Note* Sorry, Scary stories are not my specialty, but try to enjoy ;)

Chapter Twenty:

The Haunting

KID POV

Kaito stared at the mansion in front of him. According to the information booklet he had grabbed on the way up here with the others, the mansion is considered to be truly haunted at night. The Amusement park bought it, liking that aspect and made it into an attraction. According to the history of the mansion, its occupants were a wealthy family with the name of Kari. Mitsuhiko Kari was the owner and he lived there with his wife Maya and his two children, a girl of fourteen named Yumi and a boy of seven named Gentaro. Legend has it that the family was ruthlessly murdered on the night of a full moon and since then, every night around the same time the moon had come out on the night of their murder, their ghosts appear. Not wanting to be criticized, the Amusement park closes the haunted mansion every day at five, two hours before the supposed first sightings begin.

"You do know its five o clock right now right? The mansion is closed."

"Yeah, but I know the owner of the park", answered Kazuha from the front, "He gave me a pass after I told him earlier that my girlfriend is a detective who was interested in the legend."

"Cool, do you think he would let us hang around tonight and see if we can't see a ghost?"

"Actually I can do you one better", said Toyama with a smile, "I asked him if we could spend the night. Of course I didn't tell him there would be six of us, but I doubt he would mind considering each of us is paired off with a detective. Interested?"

"We come to Tropical land a lot, but never with a chance like this at our fingertips. Let's do it", answered Aoko with excitement.

"I'm fine with it", commented Kaito with a shrug. Shinara also nodded, as did Hakuba who was surprised by his girlfriend's excitement.

"Not scared Aoko?" asked Kaito.

"Nah, this sounds fun", she said with a big grin.

The others just laughed as they headed to the front doors of the mansion where an older gentlemen and a young guard waited.

"Sorry but the mansion is closed for the day", the guard replied.

"My name is Toyama Kazuha, I was given permission by the owner of the park to stay here for the night."

"Oh that's right, the owner did mention a friend of his staying with his detective girlfriend. Although I don't remember him mentioning others."

"This is Shinara Kudo and Saguru Hakuba, also detectives and their respective dates."

The guard nodded to them.

"Alright, well whatever. Here is the key, good luck to you kids, you will need it. The ghosts are somewhat vengeful", he said with a laugh as he walked away.

The old man shook his head at the guard's words before turning to the young people who had come to spend the night in the mansion.

"Let me warn you, don't take the rumors lightly. There is a piece of truth to every great legend."

With those words, the old man walked away without a look back.

DCDCDCDCDC

Kaito sighed as they stepped inside the mansion. The entire place smelt like dust and mold. He could definitely tell it was a park attraction though, as everything looked ten times scarier than just an abandoned old house. The lights flickered and the shadows seemed to move in just the right positions to make the torn pictures on the walls look alive. If he was being honest, he wasn't scared of the idea of ghosts or hauntings, but after having dealt with Akako, the witch from his class, he didn't take the supernatural lightly.

"The owner told me there were plenty of rooms in the mansion so we should help ourselves and feel free to use the kitchen and bathrooms. He said they work fine and are clean compared to the rest of the house as they actually use those areas for tourists."

"That's good, I was afraid we might have to go all the way back down to the park if we had to use the bathroom", said Aoko with relief.

"Nope", said Toyama with a smile, "I know this might sound weird, but how should we do roomies?"

"What do you mean?" asked Kaito, not liking where this was going.

"Well we can't very well sleep with the girls."

"Why can't we?" he demanded.

The others stared at him and he stared back as he glanced at Shinara who face palmed, her face red.

"Kuroba, you…" Hakuba sighed, ignoring the idiot as he started towards the stairs, "let's just all do our own rooms if there is enough. Boys get the right side, girls the left. Sound fine?"

The others agreed as they started upstairs with their bags.

"I liked the suggestion", muttered Kaito with a frown.

Shinara smiled as she grabbed his hand and kissed his cheek.

"Time enough for that later", she said with a wink as she strolled past and left him to think about her words. She glanced back and smirked when she saw how red his face had gone, his mask destroyed.

He cleared his throat and stepped up beside her, "Of course", he said with a grin, "I will be holding you to that."

She nodded and took his hand as they started upstairs, "bring it Kid", she muttered and he just laughed.

DCDCDCDCDC

Kaito stepped into the room furthest down the hall on the right. Shinara had taken the room across from him and Hakuba the room beside his. Each room, he noticed, had a specific type of theme. Toyama's room had apparently been a servant's room, as it was empty for the most part with a few decorations here and there and two twin beds with a nightstand in between.

Hakuba's room had been an office with a large desk seated near the window and decorated to suit it. In the corner of the room was a large couch that had a pull out mattress, which he used for a bed.

Shinara's room was the library and had the same type of set up as the office with a large couch and a pull out mattress. She seemed right at home in her space of books though and he was glad, knowing she would probably be reading in there all night.

Aoko's room was apparently the teenage girls. The room was pink with lots of white lace decorating the windows and bed and with several dolls throughout. He had to admit, her room was probably the creepiest to him.

Then there was Harley who had taken the master bedroom. It was a very large room with a King size bed and a private bathroom. The girls all laid claim to the bathroom as the boys took over the one in the servant's quarters.

Then of course there was my room. I knew what to expect after having seen the others. I knew it would be the little boys, but it still made me a bit uncomfortable upon walking in. The room was a pale blue color with a white curtain over the window. The room, like all of the others, had a stale smell like it hadn't been opened or used in ages, which Kaito knew to be true. There was a small twin bed in the corner with a dresser, a mirror and a small toy box near the closet.

Flipping on the light, it flickered overhead as he placed his stuff on top of the dresser to keep it off the dust covered floor. The bed looked fresh, like the sheets were changed daily for which he was glad, as he flopped back against the bed and took a deep breath.

"Murdered", he whispered, "I know how you feel."

A knock sounded on the door, so he sat up and called to them, "Enter."

Shinara poked her head inside.

"Hey babe, what to do you think of the room?"

"It's fine", he said looking around, "reminds me a little of my own when I was a kid."

She nodded, "Yeah Aoko said the same thing about her room." She turned to him. "The others are going downstairs to talk, want to come?"

"Sure", he said following her.

They went down the stairs where everyone was standing in a circle talking about their rooms and the legend that came with the mansion.

"It was said that the office was where the father was murdered that night", commented Hakuba, a strange enthusiastic gleam in his eye, "I will definitely be watching tonight for a ghost."

"It's supposed to be a full moon tonight, so I bet if any night would have a ghost haunting it would be this one" commented Hakuba.

"The master bedroom was where the mother was murdered" Harley shivered at the thought of anyone coming into her room at night to kill her.

"The servants were also killed in their room", added Toyama as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, trying to comfort her.

"The children were murdered in their rooms too?" asked Aoko, a slight hint of fear showing in her face.

"Actually no", Kaito said, quickly hurrying to make her feel a bit better, "the legend states that the daughter was in the library at the time reading. Her brother was in his room though."

"G-good", said Aoko, "I don't really want to sleep in the room of a murdered girl."

"It will be okay Aoko", Hakuba said stepping towards her and wrapping his arms protectively around her, "I will stay awake with you."

DCDCDCDCDC

That night, the bell tolled nine. The first sightings had been said to be around seven, but any good ghost hunter could tell you it usually didn't start until about ten or later. For this reason, all of the detectives and their dates were wide awake, waiting. Kudo was in the library reading, Kaito lying beside her on the couch against her leg. He hadn't come to this place for ghost hunting, so he didn't mind missing a ghost if it appeared in his room. He did mind, if Shinara saw one though. He wanted to be able to protect her, even though he was sure she wouldn't need too much protecting as she could fairly easily defend herself.

Hakuba and Aoko were doing the same type of thing. They were in the office sitting side by side chatting, waiting. Toyama and Harley were also together in the hallway. They both had their room doors open to see inside and were chatting together about the legend, both excited about the prospect of seeing a ghost.

Kaito sighed as he stood up and stretched. The ninth hour had passed and the bell tolled ten.

"I'm thirsty, do you want something to drink?" he asked Shinara who glanced up.

"No, I'm good. Thank you."

He nodded as he stepped out of the room, the floor cold under his bare feet. He noticed Hakuba and Aoko in the office, their own door open so that they could hear any noises coming from the others.

"Hey, do you guys want a drink?" he asked sticking his head inside.

"Oh, can I have a water?" asked Aoko, "I am kind of thirsty."

"I want something to. I will come with you Kuroba", said Hakuba standing up, stretching much like Kaito had done earlier from sitting so long, "Aoko stay close to Harley and Toyama if you want."

"Or you can go to the library. Shinara is in there reading", offered Kaito.

"I will go to the library then. Be careful Saguru, Kaito."

They nodded as they started down the stairs.

"I hate this", commented Kaito as he glanced around the creepy mansion.

"Are you scared of a little ghost hunting?" asked Hakuba, a bit surprised.

"No! I hate that my date was ruined", he pouted.

"Oh", laughed Hakuba, "Sorry about that. If it makes you feel any better, so was mine. I wasn't expecting Aoko to jump at the chance to spend the night in a haunted mansion like she did."

"Yeah, same with Shin. Still…I guess it is kind of cool. I wouldn't want to do this for more than one night though. It's boring."

Hakuba nodded in agreement.

The two walked into the kitchen, the cleanest room in the entire house. Getting out three glasses, Kaito grabbed the pitcher of water inside the fridge and poured some into the cups. Hakuba grabbed his and Aoko's as Kaito grabbed his own and started back towards their girlfriends.

They were almost there when a scream resonated through the house. It startled the boys so badly that both of them dropped their glasses and rushed up the stairs to where Harley and Toyama were both standing, staring into the master bedroom.

Kaito and Hakuba glanced inside and both froze at the sight. Laying in the bed was a woman with orange colored hair. Her skin was pale and lips gray. She was staring back at them, her eyes a dead glazed over look in them.

Curious, Hakuba took a step towards the door but stopped when Kaito grabbed his arm and pointed. Standing beside the woman was a shadow of no doubt someone behind the door of the bedroom. No one else had noticed it and Hakuba was extremely glad right then that Kaito had. Kaito stepped ahead of Hakuba, his knees were shaking a bit, but he was the master of masks, so he hid his fear as he walked in. Hakuba was right behind him, though a few feet back. He knew Kaito was asking him to watch his back, so he did just that.

From behind the two, Shinara and Aoko were watching as well. Shinara had also seen the shadow and had a bad feeling about it. She was about to say something to that extent when Kaito took his first step into the actual bedroom part of the room. The lights flickered off and on and the house seemed to rattle as he peered closely at the woman on the bed. His mind completely forgot about the shadow as he noticed an oddity in the woman and smiled when he figured it out. However before he could turn around and tell the others, he had taken one more step into the room only to be grabbed and yanked further inside away from the others. The door slammed shut and the others were left pounding on it, trying to get inside to where Kaito had been.

HAKUBA POV

I watched as Kaito inched closer into the room. He seemed to be studying the woman rather closely, but I was watching the shadow. It wasn't moving, so perhaps it truly was just a shadow and not a person. Still, I watched as he took another step inside. He must have found something because he was just turning to say something when all at once he was yanked backwards and the door slammed in my face. I groaned, stepping back, my nose having had collided with the door. Blood ran down as I tried to staunch it.

"Hakuba!" they all yelled.

"Come on dear", said Aoko taking me into the bathroom in the servants quarters and washing the blood away as she pressed a cloth to my face. I nodded my thanks to her as we both stepped back into the hall to watch the proceedings.

At the moment, Toyama was pounding on the door calling to Kaito, but there was no answer.

"Kaito!" yelled Shinara, her voice full of worry, "Kaito are you alright?! Kaito answer me!"

Nothing but silence met us.

"The door is either locked or barricaded from the inside", Toyama replied as he tried the handle.

"Perhaps if we all ram it, it will give?" asked Harley.

"We can always pay for another door, but we can't replace a person's life. Let's do it", said Kazuha as they all backed up and then all at once, rushed the door. It gave way, luckily being an older door as they all fell in on top of each other.

Hakuba who had not rammed the door because of his nose, stared into the room above them as they all started to get up. There was no sign of Kaito in the nearby vicinity.

"I will check the bathroom", said Toyama as he stood and made his way across the room and opened the door. It was empty.

"He can't have just vanished. I mean he could but he wouldn't have by his own accord", said Aoko with a huff, she was angry and scared and she just wanted to leave, but she knew they couldn't. Not without Kaito.

Hakuba walked over to the bed. The woman was also gone, but he noticed the covers were still laying how they were when she had been in the bed. Grabbing them, he flipped them back and gasped when he saw Kaito beneath them.

"He's here!" he called to the others who had stepped out of the room.

Hakuba glanced down at the thief. He was pale and a deep gash was located on the top right corner of his forehead where blood pooled beneath his head. His hands were bound in front of him and his legs seemed to be the same way, both bound so tight that it was cutting into his flesh.

"Kaito!" yelled Shinara rushing to her boyfriend, she saw the same things Hakuba did and quickly began undoing the bindings with Harleys help. Once the bindings were off, Shinara ripped a piece of her skirt and stuck it to the head wound that was badly bleeding.

"His body is cold", stated Toyama as he touched it, "I think he is going into shock."

"Let's get him to the couch in the office. It's the only room with hardly any possible ways in and out as it doesn't have any windows."

The others nodded as Toyama and Harley, along with Shinara and Aoko carried him into the office and placed him on the pull out mattress.

"Do we have a first aid kit?" asked Shinara, staring down at Kaito, her concern for his head wound grave.

"Yeah let me go get it", said Harley taking off. Toyama went with her, not wanting her to go alone after something like this.

"This isn't just a haunting now", said Hakuba as he took the cloth off his nose, noticing the blood had stopped, "this is attempted murder."

"Yeah", agreed Shinara as she climbed onto the bed beside Kaito and took his head into her lap, her hands still pressing on the piece of clothing she had placed over the wound.

Harley and Toyama raced back in with the large first aid kit.

"I want to be a doctor like my mom when I get older", Toyama said as he opened the pack, "would it be alright if I treat him?"

"Please", said Shinara giving her consent as she ran a hand though Kaito's hair. He didn't even flinch at the touch.

"H-he is breathing…right?" asked Aoko staring at Kaito, his skin so very pale.

Shinara nodded.

"Yeah he is, but I think he won't be waking for a while. The shock is pretty deep and with the head wound…"

"It's a dangerous situation", explained Hakuba, "the shock itself could kill him, but with the added pressure of a deep and largely bleeding head wound…well, it could be possible that…"

Hakuba didn't even want to go on to say it. He knew Kaito could die, but he just didn't want to say it.

"I-I get it", said Aoko stopping him. She did get it and it frightened her.

"I will call the police", said Hakuba grabbing his phone.

"Don't bother", said Toyama, "I tried earlier to call an ambulance. Service is out."

"Dang", said Hakuba as he snapped his phone shut, "We need to find out who that shadow was and the woman…it seemed like before when Kaito had stepped into the room he noticed something and was about to tell us when the incident occurred."

"So we need to wait for Kaito to wake up?"

"That could be a while. Three of us are detectives…so let's detect", Hakuba said and turned around and stepped out of the room. Harley and Shinara followed him as Shin handed Kaito to Aoko to take care of. She had a criminal to find and once she did, she would make sure that he paid for hurting Kaito.