Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while. I was looking for some inspiration. I want to thank all of my readers for waiting and all of my reviewers- I love reading about what you think of my writing. Please keep reviewing and giving me ideas on what could happen next.

Darkness began to fall much sooner now, Mai realized as she watched the sun disappear behind the horizon. The blue/grey sky glowed a beautiful red before fading to pink, then orange and, finally, black. Wind blew strongly yet silently through the naked tree, which leaves had long since fallen. Mai felt the bitter nip of the winter chill even through the insulated house... or rather mansion. However the shiver the ran down her spine was not from the cold but from her thoughts. There was something wrong with this place. She knew it from the instant she had walked through the doors.

FLASHBACK

"Ah! You must be the Shibuya Psychic Research team, come on in. You are the last to arrive." Detective Taishi said and turned to walk away not checking to see if the group with following behind her.

The team quickly filed into the house, Naru leading Mai with his arm around her waist. As Mai took her first step through the glossy wooden door frame she winced. She ears were immediately assaulted with screams of despair and cries of anguish. They begged for someone, for anyone to help them. There were so many. Her mind began to fog over in misery, drowning in the spirits agony. They were suffering, trapped within the pain of their deaths. How they died, when they died, why they died? None of that mattered to them, they just wanted out. They wanted to be free from the cage that someone had trapped them in.

As Naru lead Mai into the house she froze, her body stiffening. "Mai, what are you?" He asked but as he looked down into her eyes he knew she couldn't hear her. He watched as her eyes darkened with pain, horrified as she gasped and cried out. Her hands ripped from her sided only to slam into her ears as if trying to block something out. By now the whole team and Detective Taishi had gathered around Mai in confusion. However Naru didn't notice them until, Masako gave a snort.

"What on Earth is she doing?" The disgust in the medium's voice was evident. "There is nothing in this place except the smell of death."

Naru and the others ignored the jealous woman. They knew that Mai would never fake something like this. She never pulled these kinds of jokes.

Then Mai blinked, her mind slowly pulling itself into awareness. She still heard the moans, cries and screams but she was slowly pushing them back.

"Mai?" Naru questioned.

Mai immediately glanced up shocked to see that Naru's mask had fallen away leaving concern. Masako seeing that Naru's expression had, for once, chanced huffed. Her jealousy rose tenfold as she knew that Mai was the cause for his sudden show of emotion. He had never looked at her with such eyes, even when she was pushed out the window or kidnapped.

Mai gave a nod, unsure if she was even able to speak. Her head throbbed with the invasion of the voices. There must be dozens of them and they were all in pain. How long have they been trapped here? Who trapped them?

Naru excepted her answer for the moment, however later he would find a chance to talk to her. He pulled Mai's reluctant hand away from her ears and held it within his as he indicated for the detective to continued walking.

It wasn't long before they found their way into a large dining room. A bronze chandelier hung hazardously above the center of the large oak, rectangle table. Oak chairs with cushions the color of faded daisy may flowers. Carved into these wooden furniture were elegant wavy lines. Around the room hung many paintings of different people: one blond with blue eyes, another black with green eyes, another brown with honey eyes and many more. Mai shuddered thinking back to her dream, similar to her dream paintings, the eyes seemed to follow her.

SPR's attention turned to the two other groups that had gathered. One group wore what appeared to be proper hunting attire with black Sherpa camo trousers a jackets. Naru had to hold back a snort as he saw on the back of the jacket was a logo 'P.T.E Planetary Telepathic Exorcists' it read. Then his gaze shifted to the other team. It was Kaito's team. Naru felt a flash of annoyance. If Sora went anywhere near Mai the boy would never live to see another day.

"Right, everyone. My name is detective Taishi. Please take a seat and let us begin."

END OF FLASHBACK

Mai sighed audibly, still gazing out the window. It was December now and after December was January. Her birthday was soon. She didn't know if she was happy or indifferent when it came to that. On one hand it meant that she had survived another year, however on the other hand it meant that she still had two years left of this life. Two years where was was the potential victim of whatever ghost she came in range of. No, there was nothing to celebrate in this birthday, she would wait until she is twenty-one. In a little over two years she will finally be free in this cursed life of her.

"Mai, Tea!" The voice of her annoying boss interrupted her thoughts. Sighing once more the Japanese girl stood up from her perch by the window and went to comply with her boss's request.

Naru had noticed Mai's strange behavior since she had been in the house, however he just thought it was because of the continuous cries of pain that have been assaulting her mind since being there.

"Yes, Lin?" Naru asked as he sensed his assistant hovering nearby.

"The temperature in the master bedroom is colder than the rest of the rooms in the house and it also keeps rising and falling constantly." Lin informed Naru as he looked into his young boss's eyes trying, to no avail, to read him. He has always been closed off but after Gene's death he became a even more so. He had locked himself away in a box and, as it appears, Mai is the only one with the key.

"Hn." Naru said deep in thought. "It is likely that the master bedroom is the room where the spirits are tethered." The ground zero, Naru thought, but why would they haunt there? Was it were they dead? Is there an object that they are all connected too? Maybe a murder weapon of some sort? Naru couldn't say for such.

As the two men Mai footsteps heading towards them they turned. Mai stood there, her brown eyes slightly duller than usual and her mouth, that usually smiled, was pulled down into a half frown. "Oh, Lin! Do you want some tea? I only made some for Naru but the kettle is still hot, I can..."

"That is quiet alright, Taniyama-san." Lin interrupted Mai from her babbling.

"Oh, okay..." Mai murmured and walked over to Naru who was now seated on the couch with a coffee table perched in front of him. The rich sweet smell teased Naru's senses and he had to stop himself from sighing in content. No one could make tea like Mai could.

That night Lin stayed up in the base as the rest of the team slept soundly in their rooms. However no one knew that in the room just down the hall Mai's spirit was brought the the realm of the dead, where she dreamed of the past.

Mai stood in what seemed to be a large studio. The floor shined and warm light streamed through the many windows that lined that west wall. At the end of the room was a royal blue sofa, a rectangle cream rug and a small wooden table.

Turning her head, Mai watched as a woman with short black hair walked up to a slightly elderly man. His hair was grey and his clothes were covered in paint.

"Hi." The woman said, more confident than she appeared.

"Can I help you?" The old man asked turning towards the woman still cleaning the paint brush he held in his hand.

"Um... Well, I would like you to paint my portrait." She said, not quite looking him in the eye.

"Oh." He gazed at her with narrow calculating eyes. "I'm sorry this is a private studio."

My tilted her head slightly, wonder what her could mean. Then as she glanced around her once again she saw that there were a couple of painting on there stands. Everyone in the paintings wore lush gowns and stylish suits. Mai then turned back to the woman. She wore a simple knee length skirt and plain white top.

The woman's eyes flickered down and then back up towards the man, "I know, look I, I don't have a lot of money. I can't afford to pay you much but I really need you to paint my portrait."

"It's not about money, I'm just very selective about who I pick."

The woman's bottom lip began to tremble as she held but her cries. "Mrs Waterson said you would help me." She told him her voice raising slightly.

"Okay." The man said.

Mai blinked awake frowning. This dream confused her. Was it really a vision? Or maybe she had actually had a normal dream for once? She couldn't remember the last time she had dreamed a ordinary dream.

She got up from the bed noticing that Naru was not laying beside her and her frown deepened. Where had he gone? Mai listened and heard Naru's familiar deep voice talking to Lin on the other side of the bedroom door. Okay, she thought, time to get up.