Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.

Author's Note: Thanks to all reviewers for their encouragement on this story! Especially Ariana Taniyama, thanks for the specific constructive criticism

This chapter is longer than the others mind you, since I wanted to have everything all in one go. Another thing is that I try to build this story up as much as I can, so getting to Mai has taken three chapters. But I'm definitely gonna put all I've got to make Mai and Naru's reunion super awesome.

Thanks again for all the encouragement on my first ghost hunt fanfic!

*NOTE with the note: Sorry! I accidentally posted my un-revised chapter 3 up a few hours ago. This is the revised one."

Xxx

The forest was dead quiet.

Mai had walked a good mile where she fell and the terrain had changed slightly. The haze that enveloped the forest earlier had disappeared to a minimum, leaving a fresh scent around her. A soft sunlight trickled between the leaves making the forest brighten up around her.

Again, why is there so much light at midnight? First it was just gray foggish light, and now this?

Secondly, the ground changed to rich and earthy – probably almost anything can be grown here.

"AH!" Mai yelled, as she tripped on what felt like a log. After brushing herself off of soil and grass, she inspected the thing she tripped on closely. Her eyes grew wide.

The log was not a log after all, but a tree root. It continued to widen to the size of her torso, and then to a width of a small room, until it went on to form a trunk of a tree. Mai's jaw dropped in just how gigantic the tree was. She looked around; many more trees were just about its size, as well. It was the first time Mai had been a place with such enormous trees; all of them were like huge sequoias, 200-300 feet tall.

She craned her neck completely back as she tried to survey the whole tree. In the end, she couldn't even see the top part because of how tall they were.

Mai rubbed her neck. Ouch, it hurts to look .

"Wow. I never knew Himiwara had a forest like this. It definitely was NOT in their guidebook of this place." After another few minutes of staring, she turned to walk on.

Another good thing, she had noticed, was the black ooze that rose up from the soil in large puddles was non-existent in this area. She had no problem walking around freely in now...but she did have to worry about running into a few trunks. They were so massive that it literally had to take 2-3 minutes just to walk around them. There was another peculiar thing: there was not one bird, insect, or any other living thing around her.

It would be an understatement to call it odd, it was downright impossible. Her voice and footsteps were the only sounds she heard after Gene left her.

"Okay, so I'm done tree ogling. Now where am I?" Mai asked herself, while walking aimlessly through the forest. Everything around her was still alien. The trees acted like a maze that she had to weave through. Another big problem was the trees' canopies acted like a ceiling, despite the little light rays that came through. She felt boxed in from above.

After a few more minutes of wandering, she felt herself getting more frustrated. She swore she just walked around in a circle just now. Quite frankly, she didn't even know where she was going. It seemed like wherever she went it looked the same.

"Oh!" She smacked herself on the head, "That's right, Naru gave me that to help in these kind of situations." She dug around her backpack. On the very bottom of one of the pockets, she fished out a metallic circular object.

*flashback one month ago*

"Mai, you have no idea where we are, do you?" Naru said, while grabbing the map from her.

They were on location in Scotland, a case that took Madoka, Naru's self-claimed boss, two weeks for Naru to accept. The investigation had taken them to a large resort off the Shores of Loch Ness Lake. They had already exorcised the poltergeist that was terrorizing the guests; apparently it was all because of a treasure that the ghost had left underneath the house. Things were calming down. Ayako, Takigawa, Masako, and John had gone home, leaving only Lin, Naru, and Mai.

Since they had some down time, Mai wanted to explore the lake and maybe see the Loch Ness monster before departing. She had invited them to go with her. Lin gave Mai a half-smile, saying he needed to pack up the equipment for transport. However, Naru, by some profound miracle, simply said he would like to take a break and search for the Loch Ness as well.

Upon hearing this, Mai's heart did a back flip over the thought of her being alone with Naru. There were very few instances when they were alone, she was usually getting attacked, or Masako or the others somehow interfered, or a new clue popped up that he needed to attend to. But not today! I'm so lucky! Mai thought happily. Now, she felt her blood pressure shoot up to her brain, as she fought the urge to smack the conceited smile off his face.

"The first step to get to your destination is to figure out where you are and then where you are going, idiot."

"I know where we are! We're at the Northeastern end of the lake." She said angrily. Again, she tried to snatch the map back from Naru. He held the map firmly behind him.

"Sure," Naru pointed to the sky above them, "but the sun says differently."

Mai looked up. The sun had started to lower on the other side of the sky, meaning they were definitely on the northwestern part of the lake. Seeing her realization, Naru smirked and folded his arms.

"Let's make a trade. You can have this compass," He slipped a small object into her backpack. "…And I'll have this." Before Mai could make another grab for it, he put the map in his pocket. Then he turned to walk in the direction of the lake's shoreline.

"Besides, we'd be going around in circles if you let a monkey make sense of a map."

*

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MONKEY, DAMMIT!"

Mai hollered in a loud voice, as she clenched her fist in the air. She nearly broke the compass in her hand doing so. Eek too loud! The sound of her voice was even more amplified in the silent forest. Mai scanned her eyes around to make sure no one heard her…not even a cricket chirp. Good, no scariness appearing here…

She looked down on her compass : it showed the green arrow pointing in the northern direction.

"Ok, first step: I need to figure out where I am." She said to herself. Mai stopped her wandering for a moment and leaned on a tree.

"I fell on the third turn going down, that was on the eastern side of Himiwara…so that means I came from the east there." She pointed a finger back to the direction where she walked from. "Now where am I going? If I get to the main road, I could just take that to SPR. So… I would need to go some place where the main road passes through…" Mai thought for a moment. Main road passes through, easy to get to, somewhere I know…

"Oh yeah!" Mai smacked her hands together, "a major tourist spot …Narajara Cave! That's…north from here!" Mai checked the compass again. She was still walking in the northern direction. It was only a few minutes from the eastern side of Himiwara to Narajara Cave. Mai knew this route, knowing one of the major landmarks was the elevation changes to it: all she just had to follow the downward slope North, and she would arrive in the cave's region. Additionally, the area around the cave had unique rock formations, as if the place used to experience major earthquake activity. In short, it was very hard to miss.

Mai, you're a fricken genius, she thought happily to herself. Didn't even need a map to solve this one! Take that, Naru!'

She continued to trudge through the forest. There were still no signs of life, but the ground had started to become uneven and had a downward slope. It was also less muddy and more solid- she even saw a few large pieces of granite here and there. The trees themselves were also getting smaller and thinner. That's probably due to the soil being less rich. This was definitely where Narajara cave would be.

Suddenly, she came to a halt.

"No way." She whispered to herself.

The terrain opened up in front of her, giving her a clear view of the area. Large granite rocks slanted sideways, and the ground became lopsided. There was no soil any more, just jagged piles of boulders to climb over. Mai felt like she was looking at the aftermath of a mountain after a landslide.

But that wasn't the problem.

Right before the rock formations started began to begin, a river of black ooze flowed in front of her - The same black ooze that had almost killed her. To Mai's horror, it seemed to know she was there. It tried to overflow out of its usual pattern and come to her, roaring and gurgling all the way. She backed up a few feet into the forest behind her.

The ooze rushed at her, making another angry noise, and formed into a small wave. It accelerated in mass and speed, swelling into a wall of ooze 80 feet high. Mai knew she was done for. There was no way she could outrun a tsunami, even less a thinking tsunami. Mai closed her eyes.

This is it. Goodbye everyone…

The wave crashed at her feet. It didn't even touch her. It stopped, right where the rich soil started underneath Mai. Mai opened one eye. She saw it attempting to form itself again, but like the waves on the sea shore, it just crashed into the soil. It made a painful gurgling noise and retreated back, uniting with its river.

Mai blinked back disbelieving, and felt her herself sinking in relief into the ground beneath her

"Phew! Now that was a miracle."

She shakily took out her compass, and checked the direction. Yep, it's definitely pointing north to the killer ooze. Now how am I supposed to get to the cave? Mai sighed and sat down, putting her head between her knees.

"In this situation, I would just try to build a bridge over it. But since it's intelligent," Mai threw a pebble at it. Immediately, a slither of ooze shot out and engulfed the pebble. "…I've got no chance." She closed her eyes for a moment and felt sleepy. What time is it?

Mai checked her watch.

1:01 a.m.

'How nice, I've been here for exactly one hour.' Mai found the closest tree next to her, and skooched over. She leaned against it with her head, and closed her eyes. She felt herself falling into the darkness of sleep, and feeling the peace that came with it. She exhaled comfortably, and drifted away…

At that moment, there was some rustling in the trees, and footsteps. Mai's body stiffened. She could hear people whispering.

"Shh…you don't know if she's one of them. Didn't you see how she stopped the sinestra?"

"We won't know unless we wake her up! Besides have you ever seen them sleep? She probably isn't one."

"I agree with Mika, we should wake her. She may know information from the outside."

She felt irritated at being woken up…her body told her that she should go right back to sleep. But I'm lost, and I fell off a hill. Mai opened her eyes and rubbed them sleepily. Through her blurry vision, she could make out three people.

"Now you've done it! She's awake!"

She blinked to see a tall blonde man, late twenties, a young woman with red hair, also in late twenties, and lastly, a black haired young man, in his teens.

"Hello miss, you look lost." The tall blonde said.

xxx

Himiwara Manor
1:45 a.m.

"Whoa."

Naru, Lin, Ayako, and Takigawa all piled up at the front entrance of the Manor. The manor was just as magnificent on the outside as it was in the inside. The lobby they were in was a perfect rectangle. In front of them, there was a double handle winding staircase going from the top floor to the bottom. The entrance lobby had white marble flooring, with mahogany walls. The decorations consisted of antique Chinese and Japanese statues and paintings. Two jade dragons sat in front of the handle bars, as the staircase was the focal point in the room.

Every item on one side of the room had the same on the other side. However, there was something that stood out particularly: there were pillars and pillars of white marble with huge crystals embedded in them. They were place in a linear fashion throughout the whole room. If one would draw a line through all of them, they would make a perfect rectangle.

"This place is very…symmetrical." Ayako said to herself, as they were ushered by one of the maids into the parlor. The parlor itself might have once looked like the rest of the manor, but now, it was SPR's main base. There were small TVs everywhere that had had video shots from cameras in the Manor, and Mulberry Lane (the main road where sightings were active) and the bike trail. There were spiderwebs of wires running along the wall to support the technology that surrounded the room. Ayako and Takigawa sat tiredly on one of the silk embroidered sofas.

On the other hand, Naru sat back on the parlor couch, slightly irritated. They were taking too long with all the formalities. Although Lin had already set up the equipment in all the rooms, Naru hated to wait for the owner to show up. What he wanted to do was get the information on the case files now. He had a briefing from Lin, but it was simply not enough. He felt sure Mai's disappearance was because of the case on hand, and the more time they wasted waiting, the more danger Mai would be in. Wherever she was.

As for Lin, he was just as irritated as Naru.

One, he knew that Naru had used his psychic powers to find clues on Mai. Before he even admitted anything, he felt Naru's life force was significantly weaker on their car ride here. Two, the manor itself is strange. There was a faint fragrance that dulled his senses. It was as if the whole area had been neutralized of any spirit presence whatsoever. A dead space.

"Hello everyone!"

A young woman with long black hair and green eyes came into the room. She had a black dress with sleeves, and high heeled shoes. She looked of Chinese descent. She was of medium height, and in her late twenties. She had the grace and figure of a noblewoman, and her voice was one that commanded respect.

However, as she walked in she had scanned the room quickly, her eyes stopped and widened slightly at a certain raven-haired man.

Does she know Naru? Lin thought to himself. Even if she did, Naru probably did not. He barely paid any attention to her presence, and stayed deep in thought.

"My name is Lilith, and I am the head maid at Himiwara Manor. Sorry for the long wait." She quickly looked around at the gloomy faces in the room, before focusing back to the one person. "I see you all must be fatigued. I will get the tea ready."

She came back out with tea and cookies, and gave a cup to each person.

"Mr. Lee Wong is just coming back from his office from the other side of town. He gave word to tell you that the search party was called off due to the heavy fog on the main road. They did search for a few minutes, though. I'm sorry, but no one was found." Again, she fixated her gaze on Naru. He was staring at his tea cup, expressionless.

"We will thank Mr. Wong for his efforts, anyway." Lin replied, compensating for Naru's silence.

"Ah, also I have something for Shibuya-san." She said, while placing a folder on the table. "I was asked by Mr. Wong to give this to you in the meantime."

Ayako, Takigawa, and Lin, got up to group around Naru as he looked through the updated case files.

"Thank you." Naru responded in monotone, as he opened the folder.

"Your things will be taken to your rooms." Lilith smiled and bowed at him before walking out, closing the parlor door behind her.

Takigawa let out a long sigh. "Man, Naru, did ya see how that maid kept her eyes on you that whole time? She didn't even look at us, not even once! It looked like she was gonna eat you! Although most people probably wouldn't mind being eaten by a babe like her -"

Smack.

"You've got some nerve, Houshou Takigawa! She's so suspicious! She could have some hidden intent on Naru and the rest of us for one thing! This place is too perfect." Ayako clenched her fist. "On top of that, we still don't know why Mai's disappeared from this world." She finished off into a whisper. Yes, that's right, Mai is involved and all Naru can think about is the case, the case! He hasn't even told us anything! We should be putting more efforts in finding her, despite this weather! What if she's dead...

Ayako finished and leaned on Takigawa. He rubbed her back in apology, as he tried to calm her down. Lin stared at Ayako, slightly wide-eyed. Naru did not tell him any information on Mai's disappearance at all.

"Excuse me, Ayako-san, when did you find out that Mai had disappeared?" He inquired, trying to keep his voice gentle, even though he was shocked out of his senses.

Naru was the one that replied this time.

"I used clairvoyance to see where Mai was located. She met an apparition on one of the major turns over Himiwara forest and fell. Just like," Naru took out a paper with the summary of the case files, "these cases here."

"Also," Naru said in dead pan, "Mai's presence can no longer be felt. She probably has fallen into the Interim Mundo." Naru gave the paper to Ayako and Takigawa, who had not been updated on any information regarding the case yet. Lin gave him a knowing look.

Ayako knew enough Latin to translate the name, and could assume the meaning from it. Her eyes were wide in horror. Takigawa, on the other hand, had no idea.

"What the hell is Interim Mundo?" Takigawa said, slightly irritated by the new onslaught of information.

Lin picked up a small globe on the counter table, and rolled it in his hand.

"The literal translation is 'in between the world.' There are areas on the earth that have high magnetic and spiritual energy, especially due to major environmental and geological influences. For example, we have the Bermuda triangle. There are major faults within the ocean floor, methane hydrates, rogue waves, and hurricanes. This place is known to have an enormous amount of energy stored within its current, so much so that when conditions are correct, can cause a dimensional crack. This is known as an Interim Mundo."

"Many times, if there is a human present, they get trapped in the Interim Mundo and vanish." Lin stopped rolling the globe and held it up by two fingers.

"Areas that have the most potential to becoming an Interim Mundo, usually have a vast amount of moving energy. Worthy locations are along the edges of tectonic plates," he traced a finger around the continents, "making up the Ring of Fire. This includes areas of hot springs and volcanoes."

Takigawa sighed, "that would be all well and good, except for one thing: we're on a hill. No volcanoes, no major oceanic events, no hot springs and geysers. There's no moving energy here."

"And it's also when conditions are correct." Ayako added. "What sort of conditions could this place offer?"

A quiet moment spread over the room. The only thing heard was Naru sipping tea.

"…The fog." Ayako stated while looking through all seven case files.

"All the disappearances happened in the fog. It's not anything like a volcano or any hurricane, but it IS a moving energy."

"So we have the fog, what are other patterns between Taniyama-san's disappearance, and these seven cases?" Lin said, recovering from his initial shock. If there were any clues to finding her, they would be in these case files.

"Well, the most obvious thing is that all the people who disappeared are orphans." Naru said over his tea cup.

"EH???!!!" Ayako and Takigawa said together. This definitely wasn't in the reports that Lee Wong gave them a few days ago. Ayako took out her copy of the case files as well as the Lee Wong's letter. She scanned through them quickly, and stared at Lin quizzically.

"You know Lin- san, there are some mistakes in the case file that's given to us. It didn't say they were all orphans, and another thing," Ayako pointed at a single sentence in Lee Wong's letter, "he said they were all dead."

"But there were no mention of any bodies found. No autopsy reports. Not a shred of evidence to conclude they are actually dead. It's as if they just disappeared in thin air. This only further proves the Interim Mundo theory." Lin replied, setting down the globe back on the coffee table.

"So let's do this old-school style." Takigawa kicked up his feet on the coffee table. "Until Wong-san gets here, we'll all read our copies of the new case file and the original. Anyone who finds anything will yell it out, and we can string together some clues to find Mai."

Naru stood up. "It's inefficient having all four of us here looking through all of this. Takigawa, go and set up the cameras in the most active locations outside. Start with the bike trail. Try to assess what kind of ghosts we're dealing with, as well as any other traces of evidence. Bring Matsuzaki-san with you. There's a good amount of trees in that area." Naru switched over to sit in front of the cameras, case file in hand. "Lin and I will be watching for any disturbances as you do so. We will update you when we meet Wong-san."

"If Mai is in this Interim Mundo," Ayako burst out, "how will we get her out?"

"IF she is in there, something which we still need to confirm, we will need enough spiritual energy to open a gateway and have her pass through." Lin said, while giving them equipment to set up, "Our energy combined would not be enough. We would need Masako and John-san for that."

"So we have to wait until they arrive?"

"Precisely."

Takigawa and Ayako nodded and stood up to pack for departure. Naru narrowed his eyes and added, "When you go on the bike path," he added,"look carefully on the third turn down."

After a few minutes of getting their backpacks, and some cautionary orders, the two left the parlor.

In a flash, Naru sat down in front of the video cameras, and put all the case files in front of him, lining them up. With a red marker, he started to underline and circle quickly and efficiently, as if underlining and circling was the only thing he ever did in the world. He glanced at the cameras intermittently, while keeping a steady pace of scribbling notes.

"Lin, it's not like you to stare at me like an observing scientist. Please make notes on case numbers 6-8." While facing forward, he held a pile of papers out to him with his left hand.

"Naru, you know what it means to be in the Interim Mundo. If Mai being there is true, we need to put all our resources into going inside. Why did you send Ayako-san and Takigawa-san away, to only do the trivial tasks of checking on cameras? Furthermore, they don't know what they're looking for. You haven't given them any information regarding the Interim Mundo…especially the time limitations of those trapped in it."

Naru's hand paused for an instant before starting to move again.

"It is because they don't know anything that I sent them out."

xxx

2:10 a.m.

Lilith stared at the fog enveloping the windows of their service car. She had met Mr. Wong at the gates, as she usually did when he came home. He sat next to her as they drove up past the manor's main entrance.

"Lilith, I suppose you saw our guests in the manor already?" Lee Wong said in a cheerful voice. He was in his fifties, tall in stature, with slick black hair, and a taste for fine clothes and accessories. He wore an Armani suit, and a Rolex. He had been sitting in the car for the past two hours in heavy traffic and was glad to be home.

"Yes, they are very interesting." She replied darkly, as she turned her head to look at him. "Especially Kazuya Shibuya, he is quite a character. He has a certain aura to him."

"Haha! Lilith, has cupid shot you with an arrow while I was away? I really must meet this man!" He said jovially. "Now tell me, did you give them the case files?"

"Yes. They already have their equipment set up in the rooms, and made their main room as the parlor. There are four of them in total, another four will be arriving at 6 a.m."

"Oh good! The more the merrier. I would like to get this case done, and they sure do have a head start!" He laughed again for a few moments. His laughter died down, and he turned to look at Lilith seriously.

"And how…was Kana today?"

"She stayed in her room as always. She hasn't spoken a word, the servants believe her to be mute. As far as her behavior goes, her tantrums no longer include breaking the furniture and damaging the walls. She is being silent and obedient."

Wong stared out the window. "I see. Well, I hope for her sake, that she will get used to living with me sometime soon."

The car slowed to a stop in front of the main door to the house. Lilith started to gather her things, as Wong unbuckled his seat belt.

"On to other news, I've heard they have not found their investigator Mai Taniyama."

"As anticipated, her body could not be sought for due to the weather. We will try again later when the fog clears up." She replied steadily, as she unbuckled her seat belt.

Wong's expression was hidden in the darkness of the car as he mumbled.

"That will be too late."

xxx

Ayako and Takigawa walked down the steep and narrow turns of the bike trail. They had to park their car on the main road because of it. Both were already out of breath due to the heavy equipment they carried on their backs. Because the fog obstructed their vision, they had to keep one hand on the cliffs' wall in order to prevent falling off.

"You know, they should put a railing here! It's so dangerous! I'm surprised only seven people have fallen off this thing." Ayako shivered as she glanced towards the 150 foot drop to the forest below. She a wave of nausea come over her. "I seriously can see why Mai did."

"Well, we don't know if they ALL fell off. And can you believe how Naru just ushered us out like that? I have a strange feeling that he was trying to get rid of us." Takigawa huffed as he stepped slowly behind Ayako.

"Maybe…you know Naru, he thinks he's a one man army sometimes…what's worrying me more was the strange atmosphere I feel ever since we got here." Ayako inquired, slowing down. The fog was thickening in front of them.

"You feel it too huh? When we were at the manor, it felt like the air was heavy and clouded my spiritual senses. I usually can sense the energies of the people around me, but at the manor, there was nothing. If I was deaf and blind, I wouldn't know you were sitting next to me."

"It's the first time I felt that way," Ayako replied and carefully stepped over a rock. "Also, there's a lot of energy here, it makes the air have a tingle to it. I'm surprised there aren't as many ghosts as I thought there would be. This place is a hot bed. Oh and another thing," she complained as she stepped over a branch, "did you see how horribly perfect Wong's house was? It was unnatural."

"Well it definitely seems suspicious…So you think this place is an Interim Mundo?" Takigawa asked.

"I think this place can hold several Interim Mundos. The problem is, it feels that there is something here that's containing it…as if it was being manipulated."

"Yeah. There was a similar case I worked on a few years ago. There were some missing people too. But I came at the close of the situation. In the end, I didn't help much. It took a bunch of us monks just to keep the energy down, to keep it from exploding into a physical force. But after a day, the energy that was building up suddenly vanished. We never solved the actual problem ourselves, nor did we have the resources to." Takigawa said, feeling the cliff slightly curve.

"Wait, how long did you say it was?"

"Well, it started at midnight and lasted exactly 24 hours. Could you believe that? It ended exactly midnight the next day. We never found the missing people."

Ayako felt herself walking in a curve. "I see…wait what turn are we on?"

She felt the air get more humid around her. The thick fog started to lessen. She could now see in everything in front of her, around the cliff, and the forest below…to the very LOW forest below.

Her stomach turned.

"Oops, I think this is the third one."

Ayako rolled her eyes at him, and she set one of her cameras to the side. She looked straight at Takigawa, and promised herself to never look down again. "I guess it is important he sent us out, since Mai probably fell off right here."

"Is that what Naru said?"

"Not directly."

The sky that was only slightly cloudy, now had angry brown clouds welling up and approaching over the cliffside. The fog thinned out and disappeared completely, as if retreating from the clouds. At that moment, light flashed, illuminating the area in a fantastic glowing white.

Takigawa looked up and gasped.

"I don't believe it. It's lightning."

BOOM.

"And thunder." Ayako added quietly. She stared at the incoming brown clouds spreading in the sky above them. She suddenly felt cold and slightly wet.

"You know Takigawa, this only proves how weird this place is! It is very rare that a thunder cloud appears out of nowhere. A freak storm."

"I wouldn't say that." A low voice called out from behind them.

Ayako and Takigawa spun around so quick they almost lost their footing. Crouching on a rocky perch was an old man smiling at them. He wore dark brown robes and black boots. He looked down at them cheerfully with bright silver eyes, and with a beard that ran down to his feet. As stunned as Ayako and Takigawa were about seeing a random old man sitting there, the thing sitting next to him was even more baffling.

A majestic blue bird sat next to him staring at them beautifully with its red eyes. Its body structure was similar to a phoenix- It was about 6 feet high, its feathers were sleek and multiple shades of blue. The power emanating from the bird was so strong, it made Ayako and Takigawa weak in the knees.

"Who are you?"

xxx

Himiwara Manor
2:20 a.m.

"Good evening friends!" Wong said cheerfully as he strolled into the room. "I'm Lee Wong, the primary investigator for the disappearances here on Himiwara."

He was welcomed with the sullen face one man standing beside a younger man sitting in front of the video cameras. The air in the room was tense, as if the two had just finished a heated argument. The younger man rotated his chair around to face him. His cold blue eyes stared back at him, emotionless.

Lilith was right. That is quite an aura.

"Good evening Mr. Wong, we've been waiting for you. It's nice to meet you." Lin greeted formally, with his hand stretched towards him.

"It is nice meeting you too," Mr. Wong said as they shook hands. "You must be Lin-san." He stretched his hand out to the younger man. "And you must be Shibuya-san. It is an honor to meet you both."

Naru shook his hand, but eyed him closely. His hands were cold, as if he just had been outside.

"Let's work well together." Naru stated monotonously.

Lin-san started to hold up some of the case files to him. "Unfortunately, we are somewhat pressed, due to the fact that one of our investigators is missing. As you can see, we have been working on the case files. There are some differences between the original cases that you sent us, and the ones that your head maid, Lilith gave us." Mr. Wong took the files.

Mr. Wong smiled to them apologetically. "I gave you the ones that were given to most of the officers in the precinct. Those files are somewhat 'fudged' since they were to prevent mass hysteria from the public. This was only temporary, I meant to give you the original ones when you accepted the case."

"I see…and how much 'fudge' are contained in these files?" Naru inquired, slightly irritated that he had lost time studying tainted reports.

"I'm very sorry Shibuya-san, it's just that before SPR accepted the case, we could not give you these files out of confidence." He made a move to walk back to the door.

"If you will both follow me, we can go to my office where I have all the information that you might need."

Before they knew it, Lin and Naru were following Lee Wong to his office. They passed through the lobby, into another hallway. The marble flooring was white and clean, and the walls had huge oil paintings. There were small lights placed on the sides of the walls, every few feet to light their way. The crystals in the white pillars gleamed at them from both sides because of it.

"This place is fairly extravagant." Lin commented as he touched the crystal embedded pillars.

"Yes, my side job does help with the new additions and maintenance to this manor." He tapped on a pillar. "These sparkles you see in the pillar are actually micro diamonds in white marble."

Lin's eyes widened slightly by this realization. Naru kept walking on, without any interest.

"You see," Mr. Wong continued, "I had inherited a large portion of this hill from my grandfather. It includes the forests and the marshes below. But, unknown to the public, this hill has a diamond mine at the north end. Because my grandfather was the first to discover this mine, he was able to buy most of the real estate on this hill, and build the most luxurious manor on Himiwara." He smiled proudly.

"Is that why you told lies to the media? To not tarnish your name since the disappearances happened on your land?" Naru shot back as he walked forward.

Mr. Lee Wong waved his hands in surrender. "No, that's not it. As a primary investigator, I went along with my commanding chief, who thought it was truly best for the public to not give the details on the disappearances."

Lin and Naru glanced at each other. Uh huh. They stopped at a double door entrance.

"Here we are!"

The office was huge with a large table and multiple desks. It looked like a copy of the investigation department in any police precinct. In the middle of the room was a huge board with face shots of the seven missing people, as well as their case summaries underneath each picture. Naru went to look at each of them.

"As you can see," Mr. Wong said, "these have very peculiar distinctions. For one, if you look carefully at the times of each disappearance, they are all occur between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Most likely, they happened around midnight. Another thing is, all of the missing people attend night class at Himiwara University, and have assumed to have disappeared along the main route and the bike route."

"The hour between days." Naru mumbled to himself. "Midnight."

"Yes," Mr. Wong said, a little disturbed at his words, "midnight. Anyway, as you know the case has a total of seven missing persons, their names are: Ryuji Matsumoto, Kumiko Chen, Mika Petrov, Sebastian West, Jira Hayashi, Jen Setsuna, and Hiroshi Tanaka." Mr. Wong paused. "Another peculiarity is they are all orphans, a mix of Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and American. Because of it, we initially suspected it might have been a terrorist group targeting certain students from Himiwara. But of course no evidence points to this."

Naru came to the last case picture. "Are those the only similarities between them?"

"As far as I know yes. Oh wait! They also disappeared on nights like this, where the fog is very thick. I remember because we could not send the search parties out immediately."

"What is the history on both Mulberry Lane and the adjacent bike trail? Any major accidents before the seven missing?"

"No, the usual car accidents. No deaths."

"Any other unusual occurrences or hauntings in this area?"

"No…well…" Wong scratched his chin. "There are some students who complain of loud noises coming from the north end, around the diamond mine. But we usually wave it off as noises from mining."

"What kind of sounds? Can you explain them to me?" Naru inquired, as he looked sharply at him.

"W-well, they're kind of gurgling noises, and small blasts. Mind you, I've never really heard anything myself, I just here the noises from the mine." Mr. Wong turned away from the intensity of his stare.

Naru sat down in one of the seats.

"I would like to check the area around there." He said simply.

"If you must…" Mr. Wong trailed off.

Naru turned to look at Lin. The older man stood in front of a large map that covered one side of the wall. It showed Himiwara hill, with the University and the Manor in the upper region. It showed the bike trail winding down, as well as the Mulberry lane next to it. But it was the mountainous area around Kokubu, the same small city that Himiwara University overlooked, that Lin had his eyes on.

"The terrain itself is interesting," he pointed at the Kirishima mountain range and drew a circle in the air.

"Doesn't it look like Kokubu is surrounded and locked in by the Kirishima?"

"Yes. Himiwara is actually the closest part of the mountain range to Kokubu, the rest of it surrounds the city, but it takes a few miles to walk from the city towards the range. Whereas the people who live on Himiwara can just take a quick car ride or bike ride down to the city below. Haha! That's why the residents on Himiwara pay a good amount of money for their mansions here. It has a great view and is closest to the city. I am really lucky!" His rolex glinted in the light.

Naru rolled his eyes. For some reason, he could never get along with rich old men. They were frivolous, and spent their time doing nothing but buying more, and showing off to others. He took out the crystals Takigawa gave him in the car and started to roll them in his hand. For some reason, he felt his mind clear from the anxiety of losing Mai, as well as the irritation he held for Mr. Lee Wong.

"Where did you get those?" Naru's head shot up to look at Mr. Wong. His hand closed instinctively around the crystals.

"A friend gave them to me."

Mr. Wong's eyes fixated on the little golf ball sized rocks that sparkled in his hand.

"Those are quite valuable. You may want to keep them in a safer place. I have a master safe hidden away in the house if you would like to put them there-"

Naru waved his free hand. "No thanks, there are some things that I would like to keep with me…Despite the circumstances." Naru was about to pocket the crystals once more, when something he saw interrupted him. From the corner of his peripheral vision, he saw a white streak through the crack of the door.

Ghost?

It stopped right behind it. An eye peered through. It looked straight at Naru. Lin and Wong noticed that Naru was intently looking at the door, and they turned to follow his vision.

"Naru, what is it…" Lin started.

Abruptly, the door flew open, and a small girl, no more than 7 years old charged at Naru. Her long black hair contrasted with her white nightgown made her look like a ghost. She immediately target Naru's hand- the one that held the crystals. She grabbed for them and tried to wrench them out, twisting Naru's arm in the process.

Naru made a move to grab the girl and steady her away from him, when two arms encircled her stomach. She was forcefully yanked away, and nearly flipped over from the movement.

"Kana!" Wong screamed as Lin pinned the girl against himself. The girl trembled into Lin's shirt, and said nothing. Only soft sobs could be heard from her.

"You! What do you think you're doing?!" Wong growled at her. Lin released her from his hold and she stood up trembling slightly to face Wong. He was shaking in fury as he grabbed her shoulders.

"How dare you treat our guests that way! I told you to stay in your room until you calmed down. I will have Lilith escort you there, and you may not come out until TOMORROW!" He walked to the double doors and stuck his head out to talk to a servant.

Kana stood trembling in front of Naru. Her black hair strung around her face, while strands stuck haphazardly to her huge black eyes. She had defeat and misery written all over her. That's not a look normal for children to have, Naru thought, as he took out a handkerchief and held it out to her. She tried to brush her tears with her sleeve. The whole time, she only stared sadly back at Naru, as he continued to hold the handkerchief out to her.

She shook her head. Instead she pointed at Naru's other hand. For some reason, he felt the crystals start to move around in his palm, as if they were trying to get free. Naru clenched his hand shut, and eyed the girl.

"Sorry miss, I can't give this to you," he said softly. "I'm looking for my friend, and I was told that I would need these."

The girl nodded in understanding and slumped her shoulders forward. The crystals became motionless.

"Pa…papa…" she said hoarsely.

Her voice was so small and pathetic - it nearly broke Lin's heart. Naru knelt in front of her and put the handkerchief in her hand.

"I'm sure your papa," Naru glanced over at Mr. Wong, "will forgive you. Is there a reason why you need these so much? Your papa has a lot of nice things … I'm sure he can give you a lot of toys instead…"

Kana shook her head violently, and seized Naru's arm, pulling him down with her. She started to sob again into his sleeve. Lin looked at the girl in confusion. She was small for her age, and rather skinny. He felt his heart go out to her as she clutched onto Naru.

"No…not papa…"

A shadow stood over him, and Naru turned his face upward. Steely green eyes locked with his own.

Lilith touched the young girl's arm, and gently got her back to her feet.

"Now Kana, there's no need to trouble these gentleman any further. Let's go to your room where you can get some rest." Lilith said, while taking the girl's hand. Before walking out, she took one last look over her shoulder. The expression on her face was no longer held any feelings of misery…it was replaced by something else.

Worry? Naru thought to himself. What was that about?

"I'm so sorry gentleman," Wong's voice broke him out of his train of thoughts, "that was my adopted daughter. I only adopted her 3 weeks ago. She is still having trouble adjusting to this place…and to me."

"Does she usually have these kinds of tantrums with new guests?" Lin asked, as he took one last glimpse of her before she walked out the door.

"Well she usually doesn't have much contact with outsiders. Also," he said a little more soberly, "she was diagnosed with acute bipolar schizophrenia. She hasn't spoken a word to me or any of the servants. But," his face brightened slightly, "when she's not having an episode, she is a very sweet little girl."

Lin tapped his chin. Naru put his hands in his pockets and sat down.

"I didn't know children could get diagnosed with schizophrenia at such a young age. I admire that you would adopt a child despite having that kind of disease." Lin said thoughtfully.

He sighed, and sat down in one of the leather chairs. "Well to tell you the truth," he ran his hand through his hair, "that child is special. I noticed it when I first met her at the adoption agency. All her toys were broken around her. Many times the social workers would often quit after seeing some unusual events. Toys floating, things moving on their own… "

"You mean…"

"She has PK abilities…telekinesis."

Knock. Knock.

One of the servants popped their head in.

"Master Wong? There is a phone call for you from your client in Kokubu's main office."

Wong got up out of his seat and bowed to the Lin and Naru.

"If you will excuse me gentlemen, I need to take this call. Please feel free to make yourselves comfortable. You can use any one of my servants if you need anything at all. I will be back shortly."

He shut the door and left. Lin leaned on the table and Naru sat in the chair, fiddling with something in his sleeve pocket.

"So, someone else with PK abilities, huh..." Naru muttered to himself, as he took something out of his pocket and analyzed it in his hand.

Lin started to pile case summaries and maps on the desk. "Besides that, Naru… what is your plan in finding Mai? I think we should cast a spell to open up the gateway to the Interim Mundo, we have enough time to do so. "

"I don't have enough time. Neither does Mai." he said, still looking at his hands. Now he had the crystals out.

Lin made a stern expression before walking closer up to Naru. He folded his arms. "Don't tell me you're going after her now! We need all our spiritual energies combined just to stabilize a gateway into it - that means waiting for everyone until 6 a.m. Besides, there is nothing you can do for her until then…" he paused to see Naru still fixated with the items in his hand.

"Naru?"

Lin leaned over to see.

In Naru's palm was a silver necklace with three charm pendant holders. Each pendant was made up of silver wires that could contain a charm, much like the necklaces that held \ wishing pearls. Although these holders were slightly different: they were big enough to hold rocks. Naru gingerly put each crystal in a holder and clasped the necklace around his neck.

"Where did you get that device?"

He unbuttoned his collar and put the necklace inside, hiding the crystals from plain view.

"Our little friend slipped it into my sleeve pocket," He replied while flipping his collar over the chain. "She seems to know a lot about these crystals."

Lin eyed him warily. "More than you, Naru. Your first time using them may be your last." he warned.

"Did you call Madoka, and tell her to send that person?" Naru inquired, changing the subject.

"Yes, she said he was on his way…but Naru, we can't do anything right now. We still need to history on this place, and information from the witnesses that were involved. We need to take this case step by step, as we did with the other case. Also, we are dealing with a different plane here…Like all Interim Mundos, the spiritual energy is unstable, as well as the demons that reside in it. It is a MUST that we proceed with caution."

Naru walked over to Wong's desk, and searched through a pile of maps. He picked one up, and put it under his arm.

"This Interim Mundo is unnatural... You know it. That means the gateway can also be made under certain conditions. A certain time, even."

"You are not thinking about souls' hour?"

Naru smirked and went on choosing papers from the desk. He picked a folder with the real case summaries. "I have obtained all the information I needed from Mr. Wong. I just need one more thing…"

The room illuminated as lightning flashed outside the windows.

"…and there it is." Naru grabbed a small map off Wong's desk and walked briskly out the room…with a very angry Lin in tow.

Lin looked at him, eyes widened. He can't be serious…Naru is not thinking of just rushing in?

"Naru, what you are doing is extremely reckless. I am your guardian! Although Mai is very important, it is YOUR life that is in my care!" It was very few times that Lin's voice did not have a gentle tone in it. However, this was the first time that Lin was close to screaming at him. "You are completely leaving this plane, and you haven't even considered taking others with you! That in itself needs some time and planning for your departure! This is very unlike you, Naru!"

"I've already planned for this. Ever since we left SPR less than three hours ago." Naru lifted up a ready-made pack of clothes and supplies sitting in the parlor, and held it up to Lin to prove his point. Afterwards, he stowed away the folder, under his arm, into the backpack.

"So you knew it was an Interim Mundo, even before you connected with Mai?" Lin said incredulously.

"Yes and no." Naru paused and gave Lin a small bag. "I've linked myself to this. You will be able to use your shiki and communicate with me while I am in there. This will ease any worries you have for me."

Lin peered inside the bag. It was a cardboard cut-out of a man. A hitogata… how did he have time to make this…and without my help?

Naru started to head out the door. "Tell Wong-san and Lilith that I am touring the city."

Lin sighed. He could not compete with Naru when he was this stubborn. Martin and Luella Davis were definitely going to have me fired when they find out. Lin could not believe Naru was just rushing into it. After 5 years of working together in Japan, he thought he could predict his actions easily…

"I didn't think you were the type to risk your life like this…" Lin called out to him.

"That's not true. For Mai, I would risk more than just my life."

Lin was left speechless. Who the hell was he talking to? When was it that Naru changed this much…for her…? He just couldn't believe it. Well I guess he does have those emotions after all…

Naru smirked and looked behind him. "I'll be back in a few hours." He said nonchalantly, but paused before walking out.

"And keep watch over that child…Kana."

He closed the door.

Xxx

2:50 a.m.

"Who are you?" Ayako asked, while taking a step forward.

"Me? Well, I'm just an old man sitting….with my comrade here." He said as he gently patted the bird's feathers.

"THAT is your comrade? Isn't it more like your pet?" Takigawa asked, pointing at the bird. In turn, the bird gave it one evil glared and ruffled its wings. Lightning and thunder boomed around them and a bolt shot dangerously close to Takigawa's foot.

"Ohh, you better not do that young man. You should have some reverence for a god." His silver eyes gleamed at them warningly. "Or you may lose your life."

Takigawa gulped. He really disliked dealing with huge powerful animals. Especially ones that could vaporize him in an instant.

"Your names?" Ayako asked, stepping forward until she was right in front of the old man.

"We both have many names, but you can call me Kami, and you can call him Lei-kun, the thunder god of the sky."

"What are you doing here?"

Kami's silver eyes twinkled mischievously as he glanced down into the forest below.

"So many questions for a couple who just looks like they are taking stroll." He paused as he jumped down from the perch. "We are here to meet someone."

"It must be someone important, if they need the power of a god." Takigawa said, inching away from the bird. Its eyes still gleamed murderously at Takigawa.

"Someone important indeed." Kami said soberly. "We are also here to help balance what is unbalanced at that moment."

Takigawa ran a hand through his air in frustration. "Old man! You're speaking in riddles. If you're talking about the Interim Mundo, just say it." He had enough of all the confusing information he was getting. All he wanted now were just straight and direct answers.

"But you haven't even introduced yourselves." He smiled playfully. "Although I'm somewhat surprised that you even know what Interim Mundo is."

"Fine!" Takigawa pointed at himself. "I'm Houshou Takigawa," he outstretched a hand out towards Ayako, " and this is Ayako Matsuzaki." He said grumpily. "and we just found out about the Interim Mundo. Can you give us any more information?"

The old man sat on a nearby rock and stroked his long white beard.

"…And what do I get in return if I tell you?"

"The satisfaction of helping another human being?" Takigawa said hopefully. "I doubt you want anything monetary."

"You're right. I see you have some brains after all." Laughed the old man. Takigawa just clenched his fist at the insult. Keep the peace monk, that's one of the basic things about being one. Bou-san thought to himself. Outwardly, he forced a smile.

"If you know anything please, please tell us," Ayako begged, "our precious friend is in there, and we believe her to be in great danger."

Kami frowned as he turned to Ayako. He looked as if he was remembering something. "Mai Taniyama. She fell into the cracks less than three hours ago. Lei-kun here," He said as the bird flew to him, "he saw the whole thing." He paused and smiled sadly, "That girl's soul was going to purged, so like the others before her, he pushed her into the Interim Mundo."

Ayako stared at him in disbelief.

"Pushed? Others?"

"Yes, she encountered a type of demon that is able to devour souls. Lei-Kun acted quickly and had her pushed into the gateway. However, I can feel that she is alive, albeit exhausted."

Ayako and Takigawa breathed in a sigh of relief. At least she was alive.

"So how do we get her out?" Takigawa asked. They now had a confirmation she was in there…

"You won't be getting her out at all." A voice said roughly behind them. In a few moments, a slightly disheveled Naru appeared turning the corner. He wore a large backpack, a heavy coat, and weather boots.

"NARU?! Shouldn't you be at the manor…! What in the world is going on?!" Ayako shouted. The old man just laughed grimly.

"Ah, the dark prince has appeared to save his princess."

Naru narrowed his eyes at Kami, but bowed respectfully to him. He bowed again to Lei-kun, who had stopped glaring daggers at Takigawa for the moment in order to greet Naru.

"I deeply appreciate your efforts to be out here for myself, and my team's behalf." He said reverently.

"Well you are somewhat late. I have only five minutes to brief you before you go."

"WHAT???!!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Ayako and Takigawa yelled together.

"NARU! Are you planning to go in there by yourself? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? NOT ONLY WILL YOU DIE, BUT WE WILL NEVER GET MAI OUT!"
"We need to go with you, that place is seriously scary and mysterious, there are soul purgers and everything! You need some major help man!"

Kami held up his hand to both Takigawa and Ayako.

"Sorry everyone, this is a one-man trip. We are, after all, creating a gateway. It is only powerful enough for one, and it will take all of mine and Lei-kun's energy."

"Naru, can we just wait for everyone please? It will be only another three hours until Madoka, Yasuhara, John, and Masako get here." Ayako pleaded with him.

"That is three hours too late. Mai is in great danger at every hourly interval. I need to get to her NOW." He stood turned to stand at the edge of the cliff.

"Wha? Naru, what do you mean at every hourly interval? That doesn't make any sense!" Ayako screamed at him, she was close to just yanking him off the cliff and forcefully taking him home. She outstretched her arm to grab him by the coat collar. Where's a damn tranquilizer when you need one?

The old man stared down Ayako, his eyes stopping her from grabbing Naru. His silver eyes glinted in the light, as he gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"Naru is right. 3 a.m. is just the right time for him to depart. It is the souls' midnight, where spirits are the most awake and wandering around. It is a time of high spiritual energy. The veil that separates us and the Interim Mundo is the weakest at this time." He let go of her shoulder.

"If he goes, he must do it now." He turned and walked over to Naru, and whispered something in his ear.

Ayako could only stand back and watch. Takigawa put his arm around her supportively, and checked his watch.

2:59 a.m.

"We'll be waiting for you, Naru. You and Mai." Takigawa whispered. Lightning and thunder surrounded the them violently.

Boom.

At the same time, Lei-kun flew to the air, flapping his wings majestically. Blue lightning started to flash around them as he soared higher, straight into the brownish cloud covering above them. A bird- shaped shadow could be seen darting through the clouds intricately, as blue lights blazed in the heavens.

Boom.

"Off you go." The old man said, as he stepped back.

Boom.

Naru closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath and jumped.