Authors Note Thingy:

Firstly, I want a beta-er person for christmas (sad face). (I sort of realized this with the failure of my one shots.)

Sorry for the false update. I realized my page breaks had been deleted and that I had made a couple of mistakes so I wanted to correct that. I don't really know where I am going with this, usually with things I write I know how I want them to end this. I was thinking I might make this a tragedy, but I decided I would do a separate one. So forgive me if it seems like I am headed towards like an endless abyss of crap and horrible stories and such. I need inspiration and a break.

Thank you for reading and reviewing everyone!!! (I love you more than you will know).

Chapter Three

Karasu and Koneko had managed to integrate themselves into the SPR with uncanny ease. It was almost as if they had been there the entire time. Koneko even helped Naru take in the cameras, even though that was Mai's job. Naru seemed to be slightly frustrated with her appearance. Mai thought she saw a hint of annoyance on Lin's face when she watching the cameras over his shoulder, but she could have been mistaken. Karasu usually sat in a corner reading a book making no attempt to help the others. When asked a question she answered in as few words as possible and then turned back to her book. However, what she did say was important and helpful. She seemed to have gained an in- depth insight into the spirits from Amasawa. She dictated where the cameras were to be placed from her corner, and to Mai's amazement Naru listened to her. Apparently, there were four spirits inhabiting the house. One was a spirit that would sometimes play the piano in the room next to the entrance hall. The other was a young girl who would often be seen haunting the room outside the dining hall. Also, there was supposed to be a ghost in the main dining hall, which had been abandoned resultingly. A woman and her daughter had been attacked and murdered there. Lastly, a bathroom on the upper floor was inhabited. A young girl had killed herself there around a decade ago. Masako confirmed all of these hauntings but claimed she could only since their presence and could not see them for some reason. It seemed to Mai, this case would be difficult.

"I believe the spirits here may be dangerous and potentially life threatening," Naru suddenly announced. "We will form groups of three, and you must never separate no matter what the circumstances are." He paused and looked pointedly at Mai. She suddenly felt upset, it wasn't totally her fault Masako had decided to go off on her own on one of the other cases, and didn't he know she already felt horribly guilty? Naru turned back and continued. "Miss…" he looked at Koneko.

"I'm far too young to be called Miss," Koneko said smiling. Naru stared at her and then turned back to the others.

"Koneko, Hara, and Takigawa will be in one group. Matsuzaki, Mai, and Karasu will be-"

"No," Koneko said suddenly. She scowled darkly at Naru. Mai was shocked at her sudden change in mood. She had been so willing to follow all of Naru's directions only a few minutes earlier. "Kara- chan and I will be our own group."

"Seeing as to how neither of you, have any visible abilities to protect yourself from spirits, I would think it highly unwise and dangerous for you two, to be alone," Naru responded.

"We both know protective spells," Koneko snapped back. "And I don't ever remember being under your jurisdiction." Karasu followed her as she left the room.

Naru turned back to the members of the SPR as if nothing had happened. Mai pondered what exactly were Koneko and Karasu's abilities if they had any. "Hara and Matsuzaki will be a group. John and Takigawa will be a group. Lin, Mai, and I will be another group." This made Mai very happy, being in a group with Naru. She noticed Masako watching her with a jealous gleam in her eye. Mai felt giddy with triumph. It wasn't that she disliked Masako, it was just they were fighting over the same person, Naru. But then as Mai thought it over, that meant she would share a bedroom with Naru and Lin- san. And she would be sharing a shower with Naru and Lin- san. Despite the fact she liked Lin- san, she could not deny he intimidated her quite a bit.

She looked at Naru hoping for some kind of reaction, or something that would let her know what he was thinking. But Naru had his usual mask on. Lin checked his watch.

"It's 10 o'clock," he told Naru. Naru picked up his laptop and left the room wordlessly. Lin followed. Mai watched as they left, and then realized she was supposed to be in their group. She waved goodbye to the other members of the SPR and ran after Naru and Lin.

"Mai, don't fall behind," Naru said without looking at her.

"Well maybe you should wait for me," she fumed. After a long silence she said, "How do you know where we are supposed to sleep?"

"If you had been more attentive and had listened to Karasu earlier then you would know where the rooms were." Why was Naru in such a rotten mood. He had been much harsher as of lately. Perhaps he was annoyed with her, and the only reason he hadn't fired her yet was because her dreams had been useful. Mai was shocked with this realization. She felt sick to her stomach. Perhaps, he really did like Masako after all.

"Mai…" Lin- san said softly.

"Eh, what?" Mai said quickly.

"You don't look well."

"Ah, I'm fine," Mai said sloppily pasting a fake smile on her face. Naru had stopped to turn around and stare at her too. There was something in his eyes. Was it concern? No, it couldn't possibly be, he liked Masako after all. Mai shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine," she repeated.

They stood there watching her for a couple of seconds. Mai tried smiling more convincingly. Naru turned around and started walking again. He only took a few stops before he stopped in front of door. Mai had not been expecting it and crashed into Lin.

"So- sorry Lin- san,: Mai stuttered from where she lay on the floor. Lin extended his hand to Mai and helped her up. Mai entered the room. Naru and Lin glanced at each other before stepping in after her. There were three beds in the room. Mai didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. The bathroom was at the far corner of the room. Lin- san, without bothering to consult Mai or Naru, went ahead into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him. Mai heard him turn the tap on. She turned to Naru. He had occupied the bed next to hers, and already had his laptop out and was typing away on it. She tried to think of some way to broach the subject of his dislike of her.

Mai suddenly burst out, without any thought whatsoever, "Naru I'm sorry if I have not been a good assistant recently. I'm sorry if I annoyed you or upset you. I didn't mean it. Please forgive me. Gomen nasai. Gomen nasai!"

Naru stared at her as if she had to be the asinine person ever. Mai felt idiotic. How could she just go and say everything so rashly. "Why would you think that?" he said looking at her, perfectly composed.

"Oh… its just that you've been so… impatient… and harsh lately. I thought it was my fault because I'm such a bad assistant."

"It's not your fault. I've just been under a lot of stress lately, and inconvenient things have come up." She wondered if he was talking about Koneko. "Also, we have no witnesses for any of the spirits. The only words we have to go by are those of Amasawa, and he hasn't even seen the spirits first hand. His maids, who left shortly after seeing the spirits, did not leave any contact information and we have been unable to track them down." She thought she saw a hint of a smile on Naru's face when he looked at her. She blushed, looking down at the deep plush carpet. She pushed her feet down into it and felt its softness. She wanted to be near Naru. She felt the sudden urge to wrap herself around him and never let go. To absorb him until he became a part of her. She was overflowing with something she could not control. Her hand clutched at her heart as she felt a sharp lonely pain. Naru watched her from over the screen of his laptop. Her hand dropped to her lap and she flopped back down onto the bed. She wanted to sleep in the same bed as Naru. She didn't even have to be touching him. She just wanted to feel the warm radiating off of him that she could not find in his personality. She felt so awful and so wonderful at the same time, and it was killing her. She stared at the ceiling as lay eagle- spread on her bed. She didn't know how long she had been staring at the ceiling but suddenly Naru was saying, "Mai, your bath." She jumped up.

Lin had already finished his shower and so had Naru. It appeared Naru had just finished. He was slightly red- skinned and wet. He wore his usually black pajamas that emphasized the paleness of his skin, or in this case, pinkness. Mai got up and grabbed her pajamas. She went into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. The bath was horribly refreshing. She felt like she was being heated until she was raw and then reborn. This was so much better than the showers she had been used to. She stood up, the water making rivulets and dripping off her skin. She dried herself and put on her clothes. When she got out Naru and Lin were still awake. Lin seemed to be relaxing. He was laying on the bed staring and the ceiling hands behind his head in a very uncharacteristic way. Naru was, as usual, working on his laptop. He seemed to be in a rather pensive mood. The silence was overwhelming, the only noise was the occasionally taps on the keyboard of the laptop. Mai lay on her bed, her body curled up into fetal position as she listened to the taps on the keyboard. They were uneven and it bothered her. She wished they would be in rhythm so that she could ignore them. But they were always out of place. She wanted someone to take the first step and turn off that light. But no one seemed to be willing to make that initial step. Especially not Mai. She wondered why she could not get herself to say anything. It was just a few words. It was only a light. But it seemed taboo to break the silence, where the only thing allowed to punctuate it was the sound of Naru's fingers pushing down on the keys. She lay there, her mouth open, on the verge of saying something, the words on the tip of her tongue, yet unable to say it. Perhaps she could go to sleep with the lights on. She was about to resign to the silence, when she suddenly thought that she did not want to go to the sleep with the lights on.

She sprang up and announced, "I am going to turn the light off." Naru and Lin both stared at her- it was not exactly the major announcement of the year.

"I'm still working," Naru said.

"I want to go to sleep. Why do you have to have your way all the time?" Mai was getting very worked up. "Why can't you think about others? Why do we--"

"Okay, you can turn off the light," Naru said simply. Mai felt suddenly drained of energy, how could he work her up like that and then just suddenly give in. It was as if he was playing with her emotions. He probably was, damn bastard.

Mai turned off the lamp and climbed into bed. On either side of her she heard breathing. She turned to look towards Naru. He was still on his laptop, which emitted a florescent glow giving him a rather sickly look. Baka, she thought. She turned over looking towards Lin- sans bed. Lin had been watching her. Her body illuminated by Naru's laptop. He had seen how she turned to look at him, loving scorn on her face. When she turned back to him, he had quickly closed his eyes. He wondered if Naru had put her in their group on purpose. Did he have any ulterior motives besides observing her and her dreams? And why had she turned up?

Lin fell asleep, his mind still clouded with questions. On the other side of him, Mai was already asleep. Naru was still on his laptop.

o O O o

Mai was in the piano room playing the piano to the man standing behind her. The song was perhaps one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking melodies she has ever heard. She felt an extreme love for the man standing behind her. Although she could not see him, her mind flooded with vibrant emotions when he put a warm hand on her shoulder. She finished playing and looked behind her smiling. It was Dream Naru. His face was so loving, and he smiled so warmly at her. He bent down and kissed her. She felt her body melt.

"Suzume," he whispered into her ear. "I will see you after the war ends. I love you." As he left, he turned to smile at her. I will play this song everyday and pray until the day that he comes home, she promised herself. And everyday after that she played the same haunting tune on the piano, and everyday she prayed for his safe returns. Weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. The war was over. Where was he? She continued playing and praying. Soon that was all she did. She neglected eating and sleep. All day she played on the piana, even after fingers became numb and the song became slow and clodding. Even as blood dripped down onto the keys and she felt her stomach eating itself. She played on. She became that melody. She was that melody, always sad, always waiting.

o O O o

Naru was suddenly woken out of his sleep by a soft sound. He opened his eyes. He heard it again. The soft sound of a girl whimpering. Mai. He quickly got up and went over to her bed. It was definitely coming from her. Her whimpers began to escalate into crying.

"Mai, Mai, wake up," he said, gently shaking her. Her crying changed to sobbing. He heard Lin get up in his bed. "Mai, its okay, wake up." He pulled her up into sitting position. She gasped and opened her eyes. Tears still stained her cheeks.

"Naru," she cried, and she grabbed his pajama shirt. He could tell she was still crying, by how fast his shirt became wet.

"Mai," he said. He didn't know whether to push her back or let her be. He decided to let her continue to cry into his shirt. She probably needed some form of comfort. It had probably been one of her psychic dreams. He gently placed his hand on her head. As he had calculated, she calmed down. He decided to try to let her tell him her dream on her own.

She gasped for a while, unable to speak. Finally, "I dreamt I was this woman, and that the man I loved had gone off to war. And he said he would come back. He said so!" Mai broke into a fresh wave of hysteria. Through her sobbing she said, "He never came back. He didn't come back." She wailed, more tears pouring down her face.

"Mai, it was a dream. That wasn't you. That is what happened to another woman." Mai stopped crying and began hiccuping.

"It was so real," she managed to say between hiccups. Lin watched her, thinking.

"You should go back to sleep," Naru said. "You can tell me more about it in the morning." Mai nodded, and lay back down. She listened and heard faint footsteps, the rustle of sheets, and the slight groan of bed springs. She waited, listening. She heard Lin breathing deep uneven breaths. But they gradually slowed into an even, shallow pace. He was asleep.

"Naru?" she whispered at the ceiling. She felt a slight pause in the air.

"What?"

"I don't want to go to sleep anymore." Her throat felt dry and it stung. It was true. She didn't want to go to sleep. She feared the dreams she might have. People died here. She would dream about their deaths. She would see how each and everyone one of them had died. Perhaps she would feel it. The ice blade sink into her neck, or the feeling of water filling your lungs, or perhaps the feelings of lying on the bathroom floor watching all the life bleed out of her. Her pulse quickened. She did not want to dream these things. She did not!

Suddenly Naru was over her. "Mai, calm down," he said gently yet forcefully. She realized she had breathing heavily in fear.

"Naru," she cried. "I can't… I don't want to do it anymore."

"Mai, I can't force you to do it. But you should. No one else can do it. This is what you came here for, right? Ghost stories? They can be scary and horrifying, but aren't they good when you stick them out?" He was right in a way.

He got up to leave, as if the matter was settled. She managed to find his arm in the darkness and clutched at it. "Naru, don't leave," she said tearfully. She was so emotional. But he couldn't deny her when she was like this. And God knew Naru couldn't have his assistant having an inconvenient emotional breakdown while they were on a case. So Naru stayed.

o O O o

When Lin woke up the next morning, he saw them there and Mai's bed. Both were fast asleep. Mai's head was buried in Naru's chest. And Naru had one arm draped simply over her waste. But Lin knew there was much more to it than that. He wondered who he should wake first. Naru would be embarrassed, although he might not show it, about being caught in a position like that, and Mai might die from shock from being found in bed with Naru. He decided to wake them up at the same time.

With a mischievous grin Lin called out, "Its morning." Mai jumped up a immediately. She looked to her left and saw Naru. She looked at the foot of the bed and shrieked upon seeing Lin. She attempted some sort of escape but tripped on the sheets and landed face down in the deep carpet. Naru's eyes were stilled closed. "I hate you Lin," he moaned. He debated throwing a pillow at Lin, but decided it would be childish, more like something Mai would do. Mai. He looked over and saw a bright red Mai pulling herself off the floor. Was that noise snickering? He quickly turned to Lin. Lin had his back turned and some laughing noises were escaping him despite his best attempts to quell them. When Lin dared take a look back he noticed Naru giving him what could best described as a death glare. This managed to quiet him for a while. But as Mai was getting dressed Naru could still hear small giggles escaping him and some unintelligible words that sounded suspiciously like "same bed."

As they were walking to base Lin noticed Naru staring at Mai's lower anatomy. Specifically her butt. It seemed her particularly shirt skirt (how many of them did she have!?) had ridden up on her waist and the bottom part of her panties was showing. He wondered if Naru was feeling the call of adolescence. This was rather unprecedented. But then again Naru probably was wondering what he should say to bother Mai the most. This was confirmed when Naru, who had felt Lin watching him watch Mai, said, "What exactly do the guys at your school say about your skirts, Mai?"

"Huh, what do you mean?" Mai said laughing as she continued to walk to the base. She froze suddenly, Was it possible… She looked back and down. Mai let out a harrowing scream. "Na- na– Naru, you baka! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Whyyy? I've been walking around for the past minute like that," she said pulling her skirt down and crossing her legs. Lin looked away.

"Your lucky I bothered to tell you at all," Naru said. He pushed past her and kept walking towards the base. Mai fumed. She wanted revenge. Badly.

Authors Note:

Ahhhh finally. This was hell to get out. I was thinking about whether to make my chapters longer or shorter. I'm not sure. But anyways thanks for reading and please review!! Nii Pah!!!

On a more hopeful (?) note, or perhaps the word would be light (or something)… I'm ranting. I am waiting for the 23rd episode of Higurashi no Naku koro ni kai (when they (the cicadas) cry answers). If this arc does not have a happy ending, I will be so upset. I need a happy ending. Rena has to be like the best character ever, and Hanyuu is the cutest. Sorry for that I just had to get that out, and since I mentioned Higurashi I am obligated to say I would not recommend it for children under the age of 13.