisms are quite dangerous, I've succeeded in the past and between myself, Lin and Mai, there would be plenty of spiritualists to control the situation if things went wrong. Performing an exorcism did not frighten me. Well… between myself and Lin, in any case. Perhaps Mai should stay at the hospital with Kara.

I groaned, thinking of that girl's expression when I explained what needed to be done. Mai is not going to like this, I thought. Like most spiritualists, she rejects exorcism as an abhorrent way to deal with spirits, something that should only be used as a last resort. However, in this case, there was nothing else to be done. This spirit was just too dangerous.

For a moment, I briefly considered going through with the exorcism without telling Mai, but I quickly rejected the idea. There was a time when I was more comfortable keeping the details to myself, but time and again I've been shown that the operation always runs more smoothly when Mai knows exactly what is being done.

I would call her later, I decided. I'll give her enough time to speak with a doctor so she can at least report on Kara's condition when we talk.

I turned back to the orphanage and headed to home base.

I had some preparations to take care of.