….

I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING A LITERAL YEAR. OH MY GOSH.

Alright, so here we go, the stunning conclusion to The Bloodstained Labyrinth. Man oh man this is going to be fun.

And to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited, thank you so much! And to those who reviewed about how they wish me the best as I deal with the absolute joy of my mental state, thank you even more so oh my goodness you people are so nice. I can't thank you guys for your patience with me, and it has been a rather long time since I updated, so I apologize humbly.

To be fair, I got a job. To be not as fair, I quit that job because man, it was… Horrible. It was horrible. Like, went into a serious suicidal mood because of it sort of horrible. To be fair again, I'm also back in school, go college! Now if I just had an idea as to what the actual heck my career should be…

Oh, and my headphone jack doesn't want to work, so I had to find an alternative way to watch the episode (because headphones give me slightly better quality of sound and honestly these chapters can take up to twelve hours of constantly repeating tiny sound bits, so in the respect of not getting murdered by those around me…) that would work with my usual arrangement. Finally I just ended up buying a new iPod because surprise the headphone jack helps me listen to music outside of these episodes what a notion guys. I also had to reread Blind myself to see what I actually had written and what I simply had planned or had cut out and I'm still cringing at my earlier writing oh man, how do people ever read through this. (Is it because of the "Vase Scene" and then the following "Tea Scene" in Dollhouse? I'm betting it is.)

I don't own Ghost Hunt. Oh, but wouldn't that be interesting if I did?

ENJOY!

BLIND

April

Day 6

"Because," Naru said, tapping his finger against his other hand, "exorcism is impossible."

The sick feeling. It was back, and I was getting really tired of it at this point.

"What do you mean, how can an exorcism be impossible?!" I asked, frustrated with this whole case.

"Urado isn't here because of an obsession with satisfying a grudge," Naru stated simply, lifting his head slightly to look straight at me. "He just wants to extend his life." The impact of his words was immediate. "I have no idea how he brings people through walls, and I really don't want to think of how much power that would take, but I do know that he hunts because he is in search of prey."

Bloody hands, grasping at a wall, desperate, desperate, trailing blood from the fingertips… I don't want to die.

Naru straightened up some more, not that even as he slouched he had bad posture. "Calling him a ghost is no longer accurate. Fiend. Demon. Devil. He's turned into a monster." 1

"But Naru," I protested. Our job isn't done! We take care of the ghosts, that's what we do, isn't it?

"I know how to hunt ghosts, but monsters lie in a different realm in which I am not skilled," Naru said, honest in his admission. "That's why an exorcism is off the table. Unless someone here knows a surefire way to hunt a monster safely."

No one said anything. In this case, that happened to say a lot.

"But what about Suzuki and Atsugi? Are we just gonna completely give up hope for them?" I protested.

"They're dead. There is no hope," Naru said, his tone strange. Somewhat pained.

I paused. If even Naru said something like that… "…Well..."

Naru spoke again after a moment. "He does have one weakness." I perked up just a tad. "Urado is trapped inside the house, trapped inside the very scene of his crimes. He is completely incapable of escaping."

"Now that you mention it," Monk added in, "Didn't Madoka say that the area outside the house is totally safe?"

"If we were to call the police and have the house dismantled, they could locate the missing persons. We could also burn the place to ashes," Naru said. His knitted hands tightened slightly. "Unfortunately, that's not our job."

"What is up with you, it's not like you to run away from a case like this," I said. Truly, we had never before withdrawn from a case. Nearly been forced to leave, yes, but not run off. What's the difference between a normal ghost and Urado? I still didn't understand it.

"I'm not running, Mai," Naru said plainly. "We were hired to come here and hunt a ghost, not a monster."

"You're turning your back on a threat, is that not running away?" I countered.

"No, it's not," Naru insisted. "Now I haven't disclosed this yet. Listen… Madoka told me of a rumor that the Minami Psychic Research Council was peddling around an imposter that claimed to be Oliver Davis and asked me to investigate. That's the actual reason Madoka hired us to come here, and if you take that into consideration, our job is done."

Well… we certainly weren't expecting that.

Naru continued on. "There's no reason to risk danger to ourselves any longer." Naru stood. "We're pulling out."

I smacked my hands on the table, letting out a frustrated growl. Even if I knew why he did it... "You lied to us, Naru."

"It's what you would classify as a 'strategic secret'," Naru stated. "In case one of us couldn't keep their mouths shut." *2

"Oh, who, me?" I replied. You have no idea the secrets I keep, Naru! I know I'm a bit of a gossip and tend to be loose about information, but still. "Well I'm sorry, but unlike you I prefer not to deceive people."

Well, that wasn't entirely fair. After all, he had to do some deception. Our entire relationship so far had been based on deceptions that Naru gave regarding his name, his company, even the original reason why I was made a gopher—because of the camera that was already covered by insurance. Still, I wasn't backing out of this. I leveled my gaze with his as best as I could, which was impressive since my actual gaze meant tiddlywinks, and he leveled back, a slight glaring contest between us. Too bad he was going against a blind girl, although I'm not entirely sure who was winning or losing in that scenario.

"Er, excuse me," Ms. Igurashi cut in. I might have forgotten that she was there. "By the way you're talking, it almost sounds as if Narumi Kazou is your manager. Where is Mr. Shibuya, anyway?"

Naru and I paused and turned our heads to focus on her. We both straightened up, Naru with a slight cough and myself uneasily, shifting on my feet. "Er, um…" I turned my head to look at Naru.

Naru sighed. "Go on and tell her the truth. There's no point if Minami and the fake Oliver Davis have already left."

I smiled, turning back to Ms. Igurashi. "Since we're being so open." I bowed sheepishly to the older woman. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but our manager is an imposter too." I straightened out and pointed to Naru. "He's the real boss."

Naru didn't give Ms. Igurashi any time to say anything. "We need to start breaking down HQ."

"Okay, Mr. Manager!" I said, cheery enough at finally being honest about Naru the Boss.

BLIND

Ayako decided to take a shower, leaving me to hopefully distract Naru by taking as long as I possibly could with packing… Unfortunately I didn't have a whole lot in general and even less to pack on cases. I already had all of my personal belongings gathered up and was now zipping up the bag. "I'm not sure about this. I think leaving is a bad idea," I confessed to a troubled Masako. She'd had that same expression since we started breakdown, and I interpreted best as I could as 'bothered'. "What do you think, Masako?" I turned to face her.

Masako took one look at me and proceeded to turn away.

I immediately stopped slouching, becoming slightly more serious. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Masako closed her bad with a loud snap. "I just prefer that someone like you not call me by my first name."

"What the heck?" I stood, hands on my hips. "What do you mean by saying 'someone like me'? Why do you hate me so much?"

Masako kept her head turned.

"Are you there?"

"… Why," Masako said softly, almost too soft for me to catch. "Why are you the only girl Naru calls by her first name?"

Uh, what. "Huh?"

"He always calls me Miss Matsuzaki by our last names but for some strange reason he gives you special treatment," Masako explained, not even turning in my direction.

"You really believe that?" I asked. Special treatment? I'm just a gopher.

"I saw you two fighting earlier. It was like you were married or something," she said.

"Hold on, am I detecting a hint of jealousy?"

"Oh, please. I'm not jealous of you." She wasn't very convincing.

"That is so adorable!" I sat down on the bed beside Masako's, relieved that she wasn't bothered by anything more serious than that. "Seriously, there's absolutely nothing for you to be jealous of. Every day Naru finds a new way to make me sound like a complete idiot. And to be perfectly honest, if there's anyone he gives special treatment to, it's you."

"You think so?" Masako finally turned to face me.

"Yep!" I chirped. "You've got some dirt on Naru, don't you?"

Masako went back to 'troubled', facing away from me again. "Yes I do, but I really wish I didn't."

"What do ya mean?" I asked. I mean, I guess if Masako knew about the Oliver Davis thing or the whole twin thing, that might be it, but honestly, who knows what else he's hiding. What did Masako know? Why didn't she want to know it?

"Well, we all know Naru has a great deal of pride, so even the thought of someone having the upper hand on him upsets him." Well, she's not wrong. "And that's why I believe…" Masako trailed off for a second before continuing, her voice small. "… Naru doesn't like me." Okay now she is wrong.

"Even if that's the case I don't see any reason why you should think he doesn't like you," I said. Masako stood up and began walking past. "Hey wait. You're leaving? You can't be by yourself. I'll come too."

"That's not necessary. I need to take a few moments for myself, that's all. I'll be right back. I'll just be in the hallway here."

"Um, you sure? We really shouldn't be-"

"Yes," Masako interrupted, turning her head halfway. "I don't want to be around you." Masako turned her head back and began to leave again.

Ooookay, so she doesn't like me. And I apparently get special treatment, which was about the last thing I ever expected to hear. "Naru always call you by your first name." Never really noticed, I started calling him Naru pretty much from the start too…. Behind the celebrity, I guess she's just an ordinary girl.

An ordinary girl that was not going to go out in the murder mansion by herself.

And so I followed her to the hallway. She turned her nose up at me, but ultimately decided that being a ways down the hallway would be fine, and I stayed outside the open door, waiting on Ayako.

Speaking of… "Well, now that's better," she said as she exited from her shower.

"Sure took you long enough," I teased from the doorway. "You'd better hurry up and start packing." Even though there was a teasing tone, I was actually being serious. Naru will shave her bald if she doesn't pick up the pace.

"Yeah, I know," Ayako said, slightly airy and mostly nonchalant. "Hey, where's Masako?"

"Out here, with me," I said. Even though I wasn't facing her and the technique wasn't perfect, I was keeping my senses—sonar—whatever focused on her. Masako huffed from her spot at the window and began to walk off to another hallway. "Oh, hey now, come back Masako." We shouldn't be alone! This isn't good!

Instead, she picked up the pace. I ran after her.

"Masako, not funny," I called out to her. "Masako!"

"Mai!" I heard Ayako yell and then a door slam. "Mai!" she yelled again, louder and more shrill. I was too focused on keeping Masako in my senses, so I had no idea if she was following me and not enough time to split my attention and check.

"Everyone who's disappeared has been younger," John said.

"Make sure you're never alone in this house," Naru said.

Suzuki's ghost, the writing of 'Urado' on the wall, the writing of 'Vlad' on the wall, in blood…

For a girl in traditional geta shoes, Masako could go fast. Probably from experience. Experience I did not have and Masako slow down!

I was running after her, running, running, chasing…

Then suddenly. She was gone. Which was odd, as there wasn't anywhere else to go. I thought Masako entered into this room, the room with the smaller room inside, but she wasn't in the main room or the small room with its wide-open door. There wasn't any other rooms she could be in, I entered the only door that hadn't been blocked by furniture—oh, the joys of a haunted house. Did she enter another room…?

It struck me that I was alone. Alone in a house I had specifically been instructed not to be alone in.

The sick, sick, awful feeling was back. I felt cold… No, I was cold, because the room was getting cold, because Urado had Masako and was about to have me too. Did I imagine those hands on my ankles?

Thud. That would be me, hitting the floor. So no, I did not imagine them, I'm freaking out, my everything is fuzzy, I think I'm gonna pass out, someone-

I felt myself get dragged, but I wasn't quite aware of it. Fuzzy, fuzzy…. The room… no the smaller room… why am I in the smaller room...? Who closed the door…?

I felt the floor disappear, or something. There wasn't a floor anymore. I was falling, falling….

I don't remember landing. Kind of hard to, when you're unconscious. *3

BLIND

"You ran off on your own, and now Mai is missing. You do understand that if anything happens it will be on your hands, right?" My words were pointed. Mai was missing and Miss Hara…

"Yes, I know," Masako said meekly. "I'm so sorry."

I turned to Miss Matsuzaki. "How could you allow her to leave the room by herself."

Matsuzaki looked up slowly, shaken. "The door slammed shut, and I couldn't leave. I had to use the Nine Cuts just to get out. By that point Monk had already ran to the room to get me…"

"So what are you two doing here," Takigawa asked Yasuhara and Madoka.

"We got your message at the hotel about striking camp so we wanted to come by and help you out," Yasuhara answered. He, like everyone else, was in a more serious mood.

"We had no idea that the situation was this dire," Madoka said.

"In any case we need to search that hidden area." We didn't have time for idleness, we had to move quickly.

"I'm in," John agreed immediately.

"Me too," Monk echoed.

I nodded. We'd need their help. First, I had to go make sure Mai was okay. For that, I'd need something of hers.

John commented as I was leaving. "Hey Naru, where're you goin'?"

"You go ahead without me," I told them. "I want to bring Mai's bag to the van with the rest of our luggage. I have every intention of leaving as soon as we find Mai. Lin, let's go."

Lin followed without a word, and I didn't care to say anything.

BLIND

It's cold, and I'm scared, and it's cold, and I'm scared, and I don't want to die.

BLIND

First, we checked the hidden space we had already made our own entrance into. Mai wasn't there. Considering this is where we had previously found a body, I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. Mai happened to be unordinary in the fact that I had a hard time tracking her through psychometry. I could only tell that she was alive. That, and occasionally I'd get through enough that I could tell she was scared. So she was likely conscious, but for all I knew at any moment she could be killed.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

I held onto a small pocket diary that I've seen her write in on occasion. It was the best thing I could get a reading on, considering her keychain and wallet was still on her. It's not as if I could read it even if I wanted to. I wasn't going to admit if I wanted to or not. Now was not the time for it.

"This isn't good," Monk muttered, checking his watch. 5 minutes past midnight. "We've already wasted half the day. Is that last floor all that's left?"

"It is," Yasu said, looking at the map I held in one hand, illuminated by the flashlight I was pointing at it in the other. "This one, right?" He pointed to the darkest shaded area on the map.

"Okay," Monk said. "Let's find a place where the walls are the thinnest."

Lin was trying to find a weak spot, but the ones who sealed this place did too good of a job on it. It wasn't going to be easy, but there was no way we'd let Mai be left behind.

We got to work.

BLIND

The room was cold. That was about all I could actually tell about it, as everything was fuzzy. For all I knew, I was somehow outside. The wall against my back and the floor at my feet disagreed with that theory as did the stagnant air.

I also could tell that the floor and wall had tiles. A tiled room…

I tried not to think about it.

Take a breath.

They will find you.

I was scared, so horribly, terribly scared. Because there was a chance I would die. A high chance. Every moment was a moment of life was a moment that was slipping away. I suppose that was true outside of this place I was in, but it wasn't so in my face. I was blind to it. As I was blind to a lot of things. I've never felt so helpless in my life.

Well, I could see clearly that I was going to die. And I kind of wanted to gouge my eyes out so I wouldn't have to.

Even if I wasn't killed by whatever it was that lurked in this space, I knew I was likely in the sealed part of the house. Pairing with the stagnant air, who knew when I would run of out oxygen. It was a large space, but I was, unfortunately, not the only human who had been down here since it was sealed. If it wasn't a murderous vampire-demon thing or suffocation, it'd be dehydration. If I found a liquid that could sustain me, or more accurately, if I wasn't dead by the time I felt safe enough to move from where fear had rooted me, I'd die of starvation. Because unless I am found, I was not escaping.

I clenched my protection charm, a good luck charm of sorts, the key to my old house. I clenched it because if I could feel it, it meant I was alive, that I was really here, and even though the thought of being here was scary, it was the reality of the situation. Imagining I was somewhere else wouldn't change that.

Please find me.

I don't…. I don't want to die….

….

… It's the same dream I always have. The normal black with white lines... When did I fall asleep? Did I die without even knowing it?

An orb passed by my face. Then I noticed all the orbs floating around, barely noticing how I began to float too. There's so many spirits. Are they souls of all the people who were killed here? … Am I now one of them?

I turned my head away and… Gene? Gene was here.

Get a hold of yourself Mai. "Gene, did… did I die? Is that why I'm here? And have you seen Masako? I don't know where she went. Is she okay?"

Gene smiled. He pointed to a door…. A… green door?

Gene faded back into the darkness. Gene!

… Through the door it was then.

I've seen that door before… During my dream… but it's different somehow. It leads out… I grabbed the handle and walked through. I knew it wasn't possible, the location I should have walked out to and the location I actually went was different, but still. I could… I could see. Not very clearly, it was distorted… I couldn't think of the right word for it, as generally speaking, 'seeing' was not my forte. It felt something like trying to sense through smoke. I could also hear speaking. It was muffled, but I could recognize any of the SPR members' voices anywhere.

I ended up in front of a sleeping pair of people. I could tell one was Ayako, because of the red hair. And the other with dark hair and wearing a kimono was… Masako? So, she was okay?

What a relief.

I tried to touch her, curious to see if I even could, but as soon as I tried I snapped awake in the room I was before.

Tiles…. Still fuzzy, stagnant air… still cold… still scared… but at least Masako was okay. That was one weight off my shoulder.

I just had to wait. They would come get me. I know they would. They would come get me. I just had to wait.

It'd be okay.

Breathe.

While you still can.

Breathe…

I clenched my key so hard it almost hurt.

BLIND

Lin managed to pinpoint what was probably the only place we had a reasonable chance of getting through at. We unearthed brick, then we unearthed a door that was chained and locked shut. Monk easily broke through the chains and the door opened with an awful squeaking noise.

Hang in there Mai, we're coming to get you.

Yasuhara pointed his flashlight around the room we now entered.

"See how the stairs run into the ceiling?" he pointed out. "I think that's the first floor above it. We somehow ended up below the building."

"I'm beginning to think that this was the main building that Kaneyuki lived in," I said as we all drifted our ways in.

"Is this what Mai saw in her dream?" Monk asked, leaving the question in the air.

"She said the room had a fireplace and there was some kind of closet on the right side," I said, remembering it from when we had her describe it more accurately for the case report. "Look for a room with those elements in it."

It took only a short time to locate the room she found. There was only one fireplace in the building.

"What next, Naru?" Yasu asked.

"There should be a corridor inside that closet," I said, approaching the door and found it unlocked. There was curtain which was probably more dust than actual fabric at this point. I pushed it aside to find another door. Behind that unlocked door… A stone corridor. "Found it. Let's go."

I was followed without question.

If this is like Mai's dream, there should be a hedge maze up ahead.

"I'm guessing this was the maze," Matsuzaki said as we found ourselves in a more open space, with the dead skeletons of what were once tall and well maintained bushes.

"There's another door," Monk said as we began to walk through the maze, the pathways much easier to navigate without the leaves.

"It makes sense now," I said as I looked around at the high ceiling. "The floor was elevated in the center area to keep this place covered up.

This door also opened about as easily as it could, Monk heading in first.

"If this is like in Mai's dream," I muttered, "then that staircase… She's up there. With Urado."

"… Should I stay down here?" Yasuhara asked.

I nodded. "Miss Matsuzaki, Miss Hara, Madoka, John, and Yasuhara, I want you four to look around. If we're here, we might as well confirm some things. Be on high alert for both yourselves and for us. Keep your eyes and ears open. Lin, Monk, you're with me. We're going to get Mai."

We headed up the stairs.

We're coming, Mai.

BLIND

I had to go. I can't stay here. But this place is just so damn fuzzy.

… Get a grip. You're Mai Taniyama. And you're blind. What's a little thing like seeing going to do? It's probably pitch black in here anyway. I stood carefully, wary of making any sort of noise. For once I could feel all the spirits that wanted to make their stories, their deaths, heard, and I had to block it out. I had to block out the spirits, I had to block out my senses, and I had to block out my crushing fear. I held my hands out in front of me and began to walk forward.

As per usual, I only made it two steps before slipping and falling against a table. Of course, the exam table, where all those people…

Blood… it felt like blood… Oh my god.

I heard a dripping sound and turned to face the source. If this was the tiled room, then the tub…. Where Urado would soak in his victim's blood… Was Urado… here….?

The splashing sound basically confirmed that something was happening. The glowing, horrid-looking skin-and-bones body that started to appear, surrounded by nothing but a blank blackness confirmed that it was likely Urado.

I need to run. Urado's hand slapped against what I guessed was the bathtub side.

Seal of the Immovable One. "Nau maku san manda bazara dan kan. Nau maku san manda bazara dan kan. Nau maku san manda bazara dan kan!" The Sword. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen!"

"I don't want to die!" Urado dashed forward, but as I made the last cut, he was flown back by an un-seeable force, spinning and falling back into the tub, into the dark.

It was quiet for a moment, and then…

"Mai!" I heard a muffled shout. Was that… SPR…? "Are you up here?"

"What… Um. Here!" I shouted back.

I heard footsteps, heading closer, and I could hear as they slammed doors opened as they searched for me. I pulled myself together as best I could and tried to move closer to where I thought the door was, hand against the wall as I went, moving as fast as I could while stumbling around with no clue where I was.

Then two hands grabbed me, pulling me against the wall and pinning me there. "Hey, let go!" I happened to look to find two hands, nearly as dark as the void around me, grasping something through the wall. Grasping me through the wall. They're coming through the wall. His assistants!

Is this the same way everyone else was killed?

A different set of footprints this time. A set that squished and splashed against the floor as they went, a sickening sound that made my stomach queasy.

This was a ghost. A monster. I can't see monsters if I closed my eyes, right? They go away if I just don't see them, right?

A warm, disgusting wind brushed my face. I looked up.

Urado. The gaunt face, the horrible gaunt face, was in front of my face, its breath, it's disgusting putrid breathe-

I screamed.

Crash.

"Mai!" Naru was at the doorway, the crash being the weak door, busted down in seconds.

"Get back! Get back!" Getbackgetbackgetback!

"It's Urado!" I could hear Monk, the rustle of clothes as he grabbed his Vajra. *4

A shrill whistle. Lin. The blobs, like I had never seen them before. Viscous, kind of angry, carving through the air in sharp arcs like lightning bolts as they shot through the monster in front of me. The hands disappeared and I stumbled forward.

"Are you hurt," Monk was immediately at my side.

I sat up shakily. "I'm fine. Masako is…?"

"She's fine," Monk said, pulling me up.

"We all need to get out of here right away," Lin demanded. "I wasn't able to destroy Urado. He'll only be stunned for a moment."

We agreed. Monk lead the charge by being the fastest and Naru held my hand as we ran, making sure I didn't fall behind. At some point the others joined. Running, crashing through doors and weak walls and bushes.

Don't look back don't look back don't look back.

I looked back. A white, gaunt face in the distance, following us.

Dammit Mai!

"We'll go out through that window!" Naru shouted. "Everyone, out of the house, now!"

"Let's go!" Monk said, a crash quickly following as he no doubt kicked it open.

I never want to go into this house again!

BLIND

Day 7

We sat just outside the house on the overgrown yard. My senses, and not just my sonar, were slowly coming back to me as I caught my breath with the rest of SPR.

You'd think that we, as ghost hunters, would be better at running.

We are not.

Monk huffed from his sprawled out spot on the lawn. "Mai, how many times do we tell you not to go out on your own?"

"I know…" I said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't… blame her fully," Masako said. "This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't… I'm sorry."

"…I guess something good came out of it," Monk said. For supposed good news, his tone did not seem very good. "We found the missing people."

"Where were they?"

"They were stacked on top of one another in a room on the second floor," Monk said. "All of their throats were slit." And I was nearly… "We found sets of bones in another room, lined up on shelves like some kind of trophies."

"They're all Urado's victims?" I asked.

Monk sighed. This case was taxing on everyone. "Think so. It looks like after their blood was drained, their flesh was burned off in an incinerator so their bones could be displayed on the wall. There's no way a single person was behind this much carnage."

"Hiroyuki tried to conceal it. I think that's obvious now," Naru brought himself into the conversation.

So many people suffered…

Masako tapped my shoulder. I turned to face her. "Oh, hey."

Masako smiled. "Thanks. For coming after me. You got kidnapped because of me."

I smiled. "It's okay. I'm just glad we're all safe. It was kind of scary, though."

"I bet," Yasu said. "If it's not too soon to ask, can you remember what it was like to go through walls?"

"Yasu!" Ayako began to chastise.

"No, it's okay Ayako," I said. "Um, I'm afraid I don't remember much. There were hands pulling my feet to the ground, then I was dragged… and suddenly there just wasn't a floor. I think I passed out after that. I woke up in the same room you found me in, and I just stayed there terrified that I was going to have my throat slit until I ground up the courage to move and then almost got killed by a jerk in a bathtub. You know, normal Saturday night."

"It's not Saturday. Or night," Yasu pointed out.

"Shush, I'm dealing with a traumatizing experience with bad jokes," I said. "I did manage to hit Urado with the Nine Cuts. It kept him back for like half a minute before he came back even more pissed than before. That's when you guys found me. Screaming my head off."

"Well, that's almost normal for one of our cases," Ayako smirked. "One of your talents has to be getting in trouble."

I, in a very mature move, stuck my tongue out.

"Speaking of talents," Monk said, turning to Lin, "you've got some."

"Yeah?" Lin said.

"What was that you did earlier?" Monk asked. "It looked like you threw something when you saved Mai back there."

"Those were just my shiki," Lin replied simply.

"Wow. Really?" Monk sounded impressed.

"Shiki?" I asked.

Monk was the one that answered. "When you make a demon or spirit you've captured work for you, it's called ekiki. Each spirit you use is called a shiki."

"Wow, how cool!" Who knew those little blobs were that awesome?

Lin would never admit it, but I knew that he was smiling. After a few moments, he turned his head to look off into the distance, or look cool, one of the two.

"The sun is starting to rise," Naru said.

Or he's looking at the sunrise. Heard those were pretty cool to look at.

Naru stood up, everyone else doing so as well, and began walking over to the side of the house, probably to the vans.

Thump.

"Hm?" Ayako made a curious noise. "Naru, I think you dropped something." She picked something up. Two somethings, actually. "A comb? And what's this book?"

"Actually, I think that belongs to me," Masako admitted, taking the comb back. I looked at the book and-

"Hey, my journal!" Say what?!

I turned to face the paused and now somewhat awkward Naru. "Why on earth would you be carrying her comb and my journal, Naru?"

Naru said nothing, making his escape around the corner of the house. Giving us the silent treatment, huh?

"Oh dear," Ayako said, grinning.

"Now that's embarrassing," Monk acted scandalized.

"He must've been really worried about her." Madoka, no. Stop acting like its all lovey dovey. Stop it.

"Naru's a kind soul," John commented in.

"What a moving story," Yasu nodded to himself.

No, it's not. The jerk took my diary!

BLIND

We insisted on meeting Mr. Ohashi outside the house when we knocked. None of us were keen to go inside, and Naru even ordered that I stay outside, an order literally everyone seconded. Masako was grounded too, at least.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Mr. Ohashi said, disbelief dripping through his tone.

"Unfortunately, we're unable to exorcise Urado," Yasu explained, still acting as SPR's head. After all, we only told Ms. Igurashi, and she wasn't the type to prattle that information around. That, and her and everyone else had fled. "We recommend that you seal up the house and let it erode over time, just like Hiroyuki said in his dying words. Another option would be to purify it with fire. Burn the entire house down, and you will wash away the offense."

Oh, please burn it. I want this place gone, like, yesterday.

Mr. Ohashi took the words into consideration. "I understand." He bowed. "Thank you all so much for your help."

We didn't waste much time packing up what little we had left and leaving. Apparently we left the equipment used to bust into the hidden floor. It would be covered by insurance. That, and if someone wanted it that badly, then they could go against the vampire monster that will literally bath in their blood.

No one on SPR was going to do that again.

And with that, we left the Miyama Mansion behind us. Forever. A few weeks later there was an article in the newspaper about a huge fire destroying the house. Considering the bazaar facts of our case, the article was far too short. A copy rests in the case file Naru locked up somewhere. Another is here, in my journal…

BLIND

A few days later…

Chiaki and Taka completely misunderstood my dislike for Masako's comb. To be fair, I didn't completely understand it… I just disliked that he had her comb with him.

Their shift was up, so they left. That's it. Ignore me. Right now my feelings are in the midst of hating that comb. *5

Then a certain Madoka Mori showed up.

"What? So, you're leaving already?" I asked. I really like Madoka! "Where to?"

"Unfortunately I am," Madoka confirmed, "which is too bad because I was just starting to get to know everyone. And I'm afraid my destination is something of a secret." Translation via I already know Naru's British, she's going back to Europe. Madoka leaned forward, taking her teacup into her hands and drinking. True, she'd been here every day and meeting everyone. Today, however, it was just me. Even Lin and Naru were out eating lunch.

Since I've got Madoka all to myself, this is the perfect chance for me to fish for some info!

I hoped that giggle wasn't nearly as conniving as I thought it was.

Scooting closer to Madoka, I gave my best 'I'm an innocent girl, not trying to figure stuff out about my boss, don't mind me' act. "So uh, tell me…"

"Yeah?" Madoka asked.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about Naru's folks?" Smooth Mai. Really.

Madoka set her cup down and smiled at me. "Conducting a background check?"

Well, I have his name, but computer monitors and I do not tend to agree with one another, and you're his teacher who sent him to expose a fake him so obviously you know he's Oliver Davis.

So, yes.

"No, ha, don't be silly!" I said.

I figured she probably wouldn't care for my actual answer.

Madoka laughed lightly. "His father is a parapsychological researcher."

Wow, two generations of ghost hunters?

"You see," Madoka's tone got more troubled and heavy. "Naru doesn't normally talk about himself unless he's asked. He's not trying to keep his life a secret or anything, but I guess you could say he's just going through a bit of a… situation right now."

That… puts it lightly, if you're referring to whole searching-for-my-dead-twin thing.

"Really?" I said. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't allow myself to break my promise with Gene about keeping it hush-hush.

"Wanna know?" Madoka said, her tone lighter. I perked up. Gene didn't say anything about being told his brother's secrets! Madoka beckoned me closer, and I scooted close so she could whisper in my ear. "Promise not to tell anyone, but Naru and Lin? Have eloped!"

Huh?! I might have fell back a tad in surprise.

Madoka started laughing. "Wouldn't that be hilarious?!" She kept laughing as I gathered myself.

I trusted you! Shouldn't have trusted that tone!

I took a moment before facing her again. "It sure would," I said, "but you are joking right? I mean, Naru and Masako are together."

"Wait, is that true?" Madoka said, her giggles clearing out.

"Well, he was holding her comb," I said.

"So that's why you've been so glum," Madoka said, a slight laugh coming back up. "Don't worry about it. He may not show it, but Naru is a very caring person when it comes to friends. He's by no means a social butterfly but he's not a robot either."

I smiled. So, there's no special meaning to it after all.

"And besides, when I said he was worried about her, I was referring to you. He had your diary, if you can recall," Madoka said.

I groaned. "Don't remind me. He's admitted to sucking at kanji so he can't even read the damn thing… but still!"

Oh, wait… he can't read it… My diary, and Masako's comb…. Psychometry! He was keeping tabs on us. To make sure Masako didn't run off and that I wasn't…

Oh, hey, wait, he was keeping tags on us.

Naru!

I decided to let it go for now. He wasn't even here anyway.

"So, no special meanings?" I said.

"Probably not."

Say what now.

"Say, why don't I take you to lunch?" Madoka changed the subject completely.

… Okay, your pranks are forgiven. But… "What about the office?" I asked.

"It's my treat."

"Accepted."

BLIND

Ha…. Ha….. I'll try not to be so late next time. *cries*

So some news on my next case. It isn't the next case of the anime. Instead, it's purely my own! I've greatly revised it since I first thought it up, so I'm a little excited. The original might have involved a bit more direct trickery, but it didn't fit the Ghost Hunt…. Um, tone? Quite as well. But as I love to do in these Author Notes, I'll ask you guys questions. What's your favorite place for the SPR team to investigate? Do you prefer stories with them at schools, houses, museums, hotels, restaurants, camps, ranches/farms, etc? I'll give you a hint on the one the next case will be: the location is listed in the above mini list. Also, what sorts of cases do you guys tend to prefer? Ones where it is supernatural, ones where the culprit is human, ones where the whole thing is either a misunderstanding or just the land/building itself being weird, or ones when a human gets supernatural forces involved. Of course, cases where it's a ghost are generally the most common… Also, do you guys like horses?

Anyway, fun fact—Naru is more than picky about his cases. In just about every single one, a child or teen is somehow involved. Mai's school? A little girl was found murdered in the school building, plus the kids killed by the bulldozer. Dollhouse? Ayumi. The case with Kasai? School building filled with teens. (The park case was technically a favor, so it breaks the mold, since Naru's hands were tied on taking it. But it can be argued that it was bothering teen couples at the park.) Silent Christmas was also a personal favor of sorts, but John didn't force them and there were lots and lots of kids involved. Yasu's school? More teens. Plus, it was a fairly huge case, almost infamous at the time SPR took it up, so naturally even Naru's scientist self would want to at least check it out. Bloodstained Labyrinth, aka this case we just wrapped up, was forced by Madoka and technically just to check out fake Oliver Davis. However, there was also the missing teen to consider into it, and might have been part of the reason Naru ultimately allowed Madoka to force him there. The next canon case, The Cursed House, involves children. After that they find Gene, and then take the schoolhouse case nearby. A bunch of dead kids, yes, but still kids, along with lots of disappearances. Naru somewhat breaks the mold with the current Akumu No Sumu Ie case, but there could be lots of reasons for that. Like, maybe he wants to get into things, maybe he wants to challenge Hirota, etc etc. Just things to think about, if you're a Ghost Hunt writer and are trying to get Naru on a case but don't see how or why Naru would take it without it being out of character.

In other news, I pick apart characters maybe just a tad too much.

(I also feel like this episode is too often forgotten when people write Naru's character. I'm sure I've screwed up too, no one's perfect, but still. We need to remember that Naru is just hilariously awkward at times.)

*1 Hopefully, the only star I'll need (who am I kidding there'll probably be more) since I plan to more thoroughly integrate the novel and manga in and not point it out as much. Anyway , so I don't actually know what Naru says before 'Demon'. It sounds like 'Him' but… ah, long story short, it didn't feel right to put that in. It also sounds like 'Em'. So I went with the novel's idea of 'fiend' (in the manga, it's 'phantom'). Since it's so close, I also mention that when prompted about ways to exorcise a monster, the other three had responses in the other two mediums, but I preferred the 'silence as an answer' approach. It gives it a more somber air, I think.

*2 Oh, would you look at that. Another one. This is because I felt I needed to point out that there had to be some slight dialogue changes. As Mai is a bit more level headed in this fic (sometimes I fear I make Mai a bit of a Mary Sue, because she's smarter and less hot headed in this fic and those tend to be her more major faults—I'll be sure to try to level her out later on) and thus kept quiet on Naru's little spoon-bending trick, the statement about keeping things quiet doesn't quite go to Mai, as well as her not immediately calling out Naru as the actual SPR CEO. Also there's like three different responses Naru has for Mai doing so, and the manga's is most interesting. He looks really shocked, about to yell actually. I think he forgot that Mai had no idea who he actually was and thought it was all going to go tumbling down. But what do I know?

*3 This is, of course, different than how it happened in the other three mediums. However, it's closer to the primary source, aka the novel. Because they really do chase down Masako as she runs off to… I don't know, hate Mai and grow mushrooms. Or prove herself or something. But they lose her when she goes up a staircase that splits into two and Mai is accompanied by Ayako, Monk, and John in her chase. I considered Ayako getting kidnapped instead, but she is the oldest of the girls and I wanted to make Masako still be the one to run off, and Ayako made a bunch of charms for the bedrooms (if you recall, no words are written in blood in the bedroom during the… Jealousy? Scene) and was farther from the hidden center, therefore she was actually the least likely girl to be taken (other than Madoka Mori). Maybe I'll make a short little spinoff of that scenario someday, but for now, this is how this is going. This also means that Mai's astral projection ability is not going to show up for a little while yet. Actually, it'd get in the way of the next case ha HA. I'll be sure to have a scene or so showing Mai's talents off at some point, as I actually really like the scene where Masako gives Mai her key back, and I was sad that it had to be cut… for now.

*4 Vajra, they're really interesting actually, but the main thing is that this is the weapon that Monk uses, that little… um, I feel like calling it a stick would be rude. It's the thing he holds when he's chanting that's pointed on both sides. Buddhist, naturally.

*5 Heh, this is a direct quote from the book. So, citation. Oh, and while I'm here, in the novel and manga Madoka and Yasu actually discover more stuff about Urado taking victims from the hospital. I couldn't find a right place to fit it in, as I made it a faster pace sort of thing. It's briefly touched on in earlier chapters, with the money, so I feel like it's okay to leave it out.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, FRIENDS!