A/n: I'm back. Sorry for the delay. Computer issues so I'm working on a tablet. Since the last version of the story was wrote on an iPhone it's not stopping me but it is making some of the formatting a little less than fun so I will come through a little bit later and flush out the formatting at the top of this chapter. For trigger warnings for this chapter I would say death of a minor. As always not my sandbox just my Sandcastle.

"Mai, why is there a goldfish in that water glass?" Yasu asked, settling down on the couch in front of her desk.

"Naru won it at the festival." Mai said introspectively as she stared at the fish, chin on her desk. She'd wasted no time changing once they had gotten back, and she was the first one back in the main room

"Naru's a fish dad?" Yasu asked with a grin.

"He specifically requested not to be called that." Mai said with a sigh, thoughts returning to Ren.

What on earth had she been thinking letting Naru lie for her like that? It was completely unlike her.

"Ok, so what I'm hearing is, while the rest of us were working, you and Naru were on a date." Ayako accused with a smirk as she entered the room.

Mai slumped down further on her desk. "It-was-not-a-date." She mumbled the words into her crossed arms.

"Did he buy you food?" Ayako asked.

"Hmmm."

"And he won you a fish?" Yasu added helpfully.

"Maybe."

"Is he the one who bought you the kanzashi you were wearing when we left the festival?" Masako said the words with a sly smile.

Mai looked over at Yasu. "Aren't there laws against self-incrimination?"

"I'd advise you to remain silent." He said with a smirk.

Mai was just glad they didn't know about Ren and Naru's conversation. She would never hear the end of it.

"Hey, so is it just me, or is John looking a little better?" Ayako asked, crossing her legs as she sank into one of the arm chairs.

Mai nodded. She had thought so herself. "Naru gave him an advance and insisted he used it to get a small apartment. Having a regular place to sleep and shower seems to be helping a lot." She said quietly, watching to make sure the guys didn't walk out in the middle of their conversation.

"Well, that's something, I suppose." Ayako said, a sad look coming over her face.

"Yasu, what information have you found out?" Naru strode out, once again in his normal black attire.

Yasu straightened, organizing his notes as the other men filed in behind Naru.

Mai leaned forward and watched as Yasu laid out several copies of what appeared to be news paper articles.

"This festival has been going on for a long time. Pretty much as long as there have been people in the area. It's mostly focused on the spring and the water gods they believed lived there."

Yasu pushed his glassed up his nose. "I started six years out, and went back another forty years. These are all the deaths I could locate where either the death occurred, the body was found, or the girl lived near the park."

Mai and Masako leaned forwards, examining the photos. Some of the copies were pretty grainy, but eventually, both girls shook their heads. "I don't recognize any of these girls." Masako said.

Mai agreed. "I'm sorry, Yasu, I just don't see her."

Naru leaned back thoughtfully. "Yasu, were there years that prior papers weren't available for?"

Yasu frowned. "No, coverage was actually pretty good. Further back than forty years, there were less photos, of course."

Bou-san leaned forward, looking over Yasu's other notes. "Are these girls there weren't any pictures of?"

"Yes, and those whom I was unsure whether they fit the criteria, but included just in case."

"They're just names, however. Unless one of them stands out to the girls, they don't do us much good." Ayako murmured.

"What about a visitor?" John offered. "Someone visiting the area when they died? Is it possible a death might be listed in their local paper and not this one?"

"Unlikely, but not impossible. An accident would normally generate a report where it happened. But if a younger girl were visiting relatives, for instance, and died of illness, would that be reported here or in their home town?" Naru looked at yasu, who frowned as he mentally reviewed his afternoon's labors.

"That could be possible. There were many more news clippings about accidents or murders than illness in general. If the death was not unexpected, it might not have made the news." He agreed.

"Are there any hospitals nearby that might be the source?" Ayako looked up, questioning.

Lin looked up from his computer. "No. We checked that prior to sending Yasu out. The closest hospital is several miles away. It would be extremely unlikely for a a ghost to wander that far on a schedule the way this one is."

There was a round of silence as the group sat back as one. Mai rubbed her eyes tiredly. She needed to sleep, in more than one way, it seemed.

She kicked her geta in the dirt in irritation.

Her father promised he'd come. The festival was nearly over. Tomorrow was the last night and already, most of the stalls had closed for the evening.

She was never going to forgive him if he didn't show up!

Where was he?

She'd gotten dressed up all on her own. She was pretty sure her obi was tied wrong, but her dad wouldn't care about that.

If he ever showed up.

She'd been looking forwards to this for weeks. They were going to scoop for goldfish, and get shaved ice, and watch the fireworks.

Except the fireworks were already over.

She sighed. She knew her father was busy with work. She knew he missed her mom. But that didn't mean he could avoid coming home all the time.

It wasn't fair!

Footsteps echoed to her right, and her head jerked up.

"Dad?"

The figure was in the shadows, but as she came closer, she realized it wasn't her father but a police officer.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" The voice was gruff and annoyed.

Crap, she was out past curfew!"

She shot to her feet, bolting off of the bench. She'd forgotten about her geta, though. She cried out as her ankle twisted and she misstepped. Pinwheeling to try and keep her balance, she overshot and fell towards the bench. Her eyes widened in surprise as the stone rushed towards her.

And then the world faded to black.

Naru frowned as he re-read her notes.

"Was this dream in first person?" He asked, looking over at her.

"What do you mean?" She said, fighting down her anxiety. Her nerves had been riding her since she had woke up from her dream that morning.

"You weren't watching the events, or talking to the spirit, You were actually experiencing it?"

Her eyes widened in understanding. "Yeah, that'r right. That happens sometimes."

"How often?" Lin asked, surprising her with the question. She thought she saw Lin and Naru share a loaded look.

She bit her lip in thought. "Well, it mostly depends on the spirit. The closer they are to me, either gender, age, or some other similarity, the more likely I am to see things from their point of view. Or if the victim was really young, or if the death happened a long time ago."

"That would make sense. The older a spirit is, the fainter their grasp on reality. Their memories become condensed until they are lost in a cycle of their moment of death. And very young children lack the situational awareness to have memories that you could view in third person." Masako added.

Naru frowned in thought.

"What other types of similarities?" Naru asked.

Similar life experiences, she thought, meeting John's eyes. She fought down her nausea.

"I don't know, Naru. Theres a lot of factors. And some spirits are outliers anyway."

She didn't want to talk about her abilities any more.

"So, it was definitely a cop?" Yasu asked with a frown.

Mai nodded. She could feel her heart rate begin to speed.

"Could you tell when it was by the uniform he was wearing?" Naru asked.

She shook her head immediately. "It was too dark."

She sat on her hands to hide their shaking. She couldn't decide if the room was too hot or too cold, but a bead of sweat was drifting down her back, forcing her to repress a squirm.

"If we got pictures of some of the uniform styles over the past years, would that help-"

"Excuse me." Mai bolted from the room, down the short hall to the restroom. Locking the door behind herself, she barely made it to the stool before she threw up.

Afterwards, she looked at her pale face in the mirror.

'And you're sure it was a police officer?'

"Mai, are you okay?" Yasu's voice was concerned, even muffled by the wood of the bathroom door.

"Yeah, I just got too hot for a moment, I'll be right out." Somehow her voice only shook a little.

'And you're sure it was a police officer?'

"Lock it down, Mai." She commanded her reflection in a whisper.

She wasn't there anymore.

She opened the door warily, expecting a swarm of questions, but only John waited, leaning against the wall. He silently handed her a bottle of water. She took it gratefully, taking a moment to try and calm her nerves.

"You could just tell them, Mai." He said quietly.

She chuckled bitterly. "Tell them what? Nothing happened."

"Mai…"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, John."

Because the cruel thing was, she really couldn't.

Naru looked at Masako questioningly. "Does this happen often?"

Masako shrugged delicately. "Mai's abilities have always been unpredictable. She has a much better grasp on them now. But I would assume that a first person dream would be more unpleasant. I've had possessions that left me feeling physically ill for days."

She looked worriedly down the hall. "This does seem extreme, even for her, however."

Mai walked back in the room. "So, I had a thought."

"Are you alright?" Masako was the one asking, but she could feel Naru's eyes on her.

She brushed off their concern with a wave of her hand.

"So, she's waiting for her dad. He doesn't show. But a cop does. He's not intending her to die, but she does. But there's no report of her death, and deaths involving police and minors would make the news."

"What are you thinking?" Naru asked.

"I think we need to search missing people. I think he hid her body. I just don't know why."

Mai pushed the stack of newspapers away from her tiredly. "Wouldn't we have more luck at the police station?"

Since the police station was her own personal version of hell it was a measure of how tired she was that she was even suggesting it.

"They wouldn't release that info to us, in all likelihood." Yasu replied absent mindedly.

She had been sent to the library with Yasu, supposedly to help speed up the identification process. The others were at the festival.

She had the feeling Naru was attempting to be considerate, but she just felt like a boat left in dry dock. She did not love research….

"Yasu, what about community watch meetings?" She said, remembering the time her mother had reluctantly hosted one such meeting.

"They are public meetings. The minutes would be available if we knew the right neighborhood. And they'd certainly be looking for a missing child. If they had helped search, or made flyers, it would all be recorded in their minutes. That's a great idea, actually." Yasu looked excited.

Mai smiled grimly. "Okay, but how many community watches do you think exist near the park?"

His smile faded. "Well, now I'm glad there are two of us."

"Great."

"Tsubabki Shiina" Mai said, turning the name over in her mouth. "Is there a photo?"

Yasu shook his head. "We'd probably need to go to her middleschool to double check. But her home address is certainly close enough that she could have walked to the festival."

"But she's listed as a runaway?" Mai frowned... Then her eyes widened.

A business card had been included in the report.

Officer Masahiro Irie.

"That bastard." She whispered with numb lips.

Again, the last moments of her dream flashed before her eyes. She could see it now, that part that had been blurred by her own anxiety.

"Srgt. Irie".

"He took the missing report. He volunteered his time to help the community watch group. And he knew she was dead the whole time." She whispered, closing her eyes.

Tsubaki.

Mai looked around warily. The promenade was empty, the lanterns swaying gently in the breeze. It was Masako's last night to be available to help with the case. They still didn't have much to go on, no body or date of death. But Masako had thought it was worth a shot to try and summon Tsubaki's spirit. They needed to at least try and purify her spirit before they tried more extreme measures.

"Are you okay?" John whispered to Mai. She shrugged half heartedly.

Tsubaki had waited for someone who had never come, and ultilately it had killed her.

Technically, Sergeant Irie hadn't hurt her. He'd merely hid her death. Her panic, the timing, even her father's absence could all be considered equally to blame.

The problem with waiting for someone to show up is that sometimes, often, they didn't.

Ayako wondered over, already in her priestess robes. Boy-san had changed as well, though Ayako would be leading this particular ceremony, since the park was full of old, beautiful trees.

"Alright, I'm ready." She announced.

Mai and the others backed up as Ayako took her position in front of the bench from Mai's dream.

SInce it was situated right next to a tree, it seemed like the best place to try.

Ayako had had warned them that though the trees in the park were healthier than most in the city, it was possible the exorcism would still fail. WIthout knowing the location of the girl's body, and with no last rites of any sort ever being performed for Tsubabki, it was possible Tsubaki would not feel the normal "pull" to come forth and be cleansed.

But Monk's exorcism would be a more painful experience for Tsubaki, and with John no longer acting as a priest, Ayako was their best hope for a peaceful transition.

"Give her some space." Bou-san said, watching Ayako's every move intently. He seemed a little amped up, perhaps because of what had happened on their prior case.

Mai paused where she had been walking forward with Masako. As the ones most likely to be able to see the spirit, they had intended to kneel behind Ayako and assist.

Masako could have done it alone, of course, but she felt better when Mai was with her.

She and Masako glanced from Bou-san to Naru, waiting. Naru nodded once, and John quickly ushered the girls back towards the others.

Mai found herself sandwiched between John and Naru while Yasu stood behind Masako. Taking a deep breath, Ayako began her chant-

"I humbly ask your aid.

Descend upon this unholy place and make it pure.

Exorcise this demon as you have so many before…..

Mai gasped as almost immediately, the temperature plummeted. More than that though, it felt like some sort of pressure was building, like a storm was incoming. Her ears began to ring, and she saw Masako covering her own ears.

John, Lin and Bou-san also looked rather uncomfortable, though Bou-san looked more like he was going to dash forward at any moment and intercede.

Ayako ignored it all however, continuing her chant as her hair danced in the breeze. The tree branches were whipping all around them now, like they were at the center of a small hurrincane.

The ringing in Mai's ear's became a high pitched whine, and Mai gasped as she held her own hands to her ears.

Warmth covered her hands and she realized she had closed her eyes. She opened them to see John's worried face as he looked back and forth between her face and Ayako. He had covered her hands with his own, and for some reason it helped much more.

"What's happening?" She yelled.

"It feels like the exorcism is failing. I've never felt pressure this extreme!" He yelled back.

Naru's head was turning this way and that, trying to watch his team all at once. "Does anyone see Tsubaki?" He called.

Saying her name was like speaking a curse, because suddenly the pressure increased ten-fold and Mai gasped out a breath she struggled to get back. She found herself on her knees, with John and Masako beside her. John's face was grim and Mai knew it meant the exorcism was going badly, even for Ayako.

"This feels like some kind of power struggle!" Lin shouted.

Ayako was swaying now, sweat beading on her forehead.

"This ends now!" Bou-san was shouting as he ran to the miko.

He touched her shoulder and it was like the power building suddenly snapped. Air returned to Mai's lungs so fast she was seeing sparks flash at the edges of her vision.

"Mai, are you okay?" John was close enough for her to see he hadn't shaved yet today.

That was weird. He'd always be so clean-cut…..

"Mai, look at me."

A new voice.

Naru.

"Naru." The words felt strange. Her head felt fuzzy. "Is...Ayako ok?"

If she felt this bad, Ayako must feel awful. It was a testament to the doctor's stubbornness. It wasn't surprising, since she'd heard Ayako had once assisted in a twelve hour surgery with only one break.

"Houshou has her. Can you tell me what happened?" That was good, bou-san would make sure Ayako was okay whether or not the redhead wanted it.

"Mai-"

"Pressure. A lot of pressure. It was hard to breathe." She said, looking from here to Masako, who nodded her agreement.

"Made my ears hurt." She added.

"I gathered." Naru said, glancing between her and John.

"I said I was fine, you stupid monk!" Ayako said angrily.

"Yeah, I totally got that from your complete failure of an exorcism." Monk snapped back, still invading her space.

"Hmmph." Ayako sniffed in disdain. "It wasn't my fault. There isn't much I can do, even with the help of the trees once gods get involved."

"Gods?" A chorus of voices repeated.

"Water gods." Ayako said, tilting her chin towards the small shrine out on the lake. "They aren't particularly powerful, but we're right at the edge of their territory. And water gods are different from earth gods, I have no tract with them."

"Are they controlling Tsubaki somehow?" Mai asked.

"I don't think so. I didn't feel Tsubaki at all. I think the presence of the water gods created a power vacuum between the lake and the trees. They canceled each other out. Tsubaki probably never even felt the call to come forth." Masako said.

Bou-san frowned. "If it's merely a matter of the water gods being mad about us being on their turf, I could try to exorcise the water gods first?"

"No!" Both Ayako and Lin said the words adamantly.

"This is the water gods home. We have no right to interfere. They don't normally cause issues, and they've protected this spring for centuries." Ayako said hotly, glaring at the monk.

"Ayako is right." Lin said. "We risk disrupting the balance of the spiritual ecosystem of the park, so to speak."

"Then what do we do?" Yasu asked, looking at Masako worriedly.

Naru said nothing for a moment, staring in the distance towards the water shrine. "We'll have to go about it a different way then.

*******stinger**************************************************************************************

Noll picked up the phone, checking the clock once more to gauge the timing. If he were to accidentally call his mother in the middle of the night in England she was certainly going to panic and think something was wrong.

The call connected and he heard it ring once, twice, before it was picked up at the other end.

"Davis residence."

"It's Noll."

Noll, darling how are you? I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Is everything going all right at the Tokyo office?"

We're in the middle of an investigation, it's dragging a little bit but I have some ideas. How ever, I did have a question for you if you have a moment."

"I suppose I have a little bit of time." Hismother's voice sounded amused.

"Do you still have the ring you had made for Gene when we were kids?"