Hey guys! I'm back!

No, I'm not dead, and yes, I am deeply, very truly sorry for being very, very late. To make up for that, I will post at least three times during break. I promise.

Also, to prove that I always fulfill my promises, last time I had promised that this chapter would have case action- and it does! Yay!

In my defense, I had exams. So I had to study. (So did other people- I know, I know. *Sniffles*)

Also, we have some family over and a couple of family celebrations.

So basically, I was busy. But like I said, I will update. So here you go! Enjoy!

Thump!

Madoka groaned as she slowly got up and rubbed her aching rear. She let loose a string of colorful curses- both in English and Japanese.

The more the merrier, right?

That idiotic little- grey ball of…devious energy! Yes, that description would do nicely, the magenta-haired women decided.

Admittedly, Yasu had warned her that she should sit down before opening his other texts, but she did not expect needing to heed his warning. He had always been a little- OK a lot- overdramatic, so why would this time be any different? Oh, but different it was. And now her phone screen was cracked after she dropped the dumb useless piece of technology.

But even with all of the damage to her and her property, Madoka's mood was ecstatic! She couldn't believe what was going on.

If Yasu had just texted her: "Moshi Moshi, Madoka-chan! You won't believe what happened today! Naru and Mai played footsie!" Madoka would've laughed in his face. Well- at the phone screen…

This was something that would never happen. And Yasu always liked to played jokes with her- getting the woman's hopes up- then laughing at her expense.

Yasu knew that. So he sent her pictures. Proof. Hard, solid, irrefutable evidence. The only thing that would make a parapsychologist believe in the impossible.

Madoka squealed! It seems she wouldn't even have to put that much effort into Mai+Naru becoming a thing! Impossible? Hah! Noll had finally erased the line between impossible to possible! And all by himself! With the only thing driving his was the jealousy he had for Tomo? Oh! Someone pinch her! Was she dreaming? What is Noll had been possessed. That was a better possibility than Noll suddenly growing up. Suddenly her phone buzzed. Again.

Madoka looked at the screen. Yasu. She read the text and smirked. "Oh, and Madoka-chan. He's not possessed. Lin's shiki made sure of that. Here are some more pics… Enjoy! Oh and I expect you will be coming here in a couple of days? We've saved you a place!"

Could this be? Had the day and the girl finally arrived? Was Mai the one?

Madoka was so proud! Her emotionless, hardhearted, uncaring jerk of a student was finally growing up! How could she miss this?

If this wasn't motivation enough to move her flight tickets earlier than what was? And they were already saving her a spot!

The young woman quickly opened her closet door and started throwing clothes out in the open suitcase. There was no way she was going to miss one other second of this Mai+Naru drama.

Goodbye England. Helloooo Japan!

She had a flight to catch.

Lin groaned. Again.

Yes. It was an interesting development. Yes, their plan was going successfully (like he had predicted). Yes, it was major progress. Yes, he even admitted that it was squeal-worthy.

But that didn't mean they had to squeal and falling into long giggling fits every other minute or so! If he could hear the terrible threesome through his headphones, how must Noll be faring?

The Chinese man glanced over at his charge. Anyone who doesn't know Noll would've looked at him and immediately assumed that nothing seemed to be a problem. Lin knew better. Upon closer inspection, one could tell that the boy's jaw was closed tighter than usual and that he was squeezing his hands very tightly together. His left eye was twitching- but very subtly. Another obvious indication that Noll was failing at ignoring the trio was that the boy had been on the same page for the last five minutes. His eyes were wandering; he couldn't concentrate.

Yet all the things the onmyouji just listed off could never be seen by someone who doesn't know Noll. And since Noll never opened up to anyone- especially after Ge- well, after the incident, very few people actually know the boy. But…apparently Mai is one of them?

It seemed Mai knew Noll. Really knew him. Who would've thought he would ever open up to anyone after the immense tragedy that befell him.

The petite girl that Lin had come to love like a sister?…daughter?...friend?...obviously noticed that Noll was about to burst.

She quietly got up and vanished out in the hall. Lin watched on the screens as she disappeared out of the view of one camera and appeared on the next, a few seconds of overlap between two screens. The brunette rushed into the kitchen quickly, and made a cup of tea. Earl Grey- Noll's favorite. Mai ran from the kitchen to just a few doors away from base. There she slowed down to a measured, calm walk and entered the base completely composed. Even surprising was that the usually awkward and clumsy Mai actually looked graceful walking with a cup of tea in her hand. She glided over to Noll and wordlessly handed her boss his tea. Then, without expecting or waiting for any response of Noll, she walked over to the terrible trio. Poor Noll was speechless. He couldn't control his surprise quickly enough. And if Lin caught it, the sharp eyes of Yasu and the other two of the terrible three definitely did too. And such a rare display of emotion most likely did not evade the quick glance of Hara-san.

As soon as the trio saw her coming their way, they shut up- quickly. *Sigh.* They were so obvious. Anyone could see- Noll and Mai just wouldn't. Mai smiled sweetly and spoke slowly.

"Would. You. Guys. Please. SHUT. UP." After yelling the last two words, the brunette went back to her honeyed smile. "Thank you!" The trio looked at Mai with wide, unbelieving eyes. From his seat across the room, Noll's wide eyes were staring at Mai- following her with them as he blanked out and his brain momentarily shut down while processing what had just happened. Lin could see his gears turning after his shut down brain powered back up. He was probably wondering if Mai was possessed. Well, she wasn't. Finally, Bou-san shook himself out of his trance. Yasu and Ayako were still frozen, staring at the new impressive side of Mai.

"Heh. Sorry about that Jou-chan."

Lin smirked. He had to give Mai credit. Even though she may still be mad at Noll for what he did at dinner, she handled that perfectly. And best of all…disaster averted.

Masako knew she shouldn't clench her hands together so hard. She might ruin her smooth palms, and the prim and proper Masako Hara would never allow that. But what could she do?

Something had obviously occurred at dinner that she had no idea about. And the worst part was that it seemed that everybody knew what had happened EXCEPT for her! Besides Naru and Mai, everyone- even John-kun and Lin-san- had knowing smiles/smirks on their faces.

The medium was just getting ready to go get Naru some tea- her chance to redeem herself- when she saw Mai walk out of base. 'Perfect!' she thought. But just as the delicate doll-like girl was getting ready to exit the base herself- dramatically and gracefully, she saw Mai come back- with tea! The klutz actually walked over to Naru without stumbling!

And the look that Naru gave her. That look of awe and admiration (obvious to everyone except for Mai including the medium, herself) was supposed to be meant for her! How did everything get switched up! Masako needed to get her game on, or Naru was going to slip right out of her fingers.

Just as Masako was about to take one last tour of the house sensing for anything unusual with the miko, she felt a disturbance on the air.

Her senses were coming back on. She could sense again!

Oh! So much anger. She needed to others to know this. Masako tried speaking out loud, but Mai beat her to it.

"Anger. So much anger," Mai whispered. Then her voice got stronger with every word. "Hate. Fury. Rage." She stopped. Then: "Death. Death. Death." The brunette ended back down in a whisper. Mai stumbled and started to fall.

Oh! Of course Naru came to save her. Why was Masako even surprised at this point?

He hated her.

Yet as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop liking him.

As the Davis twin lifted Mai effortlessly in his arms and took her to the couch, the girl stirred. Her eyes were bloodshot and full of tears. Yes Masako felt the tears too. The experienced medium couldn't hold out any longer and she too stumbled. She felt the death, too.

Alas, there was no Naru to catch her.

And so Masako, fighting against the rage and fury of the spirit in her mind, prepared to hit the floor. But it never came. John-kun had caught her. He was always nice to everyone. Just like Mai. Why couldn't she be more like Mai? Why couldn't Naru like her?

John-kun carried her to the arm chair as the couch was already occupied. The last thing Masako saw before falling unconscious was Mai. The girl grabbed on to Naru's arm with an iron grip. Even Masako, from across the room could see how hard she had clasped her boss's hand. Yet Naru didn't even flinch. He calmly turned to look at Mai- but even the stubborn medium could see the concern and worry in his eyes. For Mai. Only for Mai.

The brunette turned to looked at Naru. Through half closed eyes, the medium saw her open her mouth.

"So much…death," she breathed.

She spoke so quietly, no one besides Naru could hear. Masako only knew because she had spoken at the same time.

"So much…death."

Both girls shuddered. Then they closed their eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

"Mai… Mai…MAI… MAI!"

She slowly opened her eyes.

Thank God! Gene was starting to worry. He knew the anger the spirit felt was immense. It had overpowered both Mai and Masako- both of whom were very strong and used to this. The fact that just the raw feelings- that too so early in the case- knocked out the girls was something else. Gene knew very little about the case at this point, and he had no tips to give to Mai. Something like that- interacting with the spirits and finding out what had happened- usually took some time. And usually spirits didn't act this fast. They took some time to get used to the newcomers- time that Gene used wisely. There was nothing Gene could tell Mai right now- except to be very careful and not go anywhere alone. Preferably to only go with Noll, John, Bou-san, Ayako, or Lin- people who could exorcise the spirits if need be.

While Masako has years of experience, Mai has something she never had: a spirit guide.

Gene took it upon himself to teach Mai everything he knew and make her stronger. Not many people know about Mai's new abilities. He had taught her how to focus and use her intuition to be more precise- and definite. Mai could sense entities just like Masako, the medium, could. She had trained and perfected her psychic abilities. She could astral project from different dimensions, and can control and keep herself composed even in first person death visions- no matter how traumatizing the end may be. But despite how far she's come, Mai has never told Naru any of this.

Noll is aware of the fact that Gene teaches Mai, but he believes that little progress has been made. As Gene can come into his twin's mind and read some of his thoughts, he knows that Noll realizes that Mai's intuition and feelings are more accurate. She depends less of vague feelings and immediately hones in onto the point. And most surprising to his twin- because Noll has had firsthand experiences with this- Mai comes out of her death visions seeming less traumatized and shaken up than ever before.

But Mai has never has a chance to prove herself and how far she has come because no one ever lets her. Since it had become common knowledge that she is clumsy, fragile and needs protection, everyone- mostly Noll, Bou-san, and yes, even Lin- jump to save her. Mai needs to prove herself. But now is not the time. Right now, Mai needs to wake up.

"G-g-ee-n-e?"

"Mai, I know that you're shaken up, but I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?"

"Gene?" Mai asked again.

"Yes, Mai, I'm here. Look at me," he ordered. Gene purposely put his I-am-serious-right-now tone right now. Mai always complained that he sounded just like Naru when he did this, but that was kind of the point. The spirit guide needed to show his student that he meant business, and since Mai always listened to 'Naru,' –jumped right to attention when he spoke- it was the simplest way to get her up and paying close attention.

"Mai, this spirit is very dangerous. To have att-"

"Gene, I know. Spirits don't usually- actually never attack this early in a case. The fact that both Masako and I passed out means that it's very powerful."

"Right," Gene smiled inside of his head. While his student had come far and he was very proud of her, now was not the time- nor did Mai need to get a big head.

"Don't go anywhere without-"

"Naru. John. Bou-san. Ayako. Lin. I know the drill." Gene didn't know whether to be irritated at being interrupted- again- or happy that she knew the drill. He decided on irritated.

"I mean it this time, Mai. No sneaking away to talk to the spirit because you're the only one who can. Noll can put up safety measures to keep you safe."

"But-"

"No ifs, ands, or buts, Mai. I don't care if that may cause a spirit to not appear. Take more time on the case. Rely more on me. But do not- I repeat- Do. Not. Go. Alone. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Mai replied sarcastically, though it was clear she was shaken up.

"Now listen, Mai. I haven't been able to find any info on this case- yet. I'm working on it. For now, I want you to carefully observe all the damage done. I believe- though I am very frightened to say so- that this is not the real thing. The spirit hasn't attacked yet. This is like the foreshocks to the real earthquake. That tells you have strong it is. To have done this much damage- without even outright waking up. For that reason, I doubt much damage will be done to the house, nor will anyone get injured. And no injuries mean no healing. You need to get back and tell Noll and the others that this is just a preview. No major damage will be done right now."

"Alright Gene. Knock me back out when you have some solid info on the case, OK?"

"Absolutely, Mai. I can't afford to let you handle this on your own. Remember. I'll be watching and will do anything and everything in my powers to save you, Noll, and SPR. Good luck."

Gene gently pushed Mai back to consciousness in the real world.

'Please. Please stay safe, Mai.

The spirit is stirring.

I shudder to think what will happen when it fully awakes.'

John had been resting his arm on Masako-san's forehead feeling for a temperature when he first felt it. At first, the Australian priest had thought that the unconscious medium was just trembling. But when the shakes started increasing in strength and speed, John was quick to realize that it wasn't the medium at all- it was the house.

The blond looked over to Naru and was surprised to see him surreptitiously-after checking to see that no one was looking- tuck a loose strand of Mai's hair behind her ear. The gesture was very gentle and very sweet- everything Naru wasn't. John momentarily forgot about his trembling surroundings as he watched his boss carefully lay the back of his hand against Mai-chan's forehead- unknowingly repeating the same thing John had done to Masako. He felt the faint tremors getting stronger and instantly looked up. His searing eyes found John's and that was conformation enough: something was not right.

On the other hand, to those sitting down, the tremors were still light enough to not be felt- they were stronger than what should come from a person, but maybe John was imagining things? Maybe. But Naru, too? Nope.

Suddenly the shacking stopped.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

The calm before the storm.

Then the tremors started again- ten times as strong as before. John, Bou-san, and Naru jumped to action. After both girls had simultaneously fallen unconscious, the entire house had started to shake, but it was only now that the tremors could be felt by everyone- even to those sitting. John was very worried for both girls. For Mai-chan and Masako-san to both pass out like that meant that the spirit was very powerful. And for it to attack this early on in the case…? Not good.

Suddenly a large crash was heard. Really not good. The house was shaking so hard it felt like a powerful earthquake- maybe a 7 to 8 on the Richter scale. The priest could tell that Naru was shaken up by what had happened to Mai and that he was very worried for her. The Davis twin didn't want to leave. While any other time this would've made John very happy, right now they had to act, and Davis-san had to snap out of it. Lin beat him to it.

"Noll! The base is safe. She will be out of harm's way. I've sent my shiki. Go! Now!"

Naru jerked up. His head cleared and he ran out the door. John and Bou-san hurried behind him. As soon as the three men were outside of base, the lights went out.

Suddenly, as if a vacuum had just sucked it all up, every sound disappeared. He couldn't even hear himself breathing.

John's ears popped as if they were quickly rising or falling. The hallway felt as if it had widened. He reached out on both sides, but the priest could feel nothing. No walls, no doors.

Nothing. John tried calling for help.

"Naru? Bou-san? Lin? Anybody? Help!"

But John's voice was stuck inside of his throat. His body was numb. The young priest couldn't feel his arms or legs. When he tried to move them, they felt so heavy. Like he was lifting large weights.

He couldn't even reach his holy water. He couldn't recite a prayer. His tongue was stuck in his mouth. He couldn't swallow. He couldn't blink. He couldn't breathe. What was this?

John had no senses. They were in a void.

The skilled priest was completely and utterly defenseless.

It was pitch black. There was absolutely no light in the house- not one candle, not one un-curtained window, not one anything. This was not the kind of darkness that one's eyes could slowly get accustomed to. This was darkness that tricked your eyes into believing you're blind.

This was pure darkness. The black that came only from evil. This was what both girls had felt.

This was true fear. This was the anger. The hate. The rage. The fury.

The death.

Hope you guys enjoyed that! Tell me what you think in your reviews. If you want to suggest a twist or request a specific scene- like more time for one of your favorite characters or something like the Naru Mai footsie- please add it in your reviews and I'll see what I can do if I want to add it in.

Thank you everyone who has reviewed, commented, or followed me. That really means a lot. I know I say it every time- and I will say it every time- because it really does mean a lot. So thanks- and please review more!

Oh, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in case I don't update before that. I probably will, but breaks are for being lazy, right?