Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost hunt, the Anime nor the Manga

Chapter 3: Case 1

"WHAT!" Mai wailed.

"Mai be quiet before you wake everyone up."

"B-bu-"

"Stop fooling around and get ready for bed." Naru closed the door behind them, choosing instead to ignore her.

Mai was at a loss. It wasn't as if Mai expected Naru not to be a complete gentleman, but staying in the same room as your boss seemed like a case for HR, not SPR. Not to mention she was already feeling oppressed like she didn't have any space to breathe, not even in her sleep.

Clearly, she wouldn't be relaxing in her own room either.

'Oh God, what if he sees my bed head or me drooling! Well, on second thought he's already seen that from all the times I've fallen asleep in base. But still, I just hope I don't say anything too embarrassing in my sleep.' Mai willed the heat in her cheeks to dissipate as she got into her nightly rituals. She grabbed her pajamas and headed into the bathroom attached to their room. She made quick work of washing her face, changing, and brushing her teeth.

At least…as quickly as a bum leg could make the entire procedure go.

When Mai exited Naru was clad in a black t-shirt and long pajama bottoms. It was nearly enough to make her swoon on her crutch. Wisely, Mai only gave him a passing glance before heading straight onto her bed as Naru took his turn in the bathroom.

'This is so awkward.' Mai thought to herself sitting on her bed, but not really wanting to go to sleep. She grabbed some of her schoolwork and placed the work on her bed just as Naru exited the bathroom.

"Mai, what are you doing?" His tone ready to scold her.

"What?! I told you two hours ago that I don't want to go to sleep!"

"Funny. I saw you nodding off in base not even five minutes ago. Don't lie, you're horrible at it." Naru gave her a deadpanned expression. Mai narrowed her eyes as he approached her bed and placed all of her papers back into her book bag.

"Naru!" Mai growled, but he paid her no mind and paced toward the light switch.

"Sleep. Now." That was all he said as he shut off the light and silenced filled the room. Mai continued to sit on her bed and pulled her knees in toward her chest as much as the cast would allow. Mai listened to the sound of the rain outside as Naru lay under his sheets with his back to her.

"Are you afraid of him, is that why you're refusing to sleep?"

Naru's question lingered in the air quieting all suspicions in the young man's head.

"Mai, just go to sleep."

"What if he-"

"If he does anything I'll be right here, and I'll hear you. Just call for me, and I'll wake you up." The sincerity of this statement made Mai lift her head from her knees and was surprised to see Naru staring back at her in the dim moonlight. Her eyes widened, meeting those intense dark blue eyes with her own. For what felt like hours they simply stared. Finally, Mai was able to open her mouth.

"Do you promise?" Mai asked weakly, her voice no more than a whisper.

"Obviously. Now goodnight." Mai gingerly rolled her back to him and hesitantly let sleep take her. All the while he watched her as her breathing began to even out.

What Mai's eyes met when first arriving in her astral plane confused her. She was surrounded by roses of all different kinds. She was in a beautiful nighttime garden with a fountain, statues, benches, and a gazebo included. It appeared as though this may be yet another vision, so Mai began to wander to see what this location was trying to show her.

Mai let her curiosity carry her inward toward the beautiful sight. There were crickets singing, which tempted Mai to relax into the grass, but she knew better. She went inside the gazebo and took a seat. A rosebud caught her eye as she slid to the left of her seat to further inspect the flower. She leaned in and smelled the vines, and it even smelled exactly like roses.

It was all so perplexing.

"It's all so real…" Mai allowed herself to say aloud. Maybe this wasn't a vision after all.

"That's the power of the mind my dear." Mai quickly turned right to see the handsome gentleman himself seated to her left, eyes burrowing into her. Mai gasped with fright at his deep husky voice.

"I redecorated the place; I hope you don't mind. The endless darkness was tasteful and definitely my cup of tea, but I don't believe it suited you very well." The stranger spoke smirking as his eyes danced over her.

It made her feel completely naked and disturbed. This man was vile.

"If you did this for me, you shouldn't have wasted your time. I don't remember asking or inviting you here." Mai's eyes narrowed not buying his suave act in the slightest.

"Oh, don't be so coy. I just wanted to create a tribute to all that you are. It is so rare to find someone of your innocence and beauty Mai. You see this flower bud you were so curiously admiring a few minutes ago?" He gracefully slid closer to her and let his hand wave over the flower. The rose bloomed right before her eyes and fanned out as beautiful white petals.

"Whoa." Mai said the words falling out of her mouth before she could help it. She very nearly forgot how close her company was, almost as if he was distorting her perception of the space around her. He leaned in and whispered into her ear sending chills down her back.

"Stunning and naive, just like you." He grabbed her hand, and she attempted to pull away, but he was too strong. He forcefully pressed her finger into the thorns of the same flower and dragged it creating a deep gash. He then made a fist over her hand and squeezed, forcing blood to drip onto the white petals. Mai whimpered out in pain and tried to yank her hand from his grasp. Once the flower was coated with a red layer, he released her hand and she immediately recoiled it into her chest, cradling her wound.

"Get off of me!" Mai cried pushing him away and standing in order to get some distance between them.

"Now it's the spitting image of you; A beautiful flower coated the blood of sorrow and malice. I've learned a few interesting things about you, you know. But alas, that's a story for another time". Mai's eyes widened a fraction, but she decidedly refused to let her mind speculate on the cryptic statement. She backed away again, this time exiting the gazebo and placing a more sizable distance between the two of them.

"Those words sound like poison coming from you. Tell me, do bring all the children you kidnap to this astral trap or am I just lucky?" Mai wanted nothing more than to leave, to call out for Naru, but she knew this was time to get any information she could on this case.

"No Mai, you're the only one that has ever gotten this close to me. In life, my psychic powers were similar to yours. I'm an astral walker just like you, and that is how you had the pleasure of catching my attention." He said haughtily he plucked the blood covered rose and smelled it with a long inhale.

'Well, that makes sense. That's why he's been able to twist my astral plane like playdough.' Mai noted mentally.

"Well then if I'm so close to you, why don't I know your name?" Mai asked hoping to pry more information out of him while he was in a sharing mood. This question made the man stop for moment, as if considering. Then he lifted his eyes from the stained rose up to where she stood and smiled. He tutted his finger and shook his head in obvious refusal.

"Hmph… and why is that?" Mai pressed trying and failing not to sound suspicious.

"Because Mai, you have bargain for this kind of information." The dream-walking specter explained.

"For a name? Really? You address me without any honorifics by my first name and I don't even know what to call you. That's quite rude." Mai pressed with an angry smirk.

"You did just for any name, but for my name." He cooed. Mai pinched her nose bridge reminding herself of Naru.

'Why do narcissist flock to me?' Mai asked herself trying another angle.

"Fine, let me hear the terms."

"Oh, they are very simple, and not too steep if you ask me. All I ask for in return is a kiss."

"A what?" She spat as she visually recoiled and covered her mouth with one hand reflexively.

"You heard me. Unless you want to run back to your boss with nothing, I suggest you think it over." Mai was surprised that he knew about SPR which made her think he was far more in tune with the happenings outside of the astral plane than she imagined.

"Kiss you willing? Fat chance." Mai responded flatly.

"Well once you get desperate, you'll be back. Ta-ta Mai."

Then she was falling again.

Mai woke with a start, her eyes flying open and her grip on her covers lethal. She was getting all too familiar with what it felt like to be kicked out of her dreams and she wasn't thrilled about it. Mai rose and looked at the clock beside her that read 6:30 AM. Her eyes wandered to see that a certain narcissist wasn't in the bed next to hers.

'Liar.' Mai thought, but then noted another sound in the room. The shower was running which meant Naru really hadn't left her alone. She chased away any thoughts of what alluring sights might be on the other side of the bathroom door.

Not wanting to linger in bed, Mai grabbed one of her crutches and walked over to the window in their room. It was no longer raining, but the clouds were still thick and oppressive. Mai could hear the bathroom door open behind her, but she didn't bother to turn around.

"Good morning Naru." Mai droned in a tired voice she barely recognized as her own.

"Did you get any information?" Naru asked shuffling about behind her.

'Straight to business, why am I not surprised?' Mai rolled her eyes and turned around to look at her boss.

"Good morning to you too Mai. Isn't it a nice morning? Why yes, it is Naru? How did you sleep last night Naru? Well to be frank I'm a robot and I don't sleep. How about you Mai? How did you sleep?" Mai mimicked as Naru continued to dry his hair with the towel, but was clearly not amused.

'I don't pay her for conversation; I pay her to help me on cases.' Naru thought crassly. He cast away his towel to further interrogate the girl when her hand caught his eye. Naru paced over to Mai and grabbed her hand taking the girl by surprise. Naru was looking at her finger intently, and Mai followed his gaze.

Blood was freely flowing from her sliced finger.

"How did this happen?" Naru asked though Mai was asking herself the very same question when her dream came back to her. Her eyes widened and as she looked back at the sheets she was just gripping. Her eyes caught specks of blood and she felt her stomach sink.

She could feel all the color draining from her face.

"In my dream my finger was cut. But…when he cut me, I didn't think…" Mai said no more leaving the conversation tense. Naru held her wrist and guided her onto his bed without hurting her leg. He disappeared into the bathroom where rummaging could be heard, and then he reappeared with a box of band-aids.

"These are waterproof so you should be fine to function, as normal as is possible for you." Naru said. He cleaned a dressed her finger gently. Mai was close enough to smell his shampoo and deodorant. She suddenly felt self-conscious about her morning breath and could feel her face getting warm again all over.

"Should I open the window, you seem quite flushed." Naru said raising an eyebrow at her and wearing a haughty smirk.

"S-Sh-Shut up!" Mai yanked her hand away and moved toward her things. She was sure to be quick with her turn in the bathroom, knowing her boss wouldn't be able to leave without her. When she arrived back into the room Naru was holding her sheets in his hands with a tense expression. She was going to ask him what he was doing, but he interrupted her.

"About time Mai." He stated and Mai scoffed. Trying to keep in mind his earlier generosity as she mumbled angrily to herself.

"Sorry that I'm a waste of time to you." Mai mumbled grabbing her crutches and schoolwork.

The only people currently inside were Lin and John. Mai would have run to the priest if she could have. She immediately plopped next to him with an eager smile on her face.

"Good morning, Mai. How did you sleep?" John asked with a kind smile.

"Oh John, you are so refreshing to chat with, even in the morning. I feel somewhat rested, under the circumstances, thank you for asking. Where is Masako this morning?" Mai asked wondering if she had disobeyed Naru's orders and parted from John.

"Ayako and Takigawa's rooms are directly across from ours. She was with the two of them when I came here to base." John explained and Mai nodded.

"Mai, Tea."

Naru's call drew her away from the priest. Mai sighed and made her way to the small kitchenette in base. In the midst of her tea preparations, the rest of the team entered base.

"Good morning, dearest friends, it's a pleasant morning." Yasu started dramatically making everyone in base roll their eyes.

"Speak for yourself! Ayako snores so loud I'm surprised you guys couldn't hear it." Monk said only to get hit in the back.

"Oh please, Monk, it's bad enough you talk while you're awake, no one wants to hear you talking in your sleep too." Ayako retorted. Mai grabbed a few more cups and poured enough tea for everyone.

"Hey Monk, could you help me please?" Mai asked accidentally surprising everyone in the room.

"Hey, Mai you were so quiet I didn't see you there. Sure, I'll lend you a hand." Monk jogged over and picked up the tray and distributed the tea to everyone.

"I'm surprised you're up so early Mai." Masako said, condescension evident in her voice. Mai could feel her heated gaze as she narrowed her eyes.

'I should have figured that reaction from our room arrangements.' Mai groaned mentally. At the rate things had gone this morning, she wouldn't mind rooming with John.

"Oh please, like Naru would have it any other way. He's the meanest babysitter I've ever had. "Mai huffed as she moved from the kettle and found her place next to John once again.

"Mai, relay your dream to the team." Naru stated more than asked as he opened his black book.

"Well, I didn't get much because that guy is still acting like he owns the place." Mai said her butterflies filling her abdomen.

"Mai, detail the events of your dream from start to finish and let me be the judge." Naru stated expectingly. Mai leaned her crutches down and began.

"At first when it began, I thought I was having a vision. Everything looked like I was in the middle of a garden from the Victorian Era. There was this breathtaking rose garden, with a gazebo, fountain, statues, and everything. I start wandering around the garden and into the gazebo, and sat down. Something didn't feel right, but I was waiting for the vision to start. Then out of nowhere the same man from the first dream pops up and is sitting right next to me. Then he starts telling me how beautiful and naive I am and that he made the garden for me. Like a weird gift. The way he looks at me when he speaks is always predatory. It extremely disturbing." Mai stated unconsciously picking at the bandage on her hand.

The room filled with a tense atmosphere, and Mai's eyes remained distant reliving each moment.

"Is that all Mai?" Naru asked looking up from his notebook bring her away from her momentary trance.

"Unfortunately, no. Apparently he was an astral walker when he was alive. That explains why he so good at manipulating the space around us. He hinted at being aware of SPR and our case here. He even seemed to know things about me that I definitely did not tell him. Whatever he is, he is intelligent and is aware of our presence here at the church. I tried to get his name, but would only trade with me for it. I refused his terms." Mai continued a light blush dusting her face.

"And… what exactly were his terms?" Ayako asked through her teeth, cleared not happy about the treatment Mai was being subjected to.

"He said if I kissed him, he would tell me." Mai murmured wishing the ground would swallow her up. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong, but for some reason she felt embarrassed and ashamed.

"That disgusting pie-" Monk started, but Naru raised his hand to silence him.

"That still does not explain your hand. When you awoke this morning, you said it happened in your dream. What have you left out?" Naru pressed, but his voice seemed softer somehow.

"Ahh... well... when I was sitting in the gazebo and he grabbed my hand. He cut me on some thorns and squeezed the blood onto a white rose. He knows who we are and why we're here. And he wants to show how easily he can hurt me." Mai shared solemnly looking down at her leg.

Base was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"Well then, after hearing all of this none of us will have any qualms about exercising this man into the pits of hell. Which ultimately should make this case easier." Yasuhara shared in his typical jovial voice, but it was clear he was quite serious. The others voiced their agreements, but Lin noticed something odd when he caught sight of steam rising from the cup of his young charge.

"This goes with saying, but we won't let anything bad happen to you Mai. Especially not on a case that I requested your help for." John stated. His usually sweet face was etched with determination.

"Agreed. There is nothing I hate more than a man who hurts women. I suppose we should have expected as much from someone willing to hurt little girls. Coward." Ayako flared; her fists clenched so tightly she nearly broke a nail.

"Noll, you're boiling the tea." Lin whispered. Naru's eyes remained distant.

'Why am I so angry?'' He thought. He never cared for bullies, but this rage felt much different that of apathetic distaste. Then a distant memory resurfaced.

Naru remembered a watch he did a reading on for a family with a missing son. It brought him through the life and mind of the kidnapper. He was a serial pedophile and Noll was subjected to his disguising thoughts and habits. He saw many of the things he did and the merciless way he did them. He wasn't able to eat for a week afterwards. Gene noticed that his skin was pink and raw from scrubbing so hard in the shower.

"Noll, the tea." Lin said again prompting the boy to take a deep breath and refocus his PK. Naru didn't expect to be triggered so suddenly, but he brought his focus back to the team.

"Yasu and Matsuzaki, I want the two of you researching the church as far back as it can goes, including profiles on the missing girls. Afterwards, we'll need charms for all the bedrooms and base. John, exorcise all the points of interest on the blue prints make sure the cathedral is included, Hara accompany him. With any luck you can get the spirits to pass of their own freewill. Monk walk the outside of the grounds, and let me know if you sense anything. You're all dismissed." Naru finished and base once again only occupied the two stoics and the usually spunky brunette.

"That's the fastest I've ever seen the team leave base." Mai chuckled humorlessly. Time went on and Mai wasn't quite prepared for another round with the mystery man. Even if she could stomach another go; she wasn't tired yet. Naru had completely ignored her when assigning the morning's tasks, which she knew was very much on purpose.

She didn't care to start on her school work, and hoped she could at least walk the grounds with Monk. Clearly Naru thought she'd only slow him down or that she couldn't handle the uneven ground outside.

Perhaps she could get started on making lunch.

Looking down at a spare floor plan she noted the kitchen was in the basement. Architecturally questionable, but perhaps normal for this kind of church. Either way there was little chance she would be able to go there alone.

"Hey Naru…" Mai started and paused, but her boss didn't look up from the article he was reading. It was quieter than a funeral service so she knew he could hear her.

"Do you think you could let me go to the kitchen? I wanted to at least get started on lunch for everyone." Mai phrased carefully.

"No Mai. I already told you how dangerous it is for you to be alone, even if you weren't injured."

"Well then come with me or send Lin. Can't you guys read stuff and take notes anywhere?" Mai inquired her voice barely out of the range of whinny. He raised an eyebrow at her after final looking up. He could tell she was looking for some sort of distraction. Naru couldn't comprehend what was so difficult about sitting quietly and minding the investigation.

Then again, he could understand wanting to move past a disturbing vision as quickly as possible with a distraction.

"Can you even cook?" Naru posed and Mai scoffed.

"Naru. I've lived alone for years, and it haven't poisoned myself yet." She returned leveling a cruel look of her own.

"Barely edible doesn't mean poisonous." Naru smirked.

"You've already eaten my cooking and haven't even realized." Mai smirked right back and his smirk dropped. He narrowed his eyes as if the ask when and Mai giggled.

"You cleaned the plate like a little piggy too. Wasn't much to wash up that night. Didn't even realize Lin didn't cook it." Mai laughed harder as Naru's expression grew more annoyed.

'That girl is so full of surprises." Lin thought as a nearly untraceable laugh escaped his mouth. He tried and failed to cover it up with a cough.

This only made Mai laugh even harder.

"Fine. If only to keep you from distracting Lin." Naru pulled together a binder of files and his black notebook. If anything good was coming from living with her boss, it was little things like this.

She would probably miss this once she finally healed and moved out.

"Well, there's rice and some spices, now let's see what we've got for meats." Mai mumbled as she rummaged through the freezer and pantry. She was doing her best to stay quiet since she actually got her way for once. Talking to herself was just a habit from living alone.

Her eyes skated over the inventory before making a decision. After seeing the combination beef, spices, garlic, bread, and what she thought was pasta (the noodles certainly didn't look Japanese); Mai's choice seemed obvious. Her friend from school, Michiru's mother was a professional chef. She showed them how to make this simple Italian dish where you season the beef and rolled it into balls then serve it with pasta noodles and tomato sauce. The name escaped her now, but it was quick and simple.

Then again, her eyes looked at the clock and she doubted she had enough time for that dish. Even if it was simple. She decided to make sandwiches and a fruit platter, and prep the meatballs for dinner. Mai was limping left and right, keeping herself busy while the young scientist was attempting to pull the case together in his mind.

'The obvious victim pool is young females, but there are some outliers. The first two were nuns working for the church. Both of these women were above their 40's, so it's obviously not the youth the culprit was looking for. Although, they could have been a crime of inconvenience if someone was caught in the act.'' Naru placed the nun's profiles next to each other. He frustratedly stared at their missing person's report that was on file from the police investigation.

'Since then, other women in the age range of the missing nuns have worked at the church, and been unaffected by the activity here. What did the first two nun's and young girls taken have in common to the culprit?' Naru read through each of the missing profiles and found little more than gender to correlate the missing.

Then there was the bigger issue. At least as far as the police were concerned.

'Where are all the bodies of the missing, and why were none of the victims ever found? All of these people have most likely already perished as the level of spiritual activity indicates. If the villain in Mai's dream is the culprit, did he die here on the property or is this the effect of some sort of curse he cast in life. If it is a curse, what purpose does it serve and why this church in particular?" Noll had far too many questions and not enough answers. The cameras and audio hadn't picked up much so far on the investigation's first night, which wasn't strange, but with the rampant history of the church he'd expected more.

'Perhaps tonight will be more informative.' Naru settled for a moment and let his eyes follow Mai at this point. She was no longer the squeaky sixteen-year-old and was now a smart and capable young lady with great potential. He wasn't all together sure what her plans were for after she graduated, but she was currently in the process, with much help from Yasuhara, of applying to differently colleges. He knew she was at least trying to further her education. The thought of Mai going far away for college made his chest feel heavy in a way the made him very uncomfortable. Their current accommodations were always imagined to be temporary, but it was rare that he grew accustomed to people.

'Professors should support higher education.' He reprimanded himself. Even if Mai told him she was interested in pursuing a career with SPR, he'd still insist on her education. Naru left his musings about the girl and eyed his watch. Some time had passed since they'd enter the kitchen. Mai looked like she just placed the finishing touches on the lunch plans. She even did some preparations for dinner without his realizing.

"Alright, all done." Mai said happy with her culinary success. Just as Mai was about to ask Naru for some help a voice entered the kitchen grabbing the spotlight in the room.

"What smells so good? Mai, I see you're cooking up a storm in here, you shouldn't have." Monk said the food helping to remind him of his light breakfast.

"Well, I wanted to make you all lunch at least since I can't do too much else." Mai said rubbing the back of her head in bashfulness.

"Why thank you Mai. The sentiment is very much appreciated, how about you and Naru head back up to base. I can grab some help to bring this all up there?" Monk suggested and Mai nodded in acceptance.

"Aww... no problem, Monk. Just make sure it all makes it up there." Mai mused at the Monk who was already half a sandwich down. He mumbled something with a full mouth she didn't try to understand.

Naru collected all his research back into his folder and followed Mai back to base.

After everyone was back in base and fed Naru returned to his notes. He was chatting quietly with Lin when he straightened up to address the team.

"John, Hara-san the walkthrough?"

"There aren't any spirits in the church." Masako said shocking everyone in the room.

"How is that possible with all the girls that have disappeared here? Not to mention the havoc going on with the apparitions!" Ayako voiced clearly exasperated with the psychic's verdict.

"If you were silent and let me finish perhaps you would understand." Masako replied sharply making the priestess roll her eyes.

"As I was saying, there are no spirits in the church itself, but they are wandering in from the forest outside. The problem isn't with the land here feels very…ominous." She ended grimly.

"I'd have to agree with Masako on that one, on my walk around the church the woods felt very unsettling. This church is next to a pretty dense forest, yet I haven't heard a single bird since we got here. I think it's odd that even they would steer clear of such a pristine area." Monk stated observantly.

'Now that you mention it, I haven't heard any bird here either.' Yasu thought to himself as he walked over to the main research table.

"Good observations. Yasuhara, what did your research reveal?"

"This church was erected in 1910, which was a difficult time in Japan for those who worshiped in the Catholic faith. In order to gain the trust of the public, they created an orphanage for the abandoned children in the area. Lots of children went through this place since then, but the first person to disappear was a nun name Sakura Kowichi twenty-seven years ago. Ever since her, a total of 34 people have gone missing here, none of these people or any trace of them were ever found. Police suspected the previous priest who ran this place, but there was no evidence that could tie him to the crimes since none of the bodies of the girls were ever found. Father Kato arrived here only a year ago replacing the previous caretaker, but girls went missing under his watch as well. Father Kato is the first priest in a while to take over the orphanage and restart service here. Before him, it was passed through the hands of several caretakers. The locals aren't too keen on the church or anyone who lives here ever since the disappearances have started." Yasu concluded, Noll said nothing only looked over his notes and made several additions.

'How does the man from my dreams tie into all of this? Why is he taking the girl, and where are their bodies?' More questions just continued to pile up in Mai's head, but no answers came. She let her gaze wander from her lap over to her boss, hoping that he at least had drawn together some clues.

Mai was brought out of her stupor by the door slamming open revealing a boy who was about the same height and build as Yasu, but had brown hair and beautiful green eyes. Fury was apparent in his features as he stormed right up to Naru.

"I thought you were supposed to stop these things from happening!" The boy yelled confusing and surprising everyone in the room.

"If you're upset with me, at least have the brain capacity to elaborate instead of blathering unintelligent bits of information." Naru said harshly not even batting an eye at the lad.

"Suki, she's gone missing!"