Chapter 1
Two weeks, for two weeks I have been waiting for that letter from the universities and it still hasn't arrived. "If they sent it to the wrong address I swear…." my self-ranting ceased when the doorbell to my apartment rung. I slowly got up and went to the door. I was just two steps away when they rung it again. "I'm coming, I'm coming" I yelled out to them. 'You impatient arse' I muttered to myself.

I answered my door and saw the kind smile of my friend Levi, a student from America who wanted to travel to the college of their choice. His choice was Todai University here in Japan. Though I got to admit, for only speaking Japanese for six months he is exceptionally good at it.

"Hey Mai, the mail man put some of your mail in my mail box again" he said while holding out the envelopes of mail. I grabbed them and threw them onto the table next to the door, in the process I knocked over a vase and my house keys.

'Fan friggin tastic' I thought to myself. "Thanks Levi, I wish I can talk but I have work I need to do around the house so can we talk later?" I asked him. "Please leave.. Please leave. .please leave' I kept repeating it as if it were a mantra. The way he was looking at me was as if I crushed his heart and left him there to pick up the pieces. 'Crap! Did I say that out loud?!' I thought to myself.

" Yes Mai you were talking out loud again and if you want me to leave I will, I have no issue leaving somewhere that I am not wanted" he said awkwardly before turning and walking away until all that I could see was his black hair turn and walk down the stairs. "YES!" I yelled while slamming the door shut and jumping back onto my sofa with my feet propped up on my class coffee table. 'I'll pick up the vase later' I thought to myself. I looked at my television and pressed play. Ouran High School Host Club started to play and I truly started to squeal. 'Attack of the Lady Manager' my favorite episode was playing.

Two Hours a pure amusement later….

I got up from the couch and went into the kitchen to get some water. I stood in front of my sink looking out the window, all I could see was my dark back yard in it was: a tree, a grey fluffy cat named Yui and a face looking straight at me.. wait a minute, that doesn't seem right. I put my glass down and looked back out the window; there was a tree, Yui and no face. 'Wow that was weird' I thought to myself.

I walked over to the supply closet and got a broom, dust pan and a cloth to pick up the water and glass from the vase. I swept it into a pile and went to put it in the dust pan; I saw a letter from Todai University and one from Oxford University. I dropped the broom and dust pan and sat down on the floor eagerly tarring the envelope open to see if I was accepted. When I got it open after it stubbornly gave me paper cuts and a headache, I read the results. Five minutes of reading the Oxford letter I frowned, they declined my acceptance.'Todai , I guess you will be my Gandalf and send me on a wonderful adventure' I thought to myself. After I read the letter I couldn't help but smile like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. The words, "You have been accepted" played into my head over and over again while I finished cleaning up the vase.

I turned the lights in my apartment out and headed into my room. When I got in there I saw an unexpected sight, the face from the back yard. In grinned maliciously at me and slowly made it way toward me like I was its prey. ' Oh heck no I am not going to do this again, it has been months since ANY ghosts have graced me with their presence and I am not going back now' I thought while sprinting out of my room and through my apartment. Loud banging noises and malicious laughing echoed throughout the apartment while I booked it out the door. 'Note to self, stop hanging around Levi he is influencing my speech and mannerisms' I thought to myself. I opened the door slightly but not far enough to get through before it was slammed shut.

I felt pain engulf my body like a sea of waves crashing along the rocks of an oceans' cliff. I dropped to my knees and held my stomach hoping.. wishing that the pain would go away and to never return. I felt it, the dark presence was now behind me hovering there watching my pain and feeding on my fear. Darkness was starting to cloud my vision and my head started to feel fuzzy as it started to shut down. As I drifted off into the dark recesses of my mind the last coherent thought I had was, 'Goodbye… my family'.

Meanwhile with the rest of SPR…

All of a sudden from all different places they were at they could here Mai say," Goodbye… my family".
Ayako heard it while in her father's office that was located inside of the hospital, her eyes started to tear when she heard that voice again. It was so soft and filled with pain. She got up and left her father's office. All she was thinking about was if Mai was alright and that she needed air or she would surely start to panic.

Monk was onstage jamming it with his band while they were on tour in southern Japan, even with all of screaming and music around it was the loudest thing he could hear. The 'perverted old man' that Mai claimed he was during the blood stained labyrinth when he hugged her, was barely able to keep standing because at the point his body and mind were on autopilot.

Yasuhara, was sitting in the library at the university in the United States dosing off when he heard her voice echo into his head. He was so distracted with trying to sleep that when it happened he smacked his forehead against the edge of the table. 'Ow that freaking hurt' he thought to himself.

Masako being over dramatic and also being the medium of the group got so scared she screamed and collapsed on set of her tv show. She dropped to her knees and grabbed her head while tears rolled down her face.' Why can I hear Mai, the only thoughts of other people I can hear are dead, so does that mean?' she thought to herself over and over again hoping and praying that it was not like what she thought that it was, hoping it was something like a new power Mai had or heck that she had a new power.
John's eyes popped out of his head. He was scared; one of the voices he has come to know and love just went through his mind. Pain and fear was the emotions and feelings that went with the voice. 'Mai, please be alright' he thought. He felt a tug on his pants and looked down to see the smiling face of one of the children at the orphanage he helped run. He smiled and walked away, though his smile didn't reach his eyes.

In England with Lin and Naru, Lin was driving when he heard her voice. He wasn't going to lie he flinched when he heard it, but honestly who wouldn't? Naru, on the other hand was sitting at his desk in the BSPR building when he heard it. He dropped his tea and looked around frantically thinking she was there. 'Mai.. what happened to you?' he thought nervously. He looked around his cherry wood desk that had piles of paper on it and looked for his cell phone. He pulled up Lin in his contacts and dialed the number. As of that moment Naru knew he had to go and help Mai assuming she was alright. 'Mai I'm coming' he thought to himself, determined that what he said was true.