It's been a while, but the plot bunnies have attacked and Cemetery is the chosen one. I've replaced the sneak peak with the full chapter, and I hope you all enjoy the continuing adventures of Mai!

Mai grumbled as she turned on her futon. Her first night off work in three months and she couldn't sleep. She sighed as she gave up on finding a comfortable position and left the bed to walk into the kitchenette. Muttering to herself, she pulled out the makings for tea and set about preparing herself a soothing blend.

Cup in hand, she moved back to her futon. This time however, instead of trying to sleep, she set the cup beside her and took a meditative sitting position. Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, she tried to recall what, exactly, the dreams had been about. It took time, but she eventually managed to recall a face.

A very handsome face.

A face she was seeing in her dreams far too often.

The face of a person she had no desire to see again.

Mai opened her eyes and sighed.

Mr. Tanaka was apologetic when she had called him about the 'ghost hunters'. He had intended to tell her previously, he told her, but life got busy and he forgot.

She didn't blame Mr. Tanaka for not telling her; she knew his daughter was due to have a baby anytime. But the attitude of the intruders had not impressed her. She still didn't know why they insisted there were dangerous spirits in the cemetery. They hadn't found anything. When Mai returned the next night, there was no sign of the group and she was able to make her rounds in peace. The regulars were still at their usual spots, and she and Rosa had giggled about how they had tried to send Rosa 'into the light'.

Mai lifted her, now lukewarm, cup of tea and took a sip. She wished Mr. Tanaka had spoken with her before calling the 'ghost hunters'. She would have been able to tell him about the gang of kids who had taken pulling pranks among the headstones. As it was, the kids made the mistake of targeting an off-duty police officer visiting the cemetery and that quickly stopped the issue.

Finishing her tea, Mai placed it to the side of the futon, far enough that she wouldn't knock it by accident, and tried to get some more sleep.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would sort this nonsense out.

She was walking down the edge of a dark road, trying to read a map in the moonlight. The sound of water lapping against the shore was to her left. It was a beautiful night, and she couldn't wait to meet someone exciting tomorrow. She heard a car in the distance and moved slightly further from the road. Headlights lit up her map and she was grateful to be able to see just how close she was to her destination.

Then the sound of the tyres was different and the light grew brighter. She turned, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the headlights. Too late, she realised what was happening.

CRUNCH

She woke with a muffled scream. She stared at the wall in front of her. Was that… was she just… did she just watch someone die? No, her instincts told her. The person was dead, yes, but they weren't killed by a car. Mai shivered. Tears welled in her eyes and a sob escaped her throat, she turned her face into her pillow and cried for the person she'd just dreamt of. For the regulars in the cemetery. For every spirit who was lost and confused, or just wanted to be remembered. She cried for her parents and how she wished she could see them on occasion, but they never appeared. Eventually, her sobs slowed down. She thought back to the dream. Bright lights, tyres off a road, piercing pain. She'd seen it from the spirit's perspective. That was new. Usually, she saw spirits as people standing around her. Sometimes they had stories they wanted to tell her or messages they wanted her to pass on. But she'd never experienced the death or the events leading up to a person becoming a spirit before.

She pushed against the comforter, trying to escape from where it had wrapped around her legs. Finally free, she pushed herself up and nearly fell over the tea cup as she hastily made her way to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Her reflection was pallid; skin washed out and large, dark eyes rimmed red. She looked down at her hands. They were shaking. She gasped in a breath and let it out in ragged bursts. She took in another, this one exhaled with slightly more control.

Just breathe.

Seeing spirits was normal for her, both in her dreams and in the real world; but she hoped this kind of dream would not be a permanent addition to her ability to see spirits. She'd been able to see them since she was a little girl.

"Mai," her mother would say, "just as we show respect to the living, we must show it to the dead. Every soul is precious, Mai. Treat them as such."

But that death dream. She shivered at the remembered panic. She woke up to the feeling of her legs crushed under her and pain along her ribs. She swallowed back the rising bile. Desperate for a distraction, she grabbed her toothbrush; may as well start her morning routine. The familiar taste of her melon flavoured toothpaste and the rhythm of the bristles on her teeth brought Mai back to the present. She finished cleaning her teeth and face, before looking again at her reflection. Her skin was still pale, but not washed out like it was before, and her eyes no longer looked wild.

Eventually, she pushed away from the basin. Moving back to her bed, she glanced at the alarm clock and groaned. Eight a.m. She probably should start going about her day. Distractedly, she changed from her pajamas into a cute skirt and top; glad to leave both her school and work uniforms behind.

Packing away her futon, she thought about what she needed to do that day. Grocery shopping was important, she vaguely remembered being on her last pack of noodles. She should probably see if her friends had some time to hang out this afternoon. Most importantly, she frowned, she needed to find the address for those 'ghost hunters'. If she was dreaming of his face, then she should probably find out what that meant.

A phone call to Mr. Tanaka while she ate solved the address problem. Shibuya Psychic Research. It was such a formal name for a bunch of people who dressed up to hunt ghosts. Looking at the piece of paper she'd noted the address on, Mai was only somewhat surprised to see it was a twenty minute walk from her apartment. Gathering her purse, phone, keys, and a few bags to carry groceries later, she pulled on her flats and left the apartment.

It was a pretty day; the sunshine invigorated Mai and the cool October breeze pushed away the horror of last night. She smiled at the leaves that were a gorgeous mix of red and orange and skipped through a pile that had fallen on the footpath under a tree; laughing in delight as more leaves fell. Her good mood lasted up to the Shibuya crossing. She joined the bustle of the crowd and eventually found herself outside the address she was looking for.

Climbing the stairs, she came to the door with SPR printed on the glass and opened it. As she stepped inside, she heard the chime of a bell and saw a sparsely decorated room. Functional, she guessed, but not exactly welcoming. While she waited for someone to greet her, she mentally decorated the room in front of her. Some plants, perhaps. Maybe some wall art? The room definitely needed a rug to break up the flood of grey carpet in front of her.

She felt someone's eyes on her face, and she looked over to see Talky standing in a doorway to an office with his arms crossed. She grimaced internally. It figures that someone so attractive would have such a bad attitude. She raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to do something. When he just continued to stare at her, Mai rolled her eyes and issued a formal greeting.

"Good morning," she said with a slight bow.

He blinked and uncrossed his arms.

"Miss Taniyama," he said. "What brings you here?"

Mai grimaced externally this time, how to start this conversation. The shadow of the writing on the door's glass gave her an idea.

"Shibuya Psychic Research," she said. "You're more than ghost hunters?"

A look of irritation flashed across Talky's face at the phrase 'ghost hunters'. Mai didn't really care. The rude man still hadn't introduced himself.

"We don't hunt ghosts," Talky said with distaste. "We investigate paranormal and psychic phenomena using scientific methods."

"Uh huh," Mai murmured. "And you, yourself, are a psychic?" she continued.

Talky's face went carefully blank.

"What makes you ask that?" Talky's tone was calm, but held an edge to it.

Mai puffed a breath out of her cheeks. How to explain this without sounding like some starry-eyed school girl.

"Since your lot intruded on the cemetery," she began, "I keep seeing your face in my dreams."

She glared when his face took on a tone of mocking superiority. Before he could open his mouth, she continued.

"These are not," she snapped at him, "stupid, lovey-dovey, make-you-throw-up-in-your-mouth, 'I like you' dreams."

His expression didn't change. Mai sighed.

"The dreams I have with your face in them," she paused. "They're like the dreams I have of people who are dead."

Time seemed to freeze, and before she realised, he'd moved. Talky was standing right in front of her staring at her with an intensity that made her take a step back. His hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey," she complained, "let go of me!"

"Repeat what you said," he demanded.

"Let go of me!" she repeated, trying to get out of the tight grip he had on her shoulder.

They must have made a fair amount of noise because another door opened and the tall, thin guy with hair over his face stepped out. He took in the situation and spoke.

"Kazuya," he said, his tone deep with some meaning Mai didn't understand.

It worked though, and Talky, whose name was apparently 'Kazuya', let her go. His eyes didn't leave her face though, and Mai backed as far away from him as possible.

"What the hell," she seethed, "is wrong with you?!"

A quick finger prod of her shoulder told her that, yes, there would be a bruise later; and that pissed Mai off.

Tall, thin guy was talking to Talky in a low voice, too low for Mai to hear, and the crazy man in front of her eventually looked away from her.

"You said you see my face in your dreams," Talky eventually said. "Dreams that you have of dead people."

That startled Tall and Thin, but Mai didn't care anymore. She came here to figure out what the hell was going on, but she wasn't going to put up with rude arseholes who don't follow the most basic of manners to introduce themselves, who'd hurt her and didn't even apologise.

"Yeah," she said, moving to the door, "I did."

"Where are you -," Talky said, moving to stop her from leaving.

"Oh no," she cut him off. "I came here to figure out what the hell was happening with these dreams since you are, clearly, very much alive. But you are rude, and arrogant, and how dare you grab me!" She sliced a hand through the air in front of her as she said this. The movement made Talky stop moving toward her.

"You can't be bothered with basic manners, you hurt me," a flash of guilt shot through his eyes as she said this, "and I am leaving. I don't care anymore. Do your psychic whatever, but stay away from me."

And with that, she turned and left the office.

It had taken almost the entire walk from the SPR office to her local supermarket to calm down enough she no longer wanted to scream.

Stupid Talky with his obnoxious inability to act like a human being. What is with his not being able to introduce himself?! Kazuya. First name? Last name? And the tall guy, he was sitting at the computer last time right? Which means he's probably the guy who called my phone during the case. What was his name? Leg? Jin? Ah, Lin. That's right. Grumpy guy obsessed with the camera. And seriously, what's the point of being so tall with massively long legs if it took him so long to help me?

She rubbed at the bruise slowly blooming on her shoulder. Then a thought occurred to her and she froze in horror.

Oh my God. They have my phone number.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at it nervously. Nothing. She pushed aside her growing anxiety about the whole situation and made her way into the supermarket. As Mai picked up a basket, her shoulder twinged, which only reignited her frustration. She tried not to break anything while gathering her groceries. There was another twinge when she moved the shopping basket to her other arm, and she scowled as she remembered why her shoulder hurt. Unfortunately, a little boy thought she was glaring at him and he ran to his mother, crying. That snapped Mai out of her funk.

Turning her attention back to her shopping, Mai winced as she saw the new price of beef. Why was she standing in the meat aisle? Mai looked into her shopping basket and groaned. Apparently, angry grocery shopping meant buying comfort food. She returned most of the meat she'd collected, leaving some chicken in the basket, and turned back to the fruit and vegetable section. There was no way she could afford all this fruit, she had basics she needed to get first.

After checking through her basket to make sure she hadn't picked up anything else outside her budget, she moved through the aisles and collected the things she needed. Dried soba, shoyu sauce, and miso paste were gathered. She was browsing the collection of teas when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Mai."

She turned and saw Father John Brown waving at her from the end of the aisle.

"John!" she cried in delight.

The blond man joined her in the aisle and she was glad to see him.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"I stopped into a supermarket to get some tea," he replied with a grin. "We've run out at the office."

"Oh," Mai felt her smile become forced. "Well, there's a decent selection of tea here. Do you have a preference?"

"I'm more of a coffee person myself," he admitted with a shrug, "but I've yet to find a coffee brand that I like more than the tea available." He turned to her, "Do you have any suggestions on a blend?"

"There," Mai pointed to a box on his left. "I can't help with coffee, but that tea blend is lovely. Especially in warmer months. Mrs. Yamashita swears by it, and if you want it sweeter, use honey, not sugar."

John picked up the box with a grin, "Thank you."

After Mai made her own tea selection, they moved toward the registers together; John took a moment to grab a jar of honey as they walked.

"Thank you for speaking with me about Christianity in Japan," Mai said. "I got a really good grade on that assignment."

"I'm happy for you," John's smile filled his eyes. "Good to know my opinions didn't get lost among the talk of crocodiles."

Mai laughed. She moved forward in the queue and paid for her groceries. As she waited for John to pay for his items, she wondered how he had gotten involved in such an obnoxious group as SPR. When John rejoined her, he began to ask her questions about her job at Aoyama Cemetery. She told him about how she started working there to help support herself. It was one of the few jobs she found that was flexible enough for her to do her school work and make a decent income. When he asked about the spirits in the cemetery, Mai smiled. She told him some of the stories she'd had with the regulars. Who they visited in the cemetery and what their favourite interactions were among the headstones.

They got to an intersection where they needed to part ways and Mai was somewhat disappointed. She enjoyed speaking with John, and she hadn't even gotten to ask how he'd come to work with SPR.

John looked like he shared her disappointment. "Well," he said, "I'm heading in that direction. It was good to see you again. If I hadn't stopped in that supermarket, we might not have met again."

"True," Mai said. Then an idea struck her. "Hey, John, do you have a mobile? I can give you my number, then we can chat anytime."

John's answering grin had her pulling out her phone. After they exchanged numbers, Mai waved the blond off and returned to her apartment.

John really is nice. He isn't as arrogant as pretty much everyone else I've interacted with from SPR. Even in the cemetery, he was the only one who was respectful.

As she walked to her apartment, she saw Mrs. Yamashita sitting outside on a bench in the small park opposite the building.

"Mai," the old woman said in delight. "How lovely to see you."

"You also, Mrs. Yamashita," Mai smiled back. "I was able to suggest your tea favourite blend to a friend today."

Mrs. Yamashita's face became playfully serious. "You remembered to tell them to use honey, not sugar."

Mai's voice joined hers for the last three words.

The old woman laughed. "Ahh Mai, you're a good girl. Best get those groceries inside now."

Mai waved goodbye and started up the steps. She needed to put away this food and maybe, she checked her watch; if she was quick about it, she would be able to see a movie.