Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.

"English speaking"

"Japanese speaking"

'Thinking'

Chapter 9

Tuesday, day 2, 3:02 pm

"What have you found?" Oliver asked Yasu and Madoka.

"It might be easier to tell you what we haven't found." Yasu answered. "We have not been able to make any connections between the victims. They are all of different ages. Most of them lay between the ages of 25 to 35, but we have one 17 year old male and one 49 year old. So there isn't a pattern here either. And their background checks are clear. Different line of profession, different lifestyles. Some of them were locals, others were vacationing close by. Again, no pattern."

"There are a few caves along this coastline, but none of them are close to here." Madoka took over. "The closest is 14 km from this house. That isn't to say that there couldn't be an undiscovered cave in this area, we just don't know where that could be. To get a better idea, it would probably be better to go down to the shore and have a look."

"That might be a good idea." Oliver said.

"Should we do that now then?" Mai asked.

"No. It won't be long before it gets dark. I don't want anyone to be climbing the rocks down there after the sun goes down. We'll wait until tomorrow." He told her.

There was a beat of silence before Martin turned to Yasu. "Yasuhara. Could I talk to you in private for a moment? There's a different issue I would like your help with."

They all blinked in surprise at this turn in the conversation. "Umm. Yeah, alright." Yasu said and got up to follow the professor.

"Actually." Martin said and turned around. "Madoka, would you mind joining us?"

She stood ready to follow. But Oliver found this very strange. "Why are you taking both of our researchers away from the case at hand? And why do you need to speak with them in private?"

Martin smiled at his son. "Don't worry Noll. It's just a short conversation. It won't take their minds off the case for long. We'll just be down the hall if anything happens." Then he turned and left with Yasu and Madoka in tow.

He led them into the bedroom he shared with Lin, closed the door and gave them both a look equivalent to that of a college professor who is displeased with his students.

"I need the two of you to talk. What do either of you know of the relationship between my son and Miss Taniyama?"

Having been expecting something like a scolding, the two others looked at each other and smiled brightly.

"I know that they both are in love with each other, but neither have said it yet." Yasu offered the older man.

Madoka nodded. "The way they act around each other tells for sure."

"Yes, I can tell as well. I've even talked to Noll about it, and he didn't protest the notion."

Yasu and Madoka both gabbed. "He admitted it?!" They said in unison.

"He asked me if I approve of his choice. And naturally I said I do. So yes, he did." Martin was a little smug. "What I don't know is how the bloody hell these two, who seem to be perfect for each other, could sever their ties so completely for over six years. Do either of you know what happened between them?"

Madoka looked at Yasu, who was looking down. "I don't know any of the details. I wasn't there at the lake. Do you know?"

"When he told us who he was, we were all pretty shocked to say the least. He told us that he was going back here to England. Afterwards Naru went to stand by the edge of the lake. We all talked for a while and then Mai went to talk to Naru. When she came back, she had been crying. I think that's when they said goodbye. To my knowledge they didn't talk at all after that. And then Naru and Lin left. We all asked Mai what had happened, but she just kept saying that they said goodbye and she didn't want to talk about it anymore."

"We all had our suspicions that she had fallen for him. No doubt she was heartbroken that day."

Martin listened to the story with a heavy heart. "How do you think she feels about him now? Could she still have feelings for him?"

"Undoubtedly." Yasu said. "But you heard her at the banquet. She has resigned herself to being alone for the rest of her life. She's not looking for his affection anymore, even if it is what she wants. And you can't find something you're not looking for."

Martin was reminded of his conversation with Noll in his car. "She has blinded herself on purpose."

"So her heart won't be broken again." Madoka finished, with a sad look in her eyes.

The rest of the day was again uneventful. It seemed the only activity they would have was the sounds of water dripping during the night. Martin offered to take the night watch so Lin could get some proper sleep. That way he could also call Luella and update her on their well-being (and what he has found out so far about Noll's and Mai's relationship). Lin was grateful for that.

When Madoka entered their room, Mai noticed that she was looking at her with a weird expression. "What is it?"

"I was wondering…" She came over and sat on Mai's bed next to her. "When we left Japan… Were you angry with us?"

Mai was surprised. "What makes you ask that?"

"Please Mai. Did you blame us for leaving?"

Mai was silent for a while. "Yes." She held eye contact with her friend. "But please don't misunderstand. I'm not angry anymore. I was just so shocked that people I trusted and considered family would lie and conceal who they actually were. And then it was just from one day to the next. I never had any time to process it. None of us did. I was hurt that Naru would do that. But I also understand why he did it. Which is how I was able to forgive him. To forgive all of you."

"I really am sorry that we hurt you so badly Mai. We truly never meant to. I know that Noll is sorry to"

"I know. We talked about it a few days ago." Madoka's eyes widened a bit. "And I also told him that I don't blame him for the hurt I felt."

"You've talked to Noll about this? About what happened right before he left?"

"Yes. I thought it was good to get it out of the way so it wasn't something lying between us."

"Oh. I see. Well, that's good."

"Yeah. It was good to clean the air. But if you don't mind.." Mai yawned. "I'm pretty tired. So I'd like to go to bed now."

"Oh, no of course sweety. Sleep well. And sweet dreams."

"Don't count on it." Mai said as she laid down.

They went to bed, and once again, Mai was out like a light.

Mai opened her eyes to the same darkness as in the other two dreams. But this time was completely different. Instead of sitting on the ice cold ground, she was swimming. Struggling to keep her head above water to breath. She was swallowing salty water. Reaching up she found the ceiling of the cave only her forearms length above the surface. She kicked like crazy, but her stamina was running out fast.

If only she could see. Then maybe she could find where the air was coming in and out. She swam to what she hoped was a wall and tried to follow it to find some kind of opening. But before she got very far, her head was under the water again. Her lungs were burning. She needed air. Kicking as hard as she could she found the surface. But the distance between it and the ceiling had decreased. There was only room for half her face and she unintentionally hit her head on the stone above her. She fell beneath the water again.

She floated in place. The last air in her lungs bubbled out of her mouth. She instinctively tried to breathe but water flooded her airways. She was drowning. Panicking she flailed around for anything to grab onto, but there was nothing. No light. No sound. No air. Just water. She closed her eyes. Her head was heavy. She would die now. She felt herself sink deeper. And then she lost consciousness.

Wednesday, day 3, 05:34 am

Mai woke up with a start, gasping for air. Her lungs were still burning and she felt dizzy, like her brain was in lack of oxygen.

"Mai? Are you okay?" Madoka asked, sitting up. She had woken up when she heard Mai gasping.

Remembering all the water that had been choking her, Mai sprang from her bed and ran down the hall to the bathroom. She emptied her stomach into the toilet. It was not water coming out, but it still felt really good empty her system.

Madoka had followed after her and was now rubbing the poor girl's back. Hearing the others start to rise and opening their doors, Madoka closed the door to the bathroom to give Mai a small semblance of dignity. Even if they could hear how sick she was, they didn't need to see it.

"What happened?" Oliver spoke through the door.

"I had a…" Mai's voice was cut off by the sound of her vomiting.

"Don't talk right now, just try to breathe." Madoka's voice was low. "She says she had another dream. Give us a moment and I'll get her straightened out, so she can talk."

They all started to walk to the base. Oliver took a little longer to let himself leave. But he knew that right now, Mai really needed him to wait until she was feeling better. Reminded of another time when he had wanted to comfort her after she had had a traumatic dream, he went down to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, she came into base supported by Madoka. The older woman sat her down on the sofa beside Yasu. Oliver stepped forward, bent down to sit on his haunches and put the cup of tea he had made on the table in front of her.

"I know it's not as good as yours, but it will help your throat." He told her.

She looked at him and gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you." Then she picked up the cup and took a small sip. She closed her eyes. "Mmmm. That feels much better." Opening her eyes again, she was weirdly not surprised to find Naru still sitting in front of her. "That's the second time you've ever made me tea. The first time was after a dream as well."

"Was this one as bad as that?"

Mai shook her head. "No. The person was dying and was terrified, but no. Nothing like that one."

"Good. Can you tell us?"

She told them as many details as she could. After all these years, the first person death dreams were still the worst, but Mai had learned to disconnect most of her feelings for herself with them. She still felt sad and usually at least a little sick afterwards. Sometimes she even became depressed for a while. But she had needed to learn to see it all from a different perspective. If she hadn't she would have gone insane at this point.

"So they did in fact drown." Naru surmised. "Do you know if this was a third individual, or one of the first two?"

"No. I couldn't tell."

"Alright. At least now we know for sure why they were afraid of the water."

"What do you mean?" Martin asked his son. "You think they all drowned like that?"

"Not Necessarily." Naru stood up and walked over to his laptop and started typing. "But if they were in a cave that's connected to the sea and the water has a way in, which I think is safe to assume seeing as the water this person drowned in was salty, then the reason for fearing the water is simple."

"The tide." Mai said, already understanding.

"Exactly." Naru turned his laptop around to show them the result of his search. "Depending on the time of year the tide rises and falls at different levels. Here in March it can rise up to 12 metres in height. Other times maybe more or less."

"And in a cave that's possibly close to sea level, if there's a way for the air to be pushed out.." Mai said remembering what she had thought in the dream. 'If only she could see. Then maybe she could find where the air was coming in and out.'

"Then the cave would be completely flooded every time the tide came in." Naru finished for her.

They stared at each other. No one said anything for a few minutes.

"That only leaves two questions." Mai said.

"What are those?" Yasu asked her.

"Where is the cave? And how did those poor people end up there?"

-0-0-0-

12:38 pm

Martin had gone to sleep shortly after their talk this morning. Lin had taken over with the monitors and Madoka stayed by his side. Right now Oliver, Mai and Yasu were down at the shore to see if they could find any evidence of a cave nearby. They had been at it for a couple of hours with nothing to show for their efforts. And they were all getting tired.

Mai's hair was twirling around her. She had tied it back, but the wind was so powerful that it hadn't taken long for it to come mostly undone. At least it wasn't raining at the moment.

Mai's foot slipped on a rock and she was about to fall face first, but a hand caught her around the waist. Looking up, she found Naru staring at her from only a few centimetres away. She really shouldn't have been surprised as he had been walking right beside her. But the close proximity made it hard for her to comprehend anything but his eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked, voice slightly raised so she could hear him over the strong wind.

She blushed and turned her face away. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

He righted her and they kept walking. Yasu was watching this little moment from behind them. He had a very satisfied smile plastered on his face. They were starting to get hungry as well as tired now, so they decided to go back to the house and maybe continue the search tomorrow.

They were on their way up a set man made stone steps with an iron railing. Oliver was walking in front, then Mai followed by Yasu. Oliver felt his phone ring in his pocket. He reached in there and pressed the green button.

"Yes? Madoka? I can barely hear you."

"I'm saying they have appeared. The footprints have appeared. Come back quickly before they vanish." She hung up.

Oliver turned to face the other two. Something in his expression must have told of shock, because Mai looked worried. Or maybe she was reading his emotions.

"What's wrong?" She yelled over the wind.

"The footprints are back. Madoka says to hurry up."

They all started to quicken their pace. It would unfortunately do no good to run. There was still quite a way up to the house. Even when they reached the top, there was still almost 200 metres to go. Shortly after having started on the path back to the house, Mai suddenly gasped and clutched her head. She bent over and landed on her knees.

"MAI!" Oliver and Yasu yelled at the same time.

"Mai, what's wrong?" Oliver asked but she didn't answer. She was clearly in a lot of pain. Her eyes were screwed up and she bared her teeth.

"I think she's having a vision." Yasu told him.

"What? But she's not asleep."

"Don't you remember what she said at the lecture? She also has pre-cognitive flashes now."

"She can really see the future?"

"Only small glimpses. It doesn't happen often but sometimes she gets to see something that might happen soon."

"How soon?"

"Usually in the next few minutes of her seeing it."

Mai lifted her head as if she had just been released from a spring. Her eyes were bulging.

"Madoka. The hall. NO!" She took off running as fast as her feet could carry her. Her heart was pounding in her chest. 'I hope I make it. This can't happen!' Madoka was about to step over the line she had drawn on the floor to take a closer look at the footprints. And then she would be swallowed whole.

Mai was gaining on the house. She could hear the two men following behind her, calling her name. She didn't stop. She only had seconds before it was too late. The front door was open and Mai flew through it.

"MADOKA! DON'T!" She yelled but it was too late. She heard the creaking of the floorboards. The sharp snap of wood. Mai launched herself at the woman, pushing her away from the gaping whole that had appeared in the ground beneath her.

This action however resulted in Mai's shin getting caught on the rough edge of the whole. She jerked as her body was pulled backwards. She tried to grab on the wooden planks hanging by the edge but they snapped under her weight and the force of gravity pulling her down.

She was falling fast yet it felt like slow motion. Her throat was tearing itself up and she heard herself screaming. Something hard hit the back of her head and it snapped forward. She vaguely heard someone screaming her name and she thought it might have been Madoka. Then everything became black.

-0-0-0-0-

Oliver was running behind Mai. He was close to catching up to her but she managed to out run him. He was calling her name, trying to get her to not run head first into a situation where she would be in danger. But she didn't seem to hear him. Mai reached the house a few seconds before him.

"MADOKA! DON'T!" He heard Mai scream.

He reached the door himself and he heard the snap of wood, saw the back of Mai's flying form, then she was jerked back and she fell into a large hole in the floor.

"MAAAAI!" Madoka screamed.

Oliver flattened himself on his stomach and slid over to the whole in hopes of grabbing Mai's hand. But all he managed was to see her hit her head on the rough wall made of rocks and then she plunged into darkness.

"MAAI!" He yelled. "MAAAI!"

He heard the sound of running feet and voices in odd pitches. But he couldn't hear what they said. He was listening to the echoey sound of something landing hard and he thought he heard bones breaking. But he tried very, very hard not to think of an image of her skull having been crushed.

"MAAAI!" He tried to yell again.

There was no answer. She was likely unconscious. He needed to help her. He needed to get to her. He was moving before he could think better of it. He was about to drop head first into the hole when something grabbed him from behind and janked him back.

"NOLL! STOP! You can't help her if you go down there too. We don't know what's down there." Lin was struggling to keep a hold of him.

"Let me go!" Oliver couldn't focus on anything but getting to Mai. To help her.

Yasu came over and took hold of his hands. "The best way for you to help her now is to stay calm. Clear your thinking, Naru. Mai would say the same."

Oliver looked at him, fury in his eyes and yasu inched backwards.

"You need to breathe Noll. Breathe. Now! Or you won't be able to help her at all"