Chapter 5

Mai's POV:

I woke early the following morning, despite not going to bed until one. Ayako was still sound asleep, but Masako was sitting up in bed, her white sleeping kimono still on her. She looked over at me quickly as I sat up before returning to staring at a painting on the wall across from her. "He walked you to the room last night?"

I blinked, almost forgetting it had happened. When I realized what she meant and who she was talking about, I looked down, a little embarrassed. That sort of thing must anger her since she's as obsessed with Naru as I once was. "Yes...I was nearly attacked earlier and being alone at all isn't a good thing."

She nodded. "Yes, we wouldn't want what happened to Tomo happening to you."

Though her words sounded like she didn't mean it, her tone told me she did. Not even Masako wished that sort of fate on me. It made me warm up to her just a little more. I couldn't wish that on my worst enemy either. "We should both be as careful as possible. This spirit doesn't care if others are around. If it thinks it can overpower those present, it'll still attack."

"It tried to attack you right in front of Naru, right?" She asked softly.

I shivered as yesterday's images came flooding back. "Yes...It locked us in the room in the village cellar that made you faint."

It was her turn to visibly shiver. "What does Naru intend on doing? Do you know?"

"It's likely that he'll have Monk and John san go through the cellar, cleansing it if possible. And he'll probably have Ayako do the same to the forests surrounding the village and Mr. Kiba's house."

Ayako groaned and put her pillow over her face. "Naru will get nothing but a kick in the ass if he tries to get me out of bed before nine. If you two are gonna talk, leave the room."

I stood up and stretched. Luckily, someone had brought the bag with my pajamas to the room and sat it on my bed, so I was able to wear them instead of having to sleep in my jeans. Changing into a pair of dark jean capris, I slipped on my favorite pale green silk shirt that hung from my frame. I had barely a moment to slip on socks and shoes before a knock sounded from the other side of the door.

"Naru says everyone's having breakfast in the base." Monk called. "Hurry up and put your face on, Ayako."

She pulled the pillow off of her and glared at the door. "For your information, I don't wear that much makeup!"

"Sure, sure. Hurry up." He said with a chuckle before walking away from the door. When his steps could barely be heard, she got out of bed and started getting ready. Masako, having the shortest hair, was the first to leave the room. Monk was waiting to escort her while Ayako and I spent a few minutes in the bathroom. While Ayako put on some blush and lipstick, I combed through my hair.

"Why don't you let me help?" She offered after a minute. "You have longer hair and can do a lot more with it."

I handed her the comb. "Sure."

She started by gently removing the rest of the knots before taking the top layer of my hair and bringing it back in two pieces. Holding it in place with a couple bobby pins, she brought my bangs to the side and spritz them with hairspray to keep them there. She smiled. "There. Much more grown up."

I frowned. It was much too flashy for my taste. I preferred to keep my hair down and close to my face. It was a defense mechanism, but one I wasn't comfortable leaving in the dust. I tried to reach up to move my bangs back to where they usually hung, but she swatted my hand. Monk called from the other side of the closed bathroom door. "Ready yet?"

"We're coming." I assured him and opened the door. He raised an eyebrow, but followed it with a grin. "Very nice."

"I told you." Ayako told me with a playful smile. "It suits you."

Looking down with a blush, I hurried out of the bathroom and straight out of the bedroom. Sure that I wouldn't suddenly be attacked in the five seconds it took me to reach the base, I scurried across the hall between the two main hallways and ran right into the open base door.

"Good morning, Miss. Mai." John san smiled when I arrived. Masako eyed my hair, covered her mouth with her sleeve and returned to poking her fork into the biscuit on her plate, Lin san kept his eyes firmly on the monitors with a bowl of milky rice in his hands and Naru kept his back to me as he looked outside the base's window.

"Good morning." I answered a second too late. John san had already returned his eyes to his food. Taking a seat at the table, I looked at all the available foods. John san was nice enough to explain.

"That's sweet rice and these are sweet biscuits. There's also poached eggs for anyone who doesn't like sweet things for breakfast." He told me and pointed.

"Eat quickly." Naru ordered, his eyes still on the trees outside the window. "Once you finish, we have a full day ahead of us."

I set to work on filling a small bowl with sweet rice and adding some milk from an available pitcher before sitting two sweet biscuits on top. I wasn't entirely hungry now, but who knows when he'd let us stop working long enough to eat. I could tell by his tone that he meant business today.

Monk and Ayako sat on either side of me and prepared their bowls while I ate slowly, trying to decide whether or not to ask Naru why he wasn't eating this morning. Lin san asked for me in a way only Lin san could get away with when it comes to Naru.

"Eat." He quietly ordered. The dark headed narcissist glared at Lin san's back.

"I will." He said between clenched teeth. Turning on his heel, he approached the table and was just reaching for a plate when his eyes finally caught mine. I meant to look down. I tried. But as he held my stare, I found I couldn't. It took my spoon dropping into my bowl, making a slight clink, to break the spell and allow me to return my gaze to the table. It lasted only a couple seconds. No one at the table seemed to notice. I merely listened and watched his hands as he placed two poached eggs on a plate and sat at the head of the table.

"So when are we doing the exorcising?" Monk asked. "I'm ready to send this spirit packing."

"We never perform exorcisms without knowing what the consequences will be." Naru reminded him. "If we can't successfully get rid of it, it will only get angrier."

"I can get rid of it." Monk said with confidence.

Ayako rolled her eyes. "You couldn't properly expel a spirit if your life depended on it. Leave it to me. It doesn't matter if it's an Earth spirit. With all these healthy trees around, I should be able to banish it easily."

"There aren't any trees in the cellar." Monk pointed out.

This seemed to deflate Ayako's cocky attitude. She sighed and returned to her breakfast. "Eat your rice, you stupid monk."

We all finished eating sooner than I would like. As soon as Hana came upstairs to clear the table of the dishes, Naru was standing and ready to give instruction. "While the theory that the spirit uses the village cellar as a resting place is likely, it's not proven yet. I want to test it by setting a trap using Matsuzaki."

Ayako looked appalled. "Why me?"

Naru raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that said it should be obvious. "We need to lead the spirit to you. He'll come, but attempt to leave the cellar as soon as he realizes you're not what he's looking for. We'll already be prepared for this and put charms on the door to keep him trapped inside."

Though she wanted to argue about once again being called out on her lack of virginity, she nodded in consent. "Makes sense. It'll be easier to exorcise the spirit if it's trapped in one location."

"Exactly." Naru said. "We'll head over to the village once more if Miss. Hana thinks she can get us in again."

"But, what if the spirit can tell already? Remember the story about Hana and her sister? Her sister was never bothered by the spirit after she married. It knew she was no longer innocent. If we try to use Ayako, it may sense it's a trick and refuse to return to the cellar. We've only got one shot in that case."

"As much as I don't like where this is going, Mai's right." Monk chimed in. "We may have to guide him in using an actual virgin."

The room fell silent. We all were thinking the same thing. Who would it be, me or Masako? And what would be done if the spirit managed to shut one of us in the room in the cellar alone with it? If no one could break the door down, everything would end badly.

"It's too risky." Naru said firmly, breaking the silence. I was likely imagining it, but it looked like he glanced in my direction for the tiniest bit of a second.

"Um..." We heard someone murmur from the doorway. Turning around, we all spotted Hana. Seeing that she had been noticed, she stepped into the room, looking at the ground shyly. "I want to volunteer...This spirit is haunting my village, my people. It hurt Tomo and one of my childhood friends and I won't stand for it any longer. If you have a way to trap it, I am more than happy to be the bait."

Her voice was soft, but it held such firmness, such conviction, that Naru actually nodded. "Very well. We'll expect you to sign a waver. You're doing this of your own volition. If we cannot successfully detain it, you may suffer a similar fate to the spirit's other victims."

She nodded her head, but her eyes betrayed her fear. "What are the chances you will succeed in trapping it?"

"The charms Miss. Matsuzaki makes are strong. If we can lead it into the cellar, it won't be able to step back over the threshold. But we also have to worry about getting you safely from the room. If you're determined to do this, you would be accompanied by Mr. Takigawa, a Buddhist monk, and the shinigami of my older assistant, Lin Koujo. Both are strong enough to detain it so you can escape."

She looked to be in thought. At least she was really thinking this through. After a tense minute, she nodded. "I'll do it. Where's the waver?"

As soon as she agreed, Lin san went over to the computer and began typing quickly. He finished making one and printed it out in a matter of five minutes. Hana sat at the table and read through it before signing. Naru took it right away and placed it in the case folder. "This waver in no way binds you to your agreement to go through with this. It simply keeps you from being able to sue us or say we forced you, in the event that things go awry."

"I understand." She whispered. "When will we do this?"

"As soon as Miss. Matsuzaki finishes her charms. Mr. Brown, you'll wait outside the door as backup, just in case Mr. Takigawa's incantations aren't strong enough. Mai, you and Miss. Hara will wait here in the base with Miss. Matsuzaki." Naru told us.

I sighed. "Even you know that Ayako needs trees for her abilities to be affective. We might as well wait in the village with you, so there's plenty around."

A nerve popped on his forehead, but he didn't argue with me. Possibly because he was worried Hana would tell Mr. Kiba that we fought and he would second guess letting us help with this case. "Very well. But you're all three to stay on the outer edge of the village, far from the house with the cellar."

Hana looked down again, twiddling her fingers. "My village's elders were firm when they said you'd leave the village alone after sunrise today. If you return, they may send you away."

"We'll take our chances." Naru said decidedly. "Will your father object to your involvement?"

"Yes, it's likely." She admitted right away. "But I am eighteen and I can do this if I choose."

"Matsuzaki, make the charms. At least twenty." Naru ordered and, after giving him a glare for ordering her around, she set to work. As soon as she finished them, we informed Mr. Kiba of where we were going and left.

The walk to the village was much more lively with as many people as we were taking. Ayako and Monk argued almost the whole way, John san politely made conversation with Hana to keep her at ease and I tried to ignore the almost tangible distance that seemed to be between me and Naru. Despite the fact we were walking only a couple feet apart, it felt like miles.

Deciding to walk beside Ayako, I purposefully slowed myself down. Before I could let him walk ahead more than a couple steps, he glanced back. "Keep up."

I felt a glare forming on my face, though it was less defiant and more icy. "I'll walk at whatever pace I want, thank you. I don't have to stay beside you the whole walk there."

Whether it was my words or the tone in which I said them, it caused him to turn his head quickly around. The fact that I managed a tone that avoided his vocal anger made me swell a bit with satisfaction. I could only focus on my own thoughts for a second before Ayako's voice broke through.

"I swear, Monk, I'll dress you as a girl and throw you to the spirit if you keep this up."

"You just don't want to admit that I'm right about how season two of Watashi No Obakeyashi will end. Also, what makes you think I'm a virgin?" He asked the last part with a scowl on his face.

Ayako shrugged. "I'm just hoping the spirit won't realize until it's too late. Maybe you'll think twice about trying to spoil endings to my favorite TV shows."

"Enough." Naru called back levelly, his voice only raising a fraction of an inch. "We're almost there."

As Naru spoke, I began to see one of the houses through a break in the trees. Not even a minute later, we were standing at the outer edge of the village. Hana stepped forward. "Follow me. I'll talk to my father first."

Just like yesterday, each villager that we passed looked wary. The children even shied away from us as we entered Hana's father's house. The other village leaders were not there when we arrived. Hana's father sat in a chair by the fire, a book in hand. He looked surprised to see his daughter. "Hana...Why are you here with them? Did they not prove that their presence here is useless?"

Hana looked down, her hands twisting together in worry. "Father...they've found a way to trap it. To keep it confined to the room in the cellar to the point it won't be able to leave."

He looked surprised. He looked up at us as if to reassess our abilities. "Is this true?"

Naru stepped forward slightly. "Yes. It's a risk. If we fail, it could anger it further. But there's a good chance it won't fail. By managing to trap it there, it will be easier to exorcise. And in the event that we fail to exorcise it, it still won't be able to get past the charms we'll use to trap it."

Hana's father looked both overwhelmed and slightly suspicious. "And how will you lead it there to trap it?"

Hana spoke up, her tone shaky. "Father, I've volunteered as bait. I wouldn't be harmed. I'd quickly run from the room once it was lured and we'd shut it away."

The fury that broke across his face as his daughter tried to explain was enough to make me partially hide myself behind Ayako. "What are you thinking girl? If it trapped you in there with it, how would we save you? No! It's too risky, I won't allow it!"

Hana tried to put more force in her voice. "I'm eighteen, father. This spirit is attacking my people and if there is a way to stop it, I am more than happy to help."

"You're my daughter!"

"I am the daughter of a leader!" She rose her voice to nearly yelling. "I was born to defend this village and I will. If you try to stop me, I'll leave the island."

This took the wind out of his sails. He seemed to visibly age as he stared down at his determined daughter. He looked down, his pain barely concealed. "Very well...Since you are so determined to go against my wishes..."

His words were sharp and caused Hana to flinch. But he had given his consent and with it tucked under her belt, she left the house with the rest of us in tow. She had a determination in her walk as she led us to the old house. I ran ahead to meet her stride. "Are you alright?"

She looked at me and I saw that a steely glint was in her eye. "I'm alright. My father will see that it was foolish to tell me no once I've aided in trapping the ghost. And once it is exorcised and taken from this island, I will earn his regard, as well as the respect of the rest of the village."

"But if things don't turn out as expected..." I tried reasoning a little. "...If we can't successfully trap the ghost and it escapes..."

"I've prepared for that." She said with a shaky voice and a determined tone. "If I fail, I'll give my father a formal apology and not permit myself to set eyes on my village for at least a month."

I blanched. "You would punish yourself for something that we all know has a chance of failing?"

She gave me a smile. "Of course. Being eighteen, it would embarrass my father to have to punish me. So I will punish myself to prevent the village from being upset with my failed decision."

"And if..." I trailed off, unable to finish. She seemed to know what I meant by the way her posture went from straight to slightly slouched.

"If...if we fail to that extent, I will leave the island and set off on my own. By remaining on the island, I would only bring shame to my family."

"But it wouldn't be your fault." I reasoned.

"I made the decision to act as bait. If it all fails and I am harmed, it will be entirely my fault. Man knows when he puts his hand to the tiger's mouth that it will bite."

While I couldn't imagine doing what she was about to do, I saw sense in it. She was doing this to save her village and the girls that could also be potential victims to the spirit. It's very... "Admirable."

"Hmm?" She turned in my direction.

"What you're doing is admirable." I smiled. "Scary and a little foolish, but very admirable. You have a good heart, Hana."

She looked down shyly. "Not a good heart, necessarily. But a loyal one, yes. To give myself the strength to do this, I'm going to wear this. It was my mother's."

She reached into her dress shirt and held up a strip of thinned leather that she was wearing as a necklace with a few crystals as the pendant. One crystal was clear, one was white and one was pink. She smiled at it lovingly before dropping it and letting it hang.

We arrived at the house shortly after. Heading inside, we paused before even opening the door leading down to the cellar. Naru went to stand in front of it, facing us. "Matsuzaki, the charms?"

She held up a small hand basket containing several. "I made fifty. We can put some here, some in various places in the village, some in the forest leading to Mr. Kiba's place and some there too, especially in that wine cellar and all the sleeping quarters."

Naru looked to me. "Now it's time for you, Miss. Hara and Matsuzaki to walk to the far edge of the village and wait."

I frowned, but nodded and turned around. I did promise, after all. Ayako, Masako and myself had made it about twenty feet from the house when something shiny caught my eye. I reached down and picked up the crystal necklace Hana had showed me. The strap had broken at some point, causing it to fall off her neck.

"I have to return this to her." I told Ayako quickly before turning on my heel and running for the house.

"Mai!" She called.

"She needs it!" I shouted back and was inside before she could say anything else. I paused at the top of the stairs, wary about going down with how dark it was. Everyone else was already down there and on the other side of the bookshelves since I couldn't see any lights shining. Taking careful steps, I finally made it to the books and jumped through the gab between two of them. Everyone was already crowded by the open wooden door, waiting for Hana to walk in. I could see charms placed everywhere. "Hana."

I said it softly. She looked over her shoulder just as everyone else did and I held up her necklace. She gasped and reached for it. I hurried to her side and helped her tie it back on. "Thank you."

The emotion in her voice was apparent. Naru gave me a slight glare, which I could barely see, even with all the random flashlights. "Now go. You can't be here while we do this."

It happened quickly. He had barely gotten these words out before some unseen force grabbed Hana and jerked her back into the room, much like how I had been pulled when I was last here. Her screams echoed painfully as Lin san whistled, sending his shinigami in after her. Monk stepped forward and began chanting. We watched the glowing white entities dart for a specific corner of the room until Hana was barely illuminated. She was laying on the floor in one corner, her arms seemingly pinned while the shinigami lashed at whatever hovered over her.

When the largest one lashed out, it caused us to be able to see what was over her. Just like what had assaulted Tomo, the dim figure of a man who looked like one of the natives here, only dressed in furs, was shown. It looked up at us and let out a demonic shriek, which caused a large gust of wind to come right for us and knock Lin san and Monk, who were standing just inside the door, right out of it. Before we could even react, the door slammed shut.

Hana's screams knocked us out of our stunned state and Lin san and Monk began throwing their weight into the door in an attempt to break it down. I approached the door, though kept my distance from the two who were ramming into it. "Fight it, Hana! Fight it! Don't let it win!"

"Mai, out of the way!" Naru ordered and I instinctively flinched to the side. "Everyone, duck!"

Lin san was on his stomach in an instant and Monk followed suit a moment later. It took seeing a particular glow shine on the floor to realize what he was doing. "Naru, no!"

"Noll!" Lin san said aggressively. "It could kill you this time!"

As if he couldn't hear any of us, I watched as he raised on arm in the air, all the light traveling slowly to it. In one quick jerk of the arm, the room was too bright to see. I closed my eyes tightly as I fell to my knees. I could hear what sounded like the breaking of wood. When the light died down and I could see again, the door was not just broken down, but destroyed. I quickly looked back at Naru as Monk and Lin san ran into the room. He was breathing heavily and hunched over slightly, but he looked no more shaken than when he had saved me.

I was overwhelmed to say the least. The sight of him looking almost ready to collapse was too much and I was to my feet and running for him in an instant. I had fully expected a quick shove to keep me away, but he kept his arms to his sides as I wrapped mine around his middle. "You scared me to death. Baka!"

I held him tightly as I listened to everything around me. There were no more screams, but that didn't necessarily make me feel any better. Looking up slowly, I took in Naru's expression from under my lashes. He was slightly glaring. "You're the idiot for putting yourself at risk again. I told you to stay away from here while we did this."

Finally realizing how awkward it was to be holding him like this, I dropped my arms and took a step away, my eyes firmly on my shoes now. "She dropped her mother's necklace. She needed it so she could go through with this."

Footsteps behind me made me turn around. I covered my mouth, tears welling in my eyes. Lin san stepped out of the room with Hana in his arms. She looked to be passed out and there was blood pooling down her legs. A somber Monk followed. "We were too late..."

I shook my head, backing up, forgetting until I had that Naru was right behind me. I was probably really invading his space but I didn't care. I could barely stand. "No..."

Hana opened her eyes, her expression weak. "Did we trap it?"

As if to answer the question itself, a loud shriek sounded from somewhere in the room. Naru spoke, causing me to hear his voice more loudly since the back of my head was on his chest. "It's in there still."

The shrieking grew closer until we could hear it just inside the doorway. Despite this, it didn't take a step closer. Hana could hear it too and smiled, closing her eyes again and leaning again Lin san's shoulder. "It worked..."

A couple tears spilled over. "Hana, are you in pain? We'll get you help right away."

She shook her head, the smile still there. "I'm fine... I did it. It's trapped now."

I forced myself to stand up tall. Taking Hana's hand, I walked alongside Lin san as he brought her towards the cellar stairs. "Yes, you did it. It's over now. We'll exorcise it soon and it'll never bother your village again. You were very brave."

My words brought tears to her eyes and a wider smile to her face. It faded almost a second later. "Take me out the back door. Don't let my father see me this way. We'll walk around the village in the woods and I'll clean up at Mr. Kiba's. I will tell my father what happened as soon as I'm presentable."

"We will." I assured her. At least that was the plan. As soon as we reached the top of the cellar doors, we were met by not just Hana's father, but all the village elders.

The mix of fear and fury in Hana's father's eyes was very clear. He looked down at Hana and reached for her with shaking hands. "What happened to her?"