It was still dark when Mai fell asleep, and by then, Monk and Naru were the only others still awake. Luckily, she didn't have one of her usual dreams this time; instead, she dreamed that she was walking through a garden, a faceless person beside her smiling gently. She couldn't tell their gender, but whoever it was handed her a lovely bouquet of roses, and she took in the scent deeply.

The rest of the dream was simply a pleasant stroll through the garden, ending in a kiss from the other individual by a pristine fountain. Every once in a while, the dream would be broken by disturbing flashes: being trapped in a dark space; a smothering, airless, compressed feeling; screamed abuses ringing in her ears; the feeling of the prick of a rose's thorns on her skin. These little feelings and images soon passed each time, however, and it was easy to forget about them when the lovely sounds and sights of the garden returned.

She woke easily and peacefully, but feeling as if she were forgetting something important.

"Good morning, Mai," Monk said from beside her, startling her a bit.

"Have you been up this entire time?" yawned Mai, sitting up and stretching. Her entire body was still sore, but after her rest, it felt much better.

"I figured it was safest to maintain the barrier until morning, especially since Lin's shikigami were resting," Monk explained. "I only released it a few minutes ago, when the sun came up."

Mai scoped the room quickly, and saw that everyone else-even Naru-was still sound asleep. "You should get some sleep too, Monk. That was a pretty long night. Everyone else got a few hours of sleep after that whole thing, at least."

Monk shook his head, grinning at her in his usual comforting way and raising a hand to ruffle her hair. "Don't worry about it. This case is almost over, and then-" He used his free hand to bop her on the nose playfully. "I'll sleep for an entire day!"

Mai knew that he was probably exhausted and just trying to make her feel better, but she couldn't help smiling back at him. Monk's light and cheerful attitude never failed to brighten up her day and make her laugh.

Their voices stirred Ayako and Masako, both of whom rose sleepily. "How are you feeling, Mai?" groaned Ayako, who did not look pleased to be awake. "We were all really worried last night." Masako made a small noise of protest, but that wasn't fooling anyone.

Mai nodded brightly, her spirits returning to her with Monk's affection and Ayako's concern. "I'm feeling much better. I just tripped a couple of times, that's all."

Masako glared at her. "How many times did you let that thing catch you? Your bruises are all giving off a sour spiritual energy."

Mai felt her face turn red in embarrassment. "It was fast, okay? I didn't let it catch me, it just-"

"Well, I'm just glad you weren't hurt too badly," Ayako said, sounding much more awake now and coming to fuss over her. "I didn't know if you'd be able to pull it off or not. That thing's pretty scary. You did it, though." She gave Mai a sincere smile. "We're all very proud of you, Mai."

Mai tried-and failed-not to blush, feeling rather pleased with herself at Ayako's words. They did think she was useful, after all.

With what seemed like an enormous amount of effort, John forced himself upright as well. "Good morning, everyone. Mai, how-?"

"I'm fine," she told him reassuringly. "No worries."

John exhaled slowly. "I'm glad. I had nightmares about that demon chasing us all night long. It must have been pretty terrifying."

The truth was that it was more frightening than anything Mai had experienced before, but she told him, "It wasn't that bad. Anyway, I'm just happy that it worked out in the end. The thing should have returned to the cellar during the day, right? We should be safe now."

"I don't know about that," Masako said in her normal quiet manner, and pointed to the door. "It's still outside. Its presence is definitely weaker, but it hasn't left. It is concerned enough with what we obtained last night that it's willing to brave the sunlight."

Ayako gave them a satisfied look. "Hopefully, that means it will follow us out to the grove of trees. That would make my job a lot easier."

"If it's weakened considerably by the sunlight, we should be able to make the journey there safely enough using my shiki," Lin added, causing John to jump with a small squeak of surprise. Mai, who hadn't even noticed that he was awake, was also a bit startled.

"That reminds me," she said. "What did you guys even find last night? I hope it was worth it."

Lin stood, moving and rotating his affected shoulder experimentally. Evidently determining that it was not worth worrying about, he responded, "It's a body."

There was dead silence in the room.

"A…" Mai, being the only one besides Ayako who had not accompanied everyone else to the cellar, was at a loss. "A body? An actual body?" Why was no one else reacting to this information?

"Well, it's just bones now," Monk corrected Lin, giving his coworker a stern glance for his tactlessness. "Don't worry, Mai. We think that the spirit is just trying to guard its remains."

"That spirit was a human once?" Ayako shuddered. "How on earth did it get so twisted?"

This time, both Mai and John jumped as Naru unexpectedly spoke up, his voice lackluster and tired.

"It was holed up in a hidden crawl space," he said dully. "Everything was completely decayed, but from the scent we caught upon opening the door, it would seem that they had a bouquet of roses stuffed in there with them. It would appear that they were the victim of a violent crime, and being sealed in that place for so long with all that rage undoubtedly twisted their spirit."

"That's gross," Mai squeaked, scooting a little farther away from the sack, although it was already in the opposite corner of the room.

"Can't we just dispose of the bones somehow, then? Burn them, maybe? Or John can exorcise them?" Monk suggested hopefully. "Then we don't have to leave this room until it's gone."

Naru shot the idea down instantly. "I sincerely doubt that the spirit is being held here purely by the bones. It is too strong to depend too heavily on something physical like these. It is certainly attached to them and guards them, but I don't think that destroying these would kill it, and exorcising them wouldn't do much good, as it's not possessing them. Using them as bait to draw the spirit itself out makes the most sense right now. If we try and fail to kill it by destroying these, we will lose them as a way to force it to follow us and expose itself. As we don't have a plan to account for that likelihood, experimenting is unwise."

Ayako stretched, moving to get her bag. "I'll get ready, in that case. I'm sure my exorcism will do away with it, no problem."

"As much as I enjoy disagreeing with Ms. Matsuzaki, I believe that she is correct here," Masako said grudgingly. "It will be greatly weakened by the sunlight already, and it shouldn't stand much of a chance against the tree spirits."

"That settles it, then," Ayako determined confidently. She slipped on her pristine robes over her clothes, then started to put up her hair. "I must look the part, you know. You all get ready, too."

Mai thought she detected a hint of annoyance in Naru's face at being made to take orders from Ayako, but it was true that they needed to make sure they had all the necessities before they dared to open that door.

"We're operating under the assumption that this thing will follow us outside to pursue us," Naru briefed them. "Lin's shiki have recovered enough to shield us at least until Miss Matsuzaki can begin her ceremony. However, everyone needs to stay close together. If anyone steps outside of the protection of the shikigami, there will be very real danger. Don't make us send Mai after you; she had a hard enough time last night." He narrowed his eyes dangerously, and Mai felt a strange rush in her chest that she couldn't quite identify at his apparent concern. "Only because she's not very bright, of course."

The unknown feeling turned into indignation.

"I'm going to release the shiki when Ayako starts," Lin told them. "Make sure that you are not alone. Hopefully the thing's attention will be drawn to Ayako and the bones, but be ready to defend yourselves."

It took only a few more minutes before Ayako was ready. Lin called his shikigami with his usual sharp whistle, and as the entire group held their breath, Naru pushed open the door.

There was an instant blast of cold air, but, Naru in the lead, the members of Shibuya Psychic Research ignored it. They continued on, each person looking braver than the last, but Mai was sure that Ayako at least was just as nervous as she was.

Not being able to see the spirit freaked Mai out; with her spiritual perception, she could see it flash by out of the corner of her eye a few times, and smell its rotten, floral stench when it passed by her, but she could never quite make it out clearly. It gave her a feeling similar to that of going down a staircase in complete darkness, unable to tell when the bottom floor might arrive and cause her to trip.

When they stepped into the bright sunlight outside, Mai lost sight of the shiki, whose glow had been outshined, but she knew that they were still there. In a low voice, Naru asked, "Miss Hara, is it still following?"

Masako concentrated for a moment before answering. "It's hesitant, but-yes."

Naru responded with only a nod, and they continued with bated breath.

It took them about exactly fifteen minutes to reach their destination, a beautiful grove of trees. It was hard to concentrate on the very present problem here; the leaves rustled softly, stirred by a whispering breeze and dappling the ground in the sunlight. Mai felt invigorated just being here; even the air smelled fresh and clean. She saw that Ayako, too, was taking it all in, letting it swell her chest and feed her body and mind.

It took Masako's whisper to bring them back to the task at hand. "It's here, but it seems skittish. It would certainly be running if not for the bones."

Ayako nodded, breathing out deeply; the priestess revealed the humble, green branch, her little bell dangling loosely from its top. She carefully planted it in the dirt. Reverently, she put her hands together; she closed her eyes, tilting back her head.

Mai loved watching Ayako work in this environment, where the powers of the trees dwelled. The shrine maiden was completely different here, where she actually felt strong and confident. Every mannerism was changed, and Mai enjoyed seeing this side of her. She had an unearthly beauty to her, standing there amidst the thriving life of the trees she so respected and cherished.

"I stand here today to beseech the gods," Ayako began, and Mai felt a chilling rush of air as Lin released his shikigami. She thought she could hear the distant echo of the spirit shrieking; she felt it behind her for a mere instant, but Lin threw the sack containing the bones on the ground several feet away from them, and the presence receded. No doubt it was standing guard over its precious bones; for the moment, it didn't seem to want to bother with them, taking a protective stance instead.

Ayako continued unwaveringly, her gentle voice washing over the tired, tense group like pure spring water. "I call upon them to descend from the heavens and join us where no gods dwell, to end this ceaseless suffering." A new, stronger breeze whipped through the branches overhead, and Mai swore she could hear the faint resonance of many voices. "I ask that my humble plea may be heard, that peace be restored unto the spirits who are trapped in this haunted place. May this grove reflect the high, heavenly plain, and may the gods from all corners come together as one." The air became warmer, lighter; the sunlight seemed almost tangible, as if Mai could touch it if she stretched far enough. The air gently stirred Ayako's bell, making a subdued but pure ringing noise.

Moving her hands in graceful rhythm, Ayako recited, "Rin. Pyo. To. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen." Her voice was cool and held none of the panic that Mai generally felt when she was forced to repeat the words.

This part was Mai's favorite; it was time for the spirits of the trees to show themselves. These trees were much younger than the ones that Ayako had previously used; the pure light that they radiated was soft and white, and when they disappeared silently into the earth, they were as water trickling down into a stream.

Nothing happened for a long, long minute; then, out of nowhere, the spirit became visible to all of them. John, who had not yet seen the spirit, gaped at it for a moment before regaining his composure; the rest of them stared at it grimly, waiting for Ayako to make the next move.

Ayako bent slowly and very carefully uprooted the branch; holding it delicately in her hands, she shook it gently, creating a resonant and clean ring that echoed throughout the entire grove. The sound was pleasing and calming to Mai's ears, and she truly relaxed for the first time since her original dream in the house.

The spirit, however, only wavered slightly; wondering if it was perhaps too strong for Ayako to handle, Mai watched. Other spirits had appeared as well. After all, any unclean spirits in the general vicinity would feel and hear Ayako's ceremony, and circulated toward her naturally to be cleansed and put to rest. The evil spirit, wavering though it might be, was being slowly drawn closer to Ayako as well.

Ayako didn't falter once; collected and sure of herself, she rang the bell again and again, creating the same, evenly-pitched sound every time. The other spirits vanished instantly, but the malice-filled dream spirit was barely maintaining its form, becoming so unsteady that pieces of its dark cloud began to break off and dissipate into the air.

Opening her eyes, Ayako looked directly at the vile thing and gave one last swing of the branch, creating a final bell tone. At that, the spirit dissolved into mist and was gone.

The air had lost all of its frigidness and stiffness, and Mai knew that it was truly over now. Ayako, who sensed this as well, placed the branch respectfully back in the soil, and clapped her hands together. The thread that connected the bell to the branch unravelled elegantly and fell to the ground. There was a solid moment's silence before there was a collective sigh from the group, and there was a palpable release of unspoken tension between them all.

"So that's it?" Monk ventured cautiously. "Are we done?"

Ayako beamed, but Naru begged to differ. "We still have to have Miss Hara re-check the house, and we should bury the bones. We can't just leave them here; it would be rude, among other things."

"Monk and I can cover that," John offered brightly. "I'll purify them while we're at it, too, just to be safe."

Naru seemed to accept this plan. "Miss Hara and Miss Matsuzaki will do a final sweep of the entire house, then, focusing in particular on the cellar. If there is any discrepancy, we'll need to check it out. Lin, Mai, and I will start packing up under the assumption that these checks will be uneventful." Naru waited for a couple of seconds, and when the others continued to simply stare at him, he rolled his eyes impatiently. "We don't have all day. Go."