When I say village and town I'm talking about the same place. Village before the present and town for the present. Like now it's more modernized and back then it was really rural. This chapter is a little dull, but it seemed necessary. Hope you like it. Please review! I don't own Ghost Hunt.

Chapter 14

The town was small, but that was just the main part. As they were informed, the town actually included the forests and marshy areas around it. No one travel to those area's though. They were private property. Mai and the group met up with group of fishermen. They didn't see, afraid to answer their questions or to talk to Mai. That might be because at this point she had quit mentioning that she was a Suzushima and that she lived in that castle. Mai wanted answers and she was tired of hitting a brick wall every time she asked a question.

"So you're interested in the Castle are you now?" older fisherman smiled. "Well, I'll tell you about that place. It's cursed! So is the whole family."

"What do you mean by cursed?" Mai asked. Usually Naru would be the one asking questions, but this time Mai was in charge and so she would be asking her questions first. Yasuhara had his camera too so that they could review the footage. You can tell if someone is lying by his/her body language and Mai wanted the truth.

"Well, you see the man who built the place was a foreigner." The old fisherman continued. "He came he one day on his ship. Decided to stop and survey that land, see if there was anything he wanted, like all those foreigners do. There was something he wanted. One of the village witches. She lived out there on that island all by herself. No one really knew much about her, but she was a witch none the less. She created those cherry trees around that island. She did it with her magic! That's why they don't act like normal trees. Those who went to the island never returned. She turned them into the trees! That's what they say she did. So the foreigner sailed his ship by and there she stood on the cliff singing. She bewitched him, she did, made him her servant. He built the Castle. He took the name she gave him. Suzushima. They had many children. Lots of sons. The sons got married, but only one wife survived. The children all went mad, except for the children of the surviving wife. They say the old witch didn't approve of her daughters in law and did away with them. They were weak and not worthy of the Suzushima name and the children unworthy of having Suzushima blood. One wife whom she had picked herself survived she was from another village. She was a witch too. She would produce children worthy of Suzushima blood. The Suzushima's for generations have excelled, but have isolated the Castle from most of the world, protecting the secrets of their success. The Castle weeds out the bad blood, what they call survival of the fittest.

"Why is the Castle able to do that? You talk like it's a person, are you saying its alive?" Mai asked. The fishermen looked at each other as if the were silently debating telling her the rest.

"There is a story." said the younger one. He looked 20 years old and kept giving Mai flirting glances that pissed Naru off. Mai could tell he was going to hold out till Mai acknowledge his flirting.

"Do you think you tell me? I'm a brave girl. I can handle it." She asked sweetly. 'This had better be worth it she thought'.

"Well they say that she never actually died." The younger fisherman said.

"Never actually died?" Mai asked.

"The old witch the first one. They say she just vanished one day. They knew she didn't leave the Castle because all the doors where locked and by that time she didn't go outside much. She became her beloved Castle." He finished and smiled at Mai again.

Everyone looked at each other. This was an interesting development. The needed to find the family plots more than ever now. So she asked one more question. "Do any of you know if there is a family plot? Were they buried in the town or was there one on the island?"

"None of the Suzushima's are buried out here" said the middle aged fisherman. "The Suzushima's wouldn't want to allow them to be buried amongst the common folk. Your best bet would be to find a way to the island and look yourselves. I don't know who owns the place now. I heard that Yoshida left it to his sister Suzuka. His daughter Suzuka went off with this Taniyama fellow. She met him at school I believe." finished the middle aged fisherman.

"I've noticed a lot of activity going on over there. Heard there was a wedding. The new owner. You don't get much out of the Castles workers. They've been working there for generation. The Suzushima's must treat them real good. The Castle only goes after family. Those who work there or visit are not harmed." The older fisherman added.

The group finished with them and moved on. It was tea time so they stopped a small shop. Naru got very grumpy when he didn't get his tea. They sat down at a table and waited for service. The shop was very busy. It seemed to have everything. A store/café. There were old pictures on the walls. Behind the counter were shelves of herbs and old books and scrolls. It had a Moroccan feel to it with fabrics of purples reds, and oranges draped. Mai loved the smell of the place. It reminded her of when her mother was still alive. In their old house, her mother had kept herbs and olds books and papers. That was why Mai loved the library. The smell of all the old books, until Naru informed her that the fumes from old books had the same effect as huffing paint, it killed brain cells, and that was why she acted like an idiot. If she continued she was become a complete idiot. Mai furrowed her brow as she thought about that and then laughed. 'To think I married him'. She laughed some more earning a look from Naru. A young woman made her way over to them. She looked like Mai with a few differences. Her brown hair came to her shoulders. She had a small strip of purple in her hair near her bangs. She had a small stud nose ring. She was wearing jeans and a black t shirt that said "this is what a feminist looks like".

"My name is Molly. What can I do for you guys today?" she asked them. She seemed really friendly. She could have been Mai's double in looks and personality.

"We would like some tea please." Mai ordered for everyone. "Do you mind if I look at your herbs selection too?"

"Not at all. Come with me if you like." Molly smiled and led Mai behind the counter. Mai noticed the sage.

"Oh sage. When I was little my mom use to burn sage. She always smelled like lavender and honey." Mai giggled.

"No kidding. My family did that too. This shop has been here for generations. I don't own it. It belongs to my Gran. She comes out to town on Fridays and does fortune telling." Mai and Molly talked until the tea was ready. They had so much in common. Molly was actually half Japanese and half American. Her parents met in college. Her mom had been studying abroad. Her grandmother who owned the shop lived out in the forest area away from the rest of town. Molly's parents lived in Tokyo, they were both professors in folklore and history. Molly lived part times above the shop and with her grandmother. Mai wondered if this was her grandmother's (Mai's grandmother) family. Molly finished preparing the tea and Mai made her way back to the table.

"Did you have fun with your new friend?" Ayako asked making her voice sickeningly sweet. Mai shot her a look.

"As a matter of fact I did." Mai sipped her tea.

"This is almost as good as your, Mai!" exclaimed Yasuhara. Everyone nodded in agreement. Mai had always told everyone that she made her own blend. A family recipe that she got from her mom.

They made their way back to the castle and went off on their own. Naru decided to go for a walk. It had been a very eventful last couple of weeks. Getting married and finding out that he was going to be a father, but their baby will not live and then loosing the baby sooner than they had expected. He had been a nervous wreck. He had insisted that they go to the doctor's the day after they were married. Mai had told him about her dream. He tried not to let on how scared he was. From then to when she miscarried, he had been having nightmares. Mai going into labor and them being trapped alone, being in the hospital and hearing Mai's screams and seeing the blood, but not being able to save her or the baby. He didn't tell her because she needed to stay calm. She seemed to be dealing with it all just fine. When she had miscarried he took her to the hospital, but there was nothing that they could do. He came in the room and she seemed so calm.

"Mai…." he couldn't find the right words to say. Mai looked at him and gave him a weak smile. He walked over to her and sat next to her. He wasn't sure if she wanted to be touched or not. She reached over and squeezed his hand.

"I knew we would loose her, but not this soon." She sighed "Are you ok? Sometimes I worry about you. You don't have to be so strong all the time. We're married now. Husband and Wife. Try to lean on me every once and awhile." Naru couldn't believe what he was hearing. She had just lost her baby. Mai, who always dream of being a mother, had that dream snatched from her and was trying to comfort him. She was stronger than he had thought. So kind and generous worrying about others more than herself, which was why he had fallen in love with her so fast. Naru nodded and smiled.

Naru wondered if she would want to try again once this was over. She didn't seem to give any indication of wanting to have a baby. He knew his mother was expecting grandchildren and had joked about it when they had left.

"Hey there husband of mine." Mai came up to him. She looped her arm through his and walked with him. "I could tell what you were thinking about. You were thinking about her weren't you, our Sakura." Naru didn't say anything. This is the first time she had brought up Sakura since that day.

"You probably think I'm in shock or it hasn't sunken in yet. I should be in pieces, but I'm not. That doesn't mean I'm not grieving because I am. I'm just dealing with it in my own way. I'll be a mother someday. We'll have a beautiful baby. That's what you promised me when you proposed." Mai smiled. Naru laughed.

"It could be nothing less with my genes. What if we have twins? Its genetic you know." Joked with her.

"That would be fine with me as long as they don't have powers." Mai added "I could deal with powers one at a time, but two at a time is pushing it. I'll have to clone myself." She laughed

"So do we want to do some baby making when this is over and we start our honeymoon?" Naru asked her. She saw his mischievous grin and gave him a playful push.

"Naru, I would say wait except Luella might take matter into her own hands." She laughed "I can see a repeat of the time Yasuhara interrupted us, but its Luella instead and she's trying to direct us." Mai laughed "It will happen when it happens. I'm not going to rush into motherhood." Naru stopped and pulled Mai into a kiss. He backed up and tripped falling backwards into the mud. Mai landed on top of him and managed to stay spotless. She got up and laughed at him.

"Smooth move, Naru. And you make fun of my coordination." She laughed so hard as he tried to get up from the mud and fell again. He finally got back on his feet. He moved towards Mai and tried to get her muddy too, but she moved away. It soon became a chase. Naru ran after Mai. Neither one knew where they were going. Mai squealed every time he got close to her. He lost sight of her, but he could hear her laughter and squeals. He stopped when heard her scream.

"Mai!" he looked around she was no where to be found. He started running in the direction that her scream had come from. Stopped at what seemed to be a small incline. It, with the surrounding stone, seemed to form a valley. At the bottom of the valley, stood Mai. Naru shouted at her again, but she paid no attention to him she began to move forward towards the opposite side of the valley. Naru looked for a way down and found one. There were stairs cut into the stone that went down. He caught up with Mai.

"Mai! Are you alright? Didn't you hear me? Why did you scream?" Naru asked Mai but got no answer. She continued to move forward. "Mai….?" Naru looked at Mai's face. She had a blank expression. Naru wasn't sure what it was. Was she possessed? Was she in a trance? Did she hit her head and was having a seizure or something? He decided the best solution was to follow her and make sure she was safe.

Naru wasn't sure how long he had followed. She led him to a cave whose opening was decorated with intricate carvings in the stone. Mai would have continued in except Naru decided to stop her. He didn't have a flashlight and didn't know what was in there. It was starting to get dark out and no one knew where there were. He reached and gently grabbed her arm. The instant he did that Mai let out a blood curdling scream and her unconscious body fell to the ground.

I hate cliff hangers so I apologize for making one. I think that I'm going to continue this story after the family arc is over. So that could include bits from the honeymoon and possible babies for Mai and Naru. Tell me what you think. Technically the main theme is Mai's relationship with Death so i could keep this going as long as he shows up frequently.