Well, everyone was staring at me for what seemed like an eternity, so I felt like I had to explain.

"They even dated until high-school, but then she met my dad at college, they fell out, and she hadn't spoken to him since. I think she always regretted it. But that has nothing to do with the case. What are we thinking so far?" I was absolutely desperate to get the attention off of me and onto something more important.

"I don't know. Can you find out if there have been any other incidents similar to this in the past, Lin?"

"I'll be right on it." The Chinese man answered, promptly switching on his computer.

I took the initiative and went to make some tea.

"Here you go, Naru." I set the mug down in front of him. I was turning to leave when Naru called out.

"Mai?"

"Yeah?" I answered.

"This case… It makes me feel uneasy. How about you?" His piercing blue eyes seemed to search my face.

"I don't know… we've got to do more research and talk to any witnesses, but…" I wasn't sure how to tell him how I felt about it… How I felt that being adopted was the key… I sighed, "I don't know Naru, but your right, something just feels off about the whole thing. But…." Something was bugging me about the whole maggot scenario. "Don't maggots only eat dead flesh?"

Naru's eyes lit up.

"That's right… unless… Lin!" He called Lin through to his office.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Mai came up with a valid point. Which is surprising, considering her usual lack of intelligence-"

"Oh, lay off and get on with it, Naru." I snapped back at him. His mouth turned up in a grin.

"As I was saying, Mai brought up that maggots don't usually eat living flesh. Would it be possible that some sort of curse or hex is involved?" He asked.

"I wouldn't know for sure, but from what the man said, it's a definite possibility. Mai had a dream of what I can only assume is the original event that led to the haunting that caused the death of Mr and Mrs Itagawa's son." Lin nodded, his eyes pensive.

"Mai, could you describe the events to me?"

"Well, there was a group of men, and they were holding down this boy… he was screaming and crying, so desperate… he couldn't have been older than his mid-teens… they held him down, and they had a jar of maggots-"

"What did the jar look like?" He interrupted abruptly

"Um… it was a normal jar… but there were characters on it, now that I think about it… but I couldn't recognise them. I think they were Chinese. Might have been Mandarin." Lin nodded, like he had been expecting this.

"And they stuffed the maggots down his throat?" I nodded, shivering even at the thought of it.

"Mai?" Naru asked, his voice gentle. Or was I imagining it? "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… it's just.. The poor boy. And Kano's son, too…" Naru nodded. He understood. Death was never a good thing to deal with. Especially the death of someone who still had so much life to live. It had to stop.

"Lin, is it a curse, then?"

"Oh yeah. An old one. Real dark magic stuff. Every time that someone with the same family situation as the victim ends up with the same fate. Powerful stuff."

"What do you me- Oh." Realisation dawned on both Naru's face and my own.

"So… say this person was adopted or…" he trailed off, unable to say more

"Or an orphan." I finished for him. "Which do you suppose is more likely?"

"One leads to the other, so I'm going to say orphan." His eyes were grim and his mouth set in a firm line.

"No. no. I know that face. We're not backing out of this case. We promised we would help. And that's damn well what we're going to do."

"Mai. You're not going. I don't want you to get hurt. What would your parents think if you ended up like the others? They wouldn't want that for you." I narrowed my eyes.

"Don't you play the guilt card with me, Oliver. I know for a fact they'd be proud of me for trying to help someone in need. What about you? Will you still go, even though you're adopted? I'm not letting you go if I don't get to go."

"I don't think either of you should go." Lin butted in. I glared at him, and Naru probably did too.

"We could always be bait." I suggested. I was met with a room full of disbelieving looks. But at least the idea that no one else would voice was out in the open

"Are you insane, Mai? What happened to your usually uncanny sense of self-preservation?" Naru asked, his face going white.

"It got tired of being compared to a wild animal." I cast a meaningful glance at Naru and he winced. He had probably deserved that one.

Just when I was about to strangle that narcissistic idiotic… idiot, the door opened and Ayako and Monk showed up.

"Hey, how's my favourite little princess?"

"Shut up, you dirty old man!" I yelled back at him, not really meaning it. I ran over to them and hugged Monk. Though once everything got explained, he would probably agree with Lin and Naru.

"You know… if you don't let me go with you, Naru, I'm just going to sneak off by myself. And you know that never works out well." As I watched his face, I knew I had him with that one. He would rather have me within his sight than leave me behind when he knew I would just go after him and get myself into trouble.

"Alright. Fine. But don't blame me when you get yourself killed." He spat the words out with a venom that I had rarely heard, and it made me flinch.

"Right back at you, idiot."

"Just… go make some tea or something, before I punch a wall." He snapped at me. I knew I couldn't push him any further, or it would turn into WWIII in the SPR office.

I could hear everyone discussing my dream and what Lin knew about the jar. Usually we didn't get this worked up until we'd actually started a case. Oh well. This just meant it was going to be even crazier than usual. Also, it meant we would be more prepared than we would usually be, going in blind.

I could hear Ayako complaining loudly.

"That girl just cares too much about other people. She never looks out for herself." Monk was sighing,

"Yes, but at the same time… that's near a hospital. Who knows how many lives it could claim if we leave it unchecked? How many innocents' blood would we have on our hands then?" Good old Monk. Glad he was on my side for this one. Naru made a noise like he was thinking. I brought through the hot tea.

"Here we are, guys. Nice and toasty." I placed it on the coffee table between the sofas.

Everyone smiled and said thanks, except Naru. He was giving me an icy stare. Oh man! It always makes me feel so upset when he does that. I don't know why, but I always want to get up and give him a hug. Which I doubt he'd appreciate. I decided to voice a thought that had been bothering me for a while after Lin had explained the curse.

"You know, I can't imagine that the entity actually wants to hurt anyone. Why would they want anyone to suffer the same fate as them?" Lin sighed, running a hand through his hair in agitation. Then he explained

"That's the thing with this curse, it gradually twists the victim, until it only remembers rage, and the effect of the curse is to redirect the hatred towards those whom in lie, the victim would have identified with." I gasped.

"Oh… that's … that's just horrible. The poor soul." Naru tilted his head, either confused or amused. Probably a mixture of both, as if my way of thinking baffled him.

"Mai. That thing probably doesn't have much of a soul left. If any." I stood up.

"As long as there's a little bit left… that's enough." I stormed out of the room.

But before I got far, just as I opened the door, the world went black.

"You can hear me, can't you, little one?" The voice, it sounds like a teenager, voice half-way through breaking.

"Yes?" I asked, unsure of myself, without Gene by my side to guide me. It was always unsettling when a spirit talks to me directly. And why was he calling me 'little one', anyway?

"I don't have much time", Spirits never do. "But please tell Ma and Pa that they don't have to worry about me. All the bad things are behind me. There was nothing that they could have done." I took a mental note of this. By now I was sure this was the hospital director's adopted son - I don't believe Kano mentioned his name.

"Will do. But do you have anything that can help us to stop this happening to others?" The spirit opens its mouth, then rethinks.

"It may not be the only way… I honest to God hope not-"

"Spit it out man! I thought you said you didn't have much time!"

"A lifting of the curse requires a sacrifice. The blood of a virgin. Old school horror stuff, I suppose." There's a knot in my stomach. I can't tell Naru this. My mind is made up.

"Are you sure?" I ask, some part of me praying that he has an answer. Something. Anything that doesn't involve another death.

"There may be-"

But the conversation was cut off as I woke up, familiar faces crowding around me.

"Oh Mai… thank goodness." Ayako.

"Praise be to the Lord" John.

"Idiot, you had us all worried sick." Monk's voice.

"You've certainly caused quite the inconvenience." Masako, feigning indifference. I tried to sit up, but found that I couldn't.

"Mai?" Naru. For some reason, I felt so comforted by that voice. The calmness of him, his whole presence, just made me feel that little bit better. I blinked. Took stock of my surroundings.

"Wait…why am I in hospital?" I'd collapsed before, and they'd let me sleep it off on the couch.

Naru laughed, but it was a soft laugh, devoid of humour, but I detected the slightest hint of affection in his eyes. A lock of my hair fell over my eyes and he gently pushed it back, then running his hand down my face in a caring gesture.

"Mai. That spirit didn't know how to talk to you properly. He just rushed in because he thought you'd understand him, but without really thinking about the damage he could do to you." He was holding back tears, but I also felt that he was holding back the information that would justify such an emotional outburst. Now that they knew I was awake, the others left, trusting Naru to be able to keep an eye on me.

Waiting until the others had gone and were out of earshot, I ventured to ask him.

"What aren't you telling me?" He took in a deep breath himself and looked me in the eyes, before saying, very slowly, and oh-so carefully: "Mai, we just about lost you…" His voice caught in his throat, " I just about lost you. And this case… we're not even started yet and…" He shook his head. "You just collapsed… I ran over to you… you weren't breathing. There wasn't even a pulse. I thought you were-" I put my fingers to his lips and shook my head.

"Don't say that word. It's bad luck in a place like this." He smiled, and wiped the glistening salty pearl tears from his eyes.

"I don't want anything to happen to you, Mai. Try as I might… I can't protect you. I'm useless… I just wish… I wish I was better at loving you."

Freeze this moment, I tell myself. Put it in a beautifully decorated box, lock it, and keep it safely in your heart, where it remains to the end of time. Do that, Mai, and nothing else can harm you. Ever. Naru said he loved you. The missing piece has slotted into place. You are whole. You can hardly bear it. It's too wonderful, but you have to break the silence.

"Just shut up and kiss me, you idiot scientist."

A/N: Um… long time, no see? (again) Sorry about the disappearing act again, which I won't promise not to do again, because every time I promise, I just go off and disappear.

My aim is to update every weekend, or, failing at that, every two weeks. We'll see.

Mai: Lazy.

Me: Am not. I just have other commitments.

Naru: *Nods* Your exams are important in shaping your future.

Me: And what exams, pray tell, does one have to pass to become a "professional" ghost hunter?

Naru: Are you insinuating that I am in any way unprofessional?

Me: "In a relationship with employee" does kind of give that vibe.

Naru: *evil glare of doom*