"Shinra, this is a really bad idea," Kadota said, incredulously staring at the bespectacled man. "We are not professionals."

Shinra huffed and slumped. "Oh, come on~ it's a great idea! Think about it! We'd be starting our own business!" Shinra looked at them hopefully. "We solved the mystery building, didn't we? And we didn't even try."

Izaya snorted and flicked Shinra on the forehead. "That's because I did most of the work."

Shinra laughed nervously. "I guess that's true. All the more reason why we should do it, and you can be in charge since-"

Shizuo flinched. "No way! Not a chance in hell is he in charge of anything I do!"

Izaya rolled his eyes. "I don't even want to be in charge, so shut the hell up."

Shizuo clenched his fists and huffed, leaning against the wall to keep his distance. "God damn flea," he muttered.

Kadota sighed. "Look, it's not just about who's in charge or how we "cleansed" that building on our own. Need I remind you both how dangerous that experience was? Izaya, you almost di-" Izaya quickly reached over and covered Kadota's mouth, giving him a stern frown. He glanced over at Shizuo, whose eyes were suddenly glued to him. Izaya uncovered Kadota's mouth. "Anyway, despite that, who the hell is going to take a bunch of sixteen-year old's seriously?"

Shinra grinned widely. "The girl who came to me directly and asked for help."

All three blinked at him. "What?"

Shinra nodded eagerly. "It's true! I already got us our first case!"

Izaya was about to retort and grab Shinra's shirt, but Shizuo beat him to it. The blond was on Shinra so fast with a protest of his own. "You mean to tell me that you agreed already! You didn't think of talking to us before that!" Shinra stared nervously at his angry friend. "Well!" Shizuo shook him.

Izaya wrapped his fingers around Shizuo's wrist. "Before I actually let you pummel Shinra to a pulp," he started to grin as he watched Shinra pale considerably. "Shinra, we are not equipped to properly deal with the supernatural elements of ghosts and spirits. I don't think anyone will believe us when I tell them that I can see them." Shinra gasped and looked back at Shizuo. "Relax, Shinra. Shizu-chan knows. I told him."

"Tsk. Yeah, I know about Izaya's gift." Shizuo glared at the raven. "And will you stop calling me that?"

Izaya grinned and shrugged. "Yeah yeah." Shizuo growled and put Shinra down, his anger now directed elsewhere. He made a grab for Izaya, but the raven dodged it easily. "Regardless, someone who comes seeking help from a potential ghost hunter expects professional evidence, a visual display of what's going on. We have neither the resources, nor any equipment. We don't even have a night model camera. All we have is our word, and what if there are no spirits to see?"

"We won't know until we try," Shinra whined again.

Kadota frowned in thought for a moment, a finger to his chin, then he clicked his fingers. "We haven't used any of that funding Shinra talked about yet. How much have we got? We could use that to buy some equipment."

Izaya's eyes lit up for a second, and he clapped a hand on Kadota's shoulder. "Perfect! And I thought I was the only brains here." He chuckled when another whine came from Shinra and a loud growl from Shizuo.

Kadota brushed it off, too used to Izaya's teasing nature. "Gee, thanks. So, Shinra, what do we have to work with?"

Shinra bit his lip and scratched his head, avoiding Izaya and Kadota's stare. "You see, the thing is with that, we - we sort of - don't – have – any."

Izaya frowned and grabbed Shinra's shirt. "What?"

Shinra grinned sheepishly. "Did I not mention that?"

"I thought you said we had funding," Izaya hissed.

Shinra closed his mouth for a second but continued to grin, though he was slightly nervous now. "We did. That wasn't a lie."

Kadota pulled Izaya off him. "Then what happened to it?"

Shinra gulped and said, "That's the other reason why I was able to get Shizuo to stay. The funding was taken away to pay for the damages of the classroom."

Izaya stilled and glared over at Shizuo, who immediately became defensive. "It's your own damn fault, flea!"

"You're the one who caused the damage!"

"Yeah, well, you were the one that - didn't say anything-" Shizuo huffed, not really wasn't sure where he was going with this argument, and folded his arms before glancing away. "Just shut up."

"Well, Shizu-chan, once again your protozoan brain is absolutely useless."

Shizuo blinked over at him, looking slightly confused. "My what now?"

Izaya sighed and rolled his eyes. "Never mind."

Shizuo glared. "Don't fucking insult me with words I don't even understand, flea!"

Izaya laughed. "If you don't understand the word, how do you know it's an insult?"

Shizuo growled at him. "I'm pretty sure a compliment isn't followed by the word useless."

Izaya smiled. "What if it meant over stimulated brain? That might be seen as a compliment, no? Your intelligence wouldn't be very useful for something so simple like an argument. For example, Shinra is smart, and he sucks at arguments."

Shizuo frowned. He was even more confused, but he couldn't hear any teasing in Izaya's voice. "Oh." Shizuo shrugged a little. "Well, thanks, I think." Izaya tried incredibly hard not to laugh his ass off, especially when Kadota and Shinra shook their heads at him.

"Anyway," Izaya continued, "Shinra your plan is ridiculous, so tell whoever the hell approached you that we're not solving her spooky problems."

"But - but…"

Izaya frowned at him, trying to be annoyed. "No."

"But," Shinra lay his head on Izaya's shoulder. "Pleeeease."

Izaya shoved him off. "No."

Shinra nuzzled his shoulder and whimpered, though nobody could see his slightly blushing cheeks. "Please please please."

"What are you a puppy?" Shinra whimpered again, trying his best impression of a puppy dog look. "You know I prefer cats, right?" Izaya chuckled a little when Shinra started to purr, but it really sounded more like he was choking. Izaya pushed him off. "All right! We'll think of something." Shinra jumped up in excitement. Izaya shook his head and announced he'd be back as he made for the exit.

Shinra blanched, fell against the couch, and screamed into a pillow. Shizuo and Kadota looked at him, and he peeked over the top, a full blush on his face. "The hell did I just do?"

Kadota almost grinned and walked around the back of the couch. "Well, I think you nuzzled Izaya's shoulder and basically acted like his pet."

Shinra covered his face. "Why~"

Shizuo leaned against the side of the couch, talking to his friends about Shinra's little embarrassment, but his mind focused on something else. "I don't know what the hell you see in the flea, and I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure no one flirts like that."

Shinra blushed more. "I wasn't flirting!"

Kadota chuckled. Shizuo just grinned and stepped away from the couch. "By the way, what the hell does protozoan actually mean?"

Kadota wondered whether he should tell him, but he couldn't let the blond carry on thinking it was a good thing whenever Izaya called him that. He opened his mouth to reply, but Shinra beat him to it.

"It's a single celled microscopic animal." Then he went on to tell Shizuo why it was an insult.

Kadota looked at him and sighed. Goddammit.

Shizuo closed his eyes in frustration, a vein visible on his forehead. He growled out and then - "Izayaaaaa!" and Shizuo ran out of the room to catch up with the absent raven.

Kadota looked at Shinra. "Really?"

Shinra chuckled. "Shizuo won't hurt him that much."

Kadota cringed. "This isn't your creepy way of thinking that if Izaya is bruised up that you'll get to look after him or something, is it?"

Shinra blushed a deep shade of red. "No!"

Kadota sighed and sat on the couch. "Just checking."

"I don't have a crush on Izaya."

"Ah huh."

"I don't!"

"Right, because why else would you be blushing right now."

Shinra screamed into the pillow again.

…

Shizuo rolled his eyes at the raven beside him. Their desks were pushed together for a test in their art class since the two apparently had similar ideas. "It was hours ago, so stop complaining," he said after a few seconds. "I didn't hit you that hard."

Izaya glared at him once again, rubbing his sore shoulder. "You hit me with a trash can!" he hissed loudly. "If I hadn't dodged, that would have been my head."

Shizuo almost chuckled. "Don't be so dramatic. I might be a little more aggressive-"

"A little? Who throws trash cans at people!"

"Let me finish! I might be more aggressive, but I've got a pretty good aim."

Izaya snorted and sat back in his chair. "You've got a poor aim if you really were aiming for my head."

Shizuo laughed. "I wasn't aiming for your head, Izaya. Didn't I already say I don't want to kill you, just beat the shit out of you sometimes?"

Izaya frowned at him. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Shut up already, it's your fault."

"It's not my fault you're dense."

Shizuo glared at him, clutching his pencil. "Want me to jam this pencil in your hand?"

Izaya grinned at him. "Now what would be more effective? My switchblade, or your stupid pencil, which by the way, isn't even sharpened."

Shizuo grinned back. "Lead poisoning."

"Blood poisoning."

"I could break a bone."

"So could I."

The two glared at each other for several more seconds, neither of them moving. "I hate you."

Izaya feigned a hurtful expression. "I thought we were getting along so well."

Shizuo bared his teeth and kicked him in the shin.

"Ow!"

Shizuo grinned. "My foot slipped."

A sudden hand came down on the desk and startled them both. "Will you both stop bickering and actually get some work done. I placed you both together because of your intelligence."

Izaya suddenly burst out laughing. "Ha ha! He's not intelligent at all. Shizu-chan, what's abstract?"

Shizuo glared at him. "It uses a visual language of shape, form, colour and line to create a composition! There!"

The teacher shook her head with an annoyed sigh. "Thank you, Shizuo. Now, stop this pointless taunting and do the work." The teacher left them alone.

Izaya smirked at him. "You read that off the wall."

"Shut up!"

…..

When the school day ended, the four friends were back in their classroom, trying to think of a good explanation for their skills. Although Shizuo was more interested in trying to kill Izaya with his glare. "Here's a thought," Shinra said, getting their attention. "We've got to come up with a title that describes us. That will be our starting point."

Kadota tilted his head. "For example?"

Shinra leaned forward on the couch. "Izaya is our spiritualist, our ghost whisperer if you will, since he's the one with the psychic abilities."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "What exactly am I supposed to do to prove that?"

Shinra grinned. "Solve the case?"

Izaya gave him a blank annoyed look. "Great advice."

Shinra nodded, ignoring Izaya's sarcasm because he wasn't lying. Izaya was the likeliest to deal with any paranormal activity they'd find, his other ability notwithstanding. Shinra was almost sure the raven hadn't mentioned that to Shizuo. "Not to sound arrogant here, but aside from Izaya, I'm the only one here who has a good selection of knowledge on the paranormal and spirits. I'll be the key speaker of the group if that's alright?"

Kadota shrugged. "Fine."

Shinra looked at Shizuo, and the blond shoved his hands in his pockets. "As long as the flea isn't in charge, I don't care."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "Well, I agree that your knowledge on the subjects are vast. But - I also need you to trust mine."

Shinra looked over at him and smiled. "Of course, if you see a spirit or sense anything disturbing, I'll believe you."

Izaya shuffled his feet slightly, not quite sure why the feeling of insecurity came over him suddenly. He shook it off and grinned. "Dota-chin is the muscle, obviously."

Kadota glared at him. "Really?"

Izaya nodded and jumped on his back with a laugh. "Dota-chin is strong!" Shizuo snorted, almost looking at the scene with annoyance. Izaya heard him grunt, got the wrong idea, jumped over, and poked him in the chest. "Naw! Shizu-chan is stronger! Don't be jealous!"

Shizuo growled and batted his hand away. "Shut up, flea! That wasn't what I was - just shut up, you're so damn annoying."

Izaya chuckled and tilted his head. "Shizu-chan is strong, but you've got a more profound ability, ne?"

Shizuo glared at him. "Keep your mouth shut."

Izaya shoved his hands in his pockets and seemed to grow serious for a moment. To the others' surprise, Izaya dragged him out of the room, and Shizuo had no choice but to let him. Once they were in the corridor, Izaya lowered his voice. "It wouldn't hurt to tell them" Shizuo clenched his fists. "You must have learned a few incantations growing up. Your strength might help the force of it. I'm not entirely sure how it all works, but maybe you having that strength is a sign of how good you can be. It would certainly mean putting it to good use, and isn't that what you want?"

Shizuo blinked. Izaya confused the hell out of him sometimes. Shizuo swallowed and growled low in his throat. "I'm far from being that kind of person. I doubt I have any real skill in that area."

"Have you ever tried?"

Shizuo looked away from him for a moment. "Yes."

Izaya blinked in surprise, not expecting that answer. "On what, a ghost or some sort of spirit?"

Shizuo shook his head, still avoiding Izaya's gaze. "Myself."

Izaya sighed and leaned against the wall. "Shizu-chan… you're not-"

Shizuo frowned slightly and looked up. "I know that now. Just, back then."

Izaya looked at him, pushed away from the wall, and placed his hand on Shizuo's arm for a second. Shizuo was almost touched by the simplicity of that gesture. "Whatever the reasons we hate each other, it doesn't count because there's something we both know that's equally true."

Shizuo stared at him blankly, having no idea what Izaya was talking about. "Huh?"

Izaya smiled and shrugged. "To put it simply enough, you're not a demon. Even if you could do that kind of exorcism on yourself, it wouldn't have worked anyway, so how do you know it won't work if you haven't tried it on the real thing?"

Shizuo sighed and nodded. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Izaya smirked a little. "Of course I am." He headed back inside, and Shizuo grabbed his arm.

"Izaya-"

"You don't need to tell them the whole story. All they need to know is that you came from a shrine and that your parents were priests. The explanation will be enough."

Shizuo released him and watched him disappear into the room. He growled and clenched his fists. That damn flea - always confusing me. God, I hate him. Shizuo soon followed after him, and Izaya clapped his hands, that annoying grin back on his face.

"Well, it's decided!" Izaya said with glee. "Shizu-chan is our acting priest!"

Wait, what? Shizuo narrowed his eyes. "Izaya! I'm not-!" Izaya turned to him with a grin. "You son of a bitch."

Shinra and Kadota blinked at him in confusion. "Shizuo?" Shinra questioned.

Shizuo sighed. Izaya was right. "I come from a shrine. My parents are priests. I grew up with some knowledge, and it might help us out, I guess. But I don't know if I have any real skill. I haven't performed any rituals or exorcisms or anything like that."

Shinra's eyes seemed to light up in excitement. "That's perfect! Wow, Shizuo! I had no idea. I mean I would have never thought-"

Shizuo growled. "All right! I get it, just shut up."

Kadota smiled and clapped a hand over Shizuo's shoulder. "That's pretty cool."

Shizuo shrugged. "Not a big deal."

Kadota looked over at Izaya, and the raven turned when he felt eyes on him. Izaya shrugged with a grin and sat behind the desk. "Now that we actually have our abilities worked out, we should come up with a reasonable price."

Kadota and Shizuo looked at him, and Izaya knew they didn't agree. "We're charging people?" Shizuo asked in surprise.

Izaya clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back on the chair. "That is what a business does, no?"

Kadota sat on the couch. "I thought we were just gonna help people. Feels kind of wrong to charge people for something like this."

"It's immoral!" Shizuo shouted.

Izaya frowned and stood up. "Is it immoral to charge people hospital fees when they're sick? Or to pay the cops for helping to solve a crime?"

Shizuo clenched his fists. "No. I mean, I don't think - it's their job."

Izaya tilted his head. "Then what's the problem?" He sat back down. "If we're going to be serious about this, doesn't it make sense for us to get paid? Paramedic's and cops risk their lives doing their jobs, and they have a right to get paid for that. Dota-chin is right, it could be dangerous for us. It is dangerous, so why shouldn't we ask for a fee?"

Shizuo frowned at the floor. "I get it."

"There's also the fact that we have no funding, and this case will determine how good we can be without equipment."

Shinra nodded and said, "It'll be a long process. Whatever we decide to charge will be split between us and professional equipment, and of course, there are taxes…."

Izaya sighed and stood up again. "While taxes aren't debatable here, I think we might be able to agree that whatever money we receive from this case goes toward equipment. We don't need money for ourselves just yet." Izaya glanced at Shizuo, wondering if the blond didn't want them to know he lived by himself. Shizuo gave him a slight nod. "We don't know if we even have to pay taxes yet, and if we stick to light cases, we can build up our reputation. If nobody takes us seriously enough, we wouldn't need to register as self-employed."

Kadota and Shizuo seemed to agree, and they felt relieved. "Okay, so if we're really going to do this then can I suggest we don't charge anyone a thing until the case is solved?"

The others seemed to ponder that for a moment, but Izaya didn't seem entirely on board with that suggestion, and he'd be willing to bet Shinra wasn't either. "Not that it doesn't sound like a good idea, but going back to my earlier argument. Doctors and cops get paid whether they cure a patient or solve a crime or not. So, why again, should we try and not get anything?"

Shizuo frowned. "We're trying to build our reputation, aren't we?"

Izaya huffed. "Would you like our reputation to be a pushover? That we're the type of people who are lenient?"

Shizuo glared for a moment longer before finally conceding. "No."

Shinra smiled. "I got it! We calculate the full fee based on the case. We charge say, a ten percent non-refundable deposit. That way, we'll get something for doing our job regardless, and we only accept the rest if the case is solved. How does that sound?"

Izaya nodded with a grin. "That sounds fine." Kadota nodded in agreement, happy with the outcome. Izaya looked at Shizuo. "Does that make your conscience feel better?" Shizuo was well aware of the sarcastic tone in Izaya's voice but nodded anyway. "Good. Tomorrow, we'll have the girl come here and explain what she thinks might be happening and we go from there." The three nodded in agreement. "Once we know what we're dealing with, we can come up with a reasonable fee and act accordingly."

Shinra laughed. "I can't wait! I'm so excited!"

Kadota just chuckled. At first, he thought this was a horrible idea, but now he was pretty excited. He only worried about Shizuo's temper. If Izaya got on his nerves too much, their payments would decrease significantly if they had to pay for property damage.

…

The next day after school.

The four regrouped in their classroom and called for the girl to meet them. Shinra handed her a cup of water and sat opposite her as he took a seat at the table. "Tell us about the problem," he gestured. She wore the standard Raijin uniform for girls and had long brown shoulder-length hair with a slender figure. "It's okay, you know. Don't be nervous."

Shizuo snorted. "You know, telling a person not to be nervous doesn't actually help them."

Kadota leaned back on the wall opposite them. "We'll believe you," he told her. "No need to worry about that."

Izaya stood up from his seat at the desk and walked around to lean against it. "We're simply asking what the problem is. What you think we might be able to do to help. That is why you came here, isn't it?" The three looked at him; did he have to be so blunt?

The girl nodded and seemingly avoided his gaze for a moment. "I just - it's going to sound crazy."

Shinra smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze to reassure her. "It's okay, we're not going to make fun or anything."

The girl nodded and took a deep breath. "My name is Kira Miasaki. I live with my mom and my little sister. Our life hasn't been an easy one. My dad passed away almost a year ago, so financially my mom couldn't provide well for us. We had to move because we just couldn't keep up with the bills."

Shinra's eyes saddened. "I'm sorry."

Kira shook her head, smiling sadly. "It's okay. My sister took it the hardest. She hasn't spoken a word since my dad left us. We took her to a doctor but - with my mom unable to afford much, they couldn't continue. The doctor suggested it's probably a state of shock, or that it might be a mental illness. I think he called it psychogenic mutism. The tragic loss of a parent was likely the cause. She used to be so playful, and now…."

Shizuo felt useless when it came to comforting someone. It made him extremely uncomfortable when girls cried. "Hate to be the one to bring this up, but why come to us? Sounds like you already know what's wrong, and you just can't afford to fix it."

Shinra and Kadota couldn't believe their friend had just said that. They looked at him, and he shifted in his seat on the other chair.

Izaya almost grinned, but he refrained. "Shizu-chan has a point," he said aloud, causing their attention to slide over to him. "I don't know whether Shinra neglected to tell you this on the way over here earlier, but there's a fee we charge for our help if you want it. If your mother can barely support you both, then it stands to reason she won't be able to pay us either."

Shizuo glared at him. "I didn't say that!"

Izaya chuckled a little. "That is what you meant." Izaya looked at the girl and suspected she only came to them because they couldn't afford a professional. "Correct me if I'm wrong, and I sincerely apologize about bringing this up, but I feel no money was inherited when your dad passed away."

Kira tensed, her hands forming into fists in her lap, a few tears falling from her face. "No, my dad never took out any insurance. I remember many times mom kept badgering him about it, but he didn't do it….and a year and a half ago, he was diagnosed with cancer."

Silence filled the room for a moment, and sadness swept over the group when the girl wept quietly. Kadota threw Shinra a box of tissues, and the bespectacled man handed them to her. She smiled and took one gratefully. "We're truly sorry for your loss," Shinra told her softly.

Kira shook her head and tried to compose herself. "It's okay. I've come to cope with it, but my sister…."

Izaya really didn't want to be the only bad guy, but he needed her to understand. "I really need an answer to my question before we go any further."

Shizuo glared at him, and Izaya didn't care that Kadota was. They were all thinking it, so why was he the only one coming off wrong? Was it because he had the guts to voice it? Shinra sighed. "Miasaki, Izaya's right," he said. "I think what he's trying to say is that we don't want to take whatever money we decide to charge from you if things are that bad. Besides, we might not even be able to help you, but we won't know until we try."

Kira looked at him with a solemn expression. "But you said that you don't charge the fee unless you figure out the problem."

Shinra smiled. "I also said that there's a ten percent non-refundable deposit. That's included in the whole fee, but still."

Kira looked down at her feet and understood. "Can I tell you what I know, and if I think the fee is too much, I can decide whether to accept it or not?"

The four shared a glance before equally nodding in agreement. Izaya sighed; it was three against one anyway. Izaya sat next to Shinra and said, "All right, tell us the problem."

Kira nodded, seemingly grateful for their support. "Like I said, my sister hasn't spoken a word since my dad passed. At first mom wasn't all that worried. She thought it was just shock. But it's been almost a year now, and my sister just stares off into space. She can hear us and everything, but there's just no response. She doesn't even smile anymore." Kira wiped away her tears. "I know she needs help, but we just can't afford it right now. Anyway, when we were forced to move out of our home, mom thought it might help her to start a fresh. The memories of our home we lived in might have a negative effect. You see, when there was nothing else the doctors could do for my dad, they allowed him to go home, and he died there. Mom thought the move might help." Shinra nodded. "It seemed to get worse when we moved into our new house a couple weeks ago. Everything was fine, and then…. things started to happen."

Izaya leaned forward. "What kinds of things?"

Kira seemed to tense. "I can hear strange noises at night. Like knocking sounds. The floors creak when no one's walking on them. I told my mom about it, but she didn't believe me. While I was at school, she said the stove lit up by itself while she was cleaning."

"Did it catch fire?" Izaya asked.

Kira shook her head. "No, my mom turned it off right away. I think it freaked her out. After that, things kept happening. Furniture would just relocate itself, or something."

Shizuo and Kadota had been quiet during the conversation, trying to think of helpful suggestions. Shizuo was the first to speak. "Sounds to me like you think your little sister has something to do with all this."

Kira stared over at him in surprise. "I don't really know, is it possible?"

Shinra thought about his next words carefully. "It's possible for a spirit or some kind of supernatural force to take over a human being, but that's normally in cases like vengeful spirits. It would make sense for it to possess your little sister since kids are sometimes easier to control. Maybe it just figured that her mutism was beneficial somehow."

"So then…if she is being possessed then it doesn't have anything to do with her behaviour?"

Izaya replied, "No. Did anything happen in the house you were in before? Your former home?"

Kira shook her head. "Not at all."

Izaya nodded and gave the girl a small smile. "Then I think you might be pleased to know that it has nothing to do with your dad. I just thought I'd clear that up first because I think that was the main reason you brought up his death, wasn't it?"

Kira nodded and smiled. "Yes. It had occurred to me, and I was scared it might be true."

"Understandable. It's not completely impossible, but wasn't untimely or anything that would suggest vengeance."

Kadota frowned. "But there was no insurance. Could that cause a person to stick around after death? Like certain things left unfinished?"

Shinra turned to him and replied, "Maybe, but I don't think it would cause a person to act out violently, especially to his own family."

Kadota nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that makes sense, I guess."

Shizuo glanced at the girl, trying to sound sympathetic when he said, "So, we can rule out the dad at least."

Shinra nodded and turned back to the girl. "You said strange things only happened after you moved, so it could be the house you moved to. Can you tell us anything about it?"

Kira blinked in surprise. She'd been so sure that something was wrong with her sister and felt almost embarrassed. "This might sound strange, given what I've told you, but the house we're currently in is much bigger than our previous one."

Izaya bit back the sarcastic reply and said, "Must have gotten a good deal then."

Kira nodded. "We tried so many places, and most of them were too far above our price limit. It didn't look like we would get anywhere, and it started to look like we might end up in a shelter, but the agency mom was with called us to discuss a house she'd found. She hadn't mentioned it before since it's a pretty secluded place. The price was too good to be true, but after paying off the debt mom got into with the money when we sold our house, there wasn't a whole lot left. So for this place to come up - that was even just under our price range - was a miracle."

"Did they explain why it was such a low price?"

Kira shook her head. "Not really. They just said it was a bit of a fixer upper. Mom's pretty handy you know, so with the money we saved, she didn't mind."

Shinra hummed and pushed up his glasses. "Would it be okay if we came by after school tomorrow to look around?"

Kira nodded. "Okay but-"

Shinra smiled. "Don't worry, we'll do that for free. It's just so we can get a rough idea what we might be dealing with before we ask for anything."

Kira seemed to sigh in relief. "Thank you, I really do appreciate it." She stood up, and the others followed. "My mom will be at work, so it'll just be me and my sister."

"Does she know you've come to us?" Kadota asked.

Kira waved her hands in front of her. "Oh! No no, nothing like that. It's just - she's sceptical, that's all. I don't think she wants to believe this kind of thing can happen. I suggested we seek help from someone, but she dismissed the idea because she was worried about losing what money we had left. When I told her about you after I talked to Shinra the day before, she seemed willing to give it a try." Kira smiled at them as she made her way to the door, turning back. "I figured you might be more comfortable looking around if she weren't there. Believe me, she wouldn't make it easy."

Shinra chuckled. "I get that. All right, well, we'll wait by the gate for you after school tomorrow, okay?" Kira slightly bowed and left the four to talk. Shinra turned to his friends. "What do you think?"

Shizuo snorted. "It's a bit screwy." He moved to sit on the couch and lay across it. The others stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "The real estate, I mean. Think they could be hiding something."

Izaya stretched as he stood up from his seat on the table. "How did you come to that conclusion already?"

Shizuo shrugged. "She said they couldn't tell her much except that it needs fixing. Given how many houses they looked into, I'd be willing to bet the agent didn't want to lose any kind of sale. So they took advantage of their desperation and told them about the house."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "What does that have to do with what's been happening?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe the agent knew it was haunted or something. Like they knew the reason for the low price was more than just the house's poor condition."

Shinra smiled with a nod. "Good point, Shizuo!"

Izaya glared in annoyance at Shinra and turned back to Shizuo. "While your point is valid, whether they got screwed over isn't our problem. We're responsible for the activities inside the house."

"Still," Shinra continued. "We should include everything in our research, even if it means investigating the houses history. The buyers and sellers."

Izaya huffed, not liking that he knew they were right. Izaya suddenly glared down at Shizuo. "Move your legs."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. "No."

"The couch is for more than one person. Move your legs."

Shizuo grinned. "Make me." It wasn't often he got to annoy Izaya, so for all the times the raven had teased and got under his skin for no reason, this was payback. He thought Izaya was slightly amusing when he was irritated. Izaya huffed again and a grin formed on his face. Shizuo frowned, wondering why his confidence rose slightly.

"Fine," Izaya said and sat on Shizuo's legs. Shizuo was so startled by the action that he snatched his legs out from under the raven, doing exactly what Izaya wanted to begin with. Izaya chuckled. "Thank you."

Shizuo glared at him. "Louse."

…

The four met up with Kira and followed her to the house.

The scenery of nature changed when they turned a corner. The path leading to the front of the house was damaged. The grass was long and brown like the roots could no longer gain the necessary nutrients from the soil. Overall, the house on the outside didn't look as bad as they had expected from something low priced. Despite the surrounding plantation life, the house was bright and appealing. "Seems like your mom's done a pretty good job on the house so far," Shinra commented as they stepped up onto the porch.

Kira smiled and pulled out her key. "She hasn't done anything on the outside yet. Focused more on our rooms, and the kitchen first."

"You said it was just you and your sister today. Where is she?" Kadota asked.

"Our babysitter should be with her at the moment. My sister is only five, so the babysitter watches her while I'm at school. My mom is a night nurse, so she's home in the mornings, leaves at twelve and I'm home with my sister after school."

"In other words, you experience the most activity?"

Kira nodded as she opened the door, leaving it open for her guests. "Mrs Hataki! I'm home!"

The group of four followed after her, toed off their shoes by the door, and Shinra closed it behind them. Suddenly, the woman in question came running at them, her face full of fear. "Kira! Tell your mom I'm sorry, but I can't babysit anymore!"

Stunned, Kira stumbled over her next words. "W-What…? Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it! I don't want to be in this house another minute longer!" The woman grabbed her shoes hastily, and the four stepped quickly to the side as she threw open the door and ran.

Kira raised her hand to stop her. "Wait!" Kira slumped. "Great" She looked over at them and smiled. "You guys make yourselves at home. Start looking around if you want. I'm just going to check on my sister." Kira left them and started making her way upstairs.

They stared after her for a moment and turned to each other. "Well, something spooked her," Shinra said.

"Let's look around," Izaya said. "We should split up since the house is bigger than I thought." He walked forward, but Shinra grabbed his wrist.

"Hang on. We should split into two. I'd feel a lot better knowing what happened last time."

Izaya grinned. "You're just scared to look around on your own."

Shinra pouted. "Not true. It's just safer this way."

Kadota knew Shinra had a point, but far be it for Izaya to admit such a thing. He looked at Shizuo. Especially in front of him. "We should split into two anyway. One pair takes upstairs, and the other downstairs. This way, we won't end up covering the same area twice."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "Fine, we'll split in twos." Of all the expected things Izaya could have done, no one predicted his next move. Izaya grabbed Shizuo's wrist and dragged him forward. "Shizu-chan and I will take upstairs."

Shinra and Kadota blinked in surprise, but no one was more shocked than Shizuo. The blond spluttered angrily as Izaya continued to lead him toward the stairs. "Wait a minute! Who the hell said I wanted to go with you, flea!"

Kadota chuckled at Shinra's slightly defeated expression. "Don't sulk. Come on, let's get started. I know you wanted to be with Izaya, but you're stuck with me."

Shinra stammered and blushed. "No no, it's fine. I don't mind, just - just surprised is all."

Kadota laughed and started looking around. "Right right. It's probably better that Shizuo is with him anyway. If Shizuo really is capable of flushing out spirits or rather, stopping them, Izaya is probably safer with him. Even though he wouldn't admit it, Izaya probably knows that too."

Shinra sighed in disappointment. "I guess that makes sense."

The two started with the living room. The floors were made from mahogany wood, which might be why the place was in stable condition. Aside from its dark effect, the living room was colorful. They moved to the next room. "This was where Miasaki's mother first experienced some ghost activity," Kadota said as they looked around the kitchen.

Shinra nodded and stood to inspect the stove, bending down to look closer. "She mentioned it didn't catch fire. I think the nozzle probably turned. It could have been a lot worse. Accidental fires are part of the nine criteria of paranormal activity."

"What are you getting at?"

Shinra hummed and stood straight. "That last time might have been a warning."

Kadota searched around the kitchen. "Problem is, I don't see a fire extinguisher."

Shinra frowned. "Better make a mental note of that, and talk to Miasaki about getting one."

Kadota grunted in reply and continued on into the next room. Shinra looked up, and a hand suddenly slapped the window above the stove. Shinra yelped and jumped back slightly.

Kadota ran back into the room. "Shinra! What, what is it?"

Shinra pointed at the window. "There was a hand just now." Kadota frowned and walked toward the window.

"I don't see anything."

Shinra stepped up behind his friend. "It was there."

Kadota sighed and turned to Shinra. "Hand me the torch from your bag." Shinra nodded, took off his pack, pulled out his torch, and passed it to Kadota. Shinra watched nervously as Kadota clicked it on and slowly shone the torch on the window. "What the-" Shinra's eyes widened. Several handprints covered almost the entire window.

Kadota frowned. "There could be several spirits here."

Shinra nodded and moved away from the window, coaxing Kadota to do the same. "We better go and let Izaya and Shizuo know."

"Let's continue looking around down here first. We'll regroup as soon as we've collected all the information we can."

Shinra placed a shaky hand on Kadota's shoulder. "Okay, yeah, that does make sense."

"You okay?"

Shinra laughed. "It startled me is all."

Izaya started in the mother's room first, mindful of her privacy as he noted important details. Izaya stepped out of the room, knowing Shizuo was in Kira's room and decided to check out the sister's room.

Izaya stopped walking when he heard a voice talking. It was too light to be Kira's, but it sounded like a little kid. Izaya frowned. But she told us that her sister hadn't spoken in over a year. He peered around the corner, and sure enough, the little girl was sitting on the bed talking! Izaya concluded that Kira had lied to them and stepped into the doorway to confront her.

Fear swept over him. Izaya could see the little girl, but it wasn't her sister she was talking to. Izaya's blood ran cold. The shadowy black figure was different from the spirits he'd encountered before. It was shaped like a human, but nothing suggested a specific gender.

Izaya couldn't stop staring, and his eyes widened when the figure turned to him with bright yellow eyes that glowed. It's looking right at me! Suddenly, the figure smiled, flashing pearly white teeth at him. Izaya's breathing became erratic, and he backed out of the room to press himself against the wall outside. Shit. Izaya wasn't sure why, but the figure scared him more than the girls' spirits from the death trap. Something about the way it stood there looking at him but made no move to attack.

"Izaya," Shizuo's loud voice startled him, and Izaya turned to him. "Come see this."

Izaya couldn't get his feet to move. Kira smiled when she emerged from the bathroom but immediately turned to Izaya with concern. "You look pale."

Shizuo frowned upon hearing this and made his way over to them. "Oi." Izaya looked at Shizuo. "What's wrong?"

Izaya swallowed and a small grin formed on his face. "Don't worry about it." Shizuo didn't look at all convinced. Izaya watched Kira walk into the room, and he stepped in the doorway once again, expecting to see the figure. It's gone.

Shizuo's frown deepened at Izaya's suddenly odd behavior and shoved the raven slightly, gaining back his attention. "Izaya."

Izaya looked back at him, shaking his head. "What?"

"I said I wanted to show you something."

Izaya blinked at him. He did? "All right." Izaya followed him toward the other room, glancing back behind him. The long room looked like a study, and Izaya could see a balcony attached to the large back windows. "What's so great about this room?" He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Shizuo motioned for him to stand in his place, opened the door to the balcony, and the two stood outside. Shizuo pointed at the ground. Izaya looked over the slightly broken wall to see a pool below half-covered in moss, and the water looked unsanitary. "Great, Shizu-chan, but I don't fancy a swim right now."

Shizuo snorted at his sarcasm. "I wasn't suggesting that!"

Izaya grinned slightly at his rising temper. "All right, what were you suggesting?"

Shizuo kicked a little at the wall, causing it to crumble slightly. "The wall is broken here."

"And?"

Shizuo shrugged a little and looked down at the pool. "Maybe someone fell. It looks kinda broken outwards, what do you think?" Shizuo looked beside him and realized Izaya wasn't listening. At first, he was annoyed that the raven wasn't taking him seriously, but Shizuo caught the slight tension and noticed him staring into the room. "Izaya?" He looked toward Izaya's line of sight but didn't see anything. Shizuo glanced back, and Izaya stepped forward slightly. Shizuo grabbed his arm. "Oi, what's the matter?" Izaya's eyes widened, and he suddenly lifted his arms up to protect himself. He was forcibly pushed into Shizuo, and the blond gave a loud protest. Shizuo stumbled back with him, and they toppled over what was left of the wall. "Izaya!" Shizuo bellowed before his instincts kicked in, and he wrapped his arms around Izaya protectively.

Shinra and Kadota heard the yell from the downstairs lounge. The two males ran out and dashed hastily up the stairs, meeting Kira in the hall. "It came from the study!" she cried, and they ran across the wooden floor into the study. Shinra and Kadota ran outside when they noticed the balcony. The pool's water below rippled rapidly outwards, suggesting it had been disturbed.

It didn't take them long to figure out, and Shinra grasped the wall in fear. "Izaya!"

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