Chapter 10

Ichirou's P.O.V

"What are we going to do, Ichirou-san?" Ishida asked frantically. "Those kids know too much!"

"I know, I know, be quiet and let me think!" Ichirou grouched. Ishida went quiet. He couldn't do anything illegally. That'd put the cops on him. He told them the case was off, but that didn't mean the kids were going to stop investigating him. He wasn't sure how much they found out already, but from the reaction of Ishida, he'd say they knew quite a bit about what happened. Ichirou smirked. "They don't have any proof of what happened."

"But I heard them talking about that retired janitor!" Ichirou frowned.

"That is troublesome. Well, it looks like Janitor-san is about to have a house fire." Ichirou said smirking widely. Ishida's eyes grew the size of dinner plates.

"Ichirou-san, you can't mean," Ichirou was starting to get irritated with this man.

"Yes, we're going to burn his house down." He wasn't going to resort to anything illegal at first, but if those kids knew about the old janitor, then desperate times called for desperate measures.

"But, sir,"

"I'm glad you agree. We'll do it Friday night."

"B-But, sir!" Ichirou ignored the man.

"Let's meet up at three in the morning. I'll take care of the gasoline, you just bring something to ignite it, got it?" Ishida sighed.

"Yes sir," The two men left the school not saying a word to each other. One had a grim face but the other had a determined expression.

Aki's P.O.V

"Nii-chan, what are you doing?" Little eight-year-old, Aki asked walking into her brother's room. He had woke her up in the middle of the night.

"Eh? Oh, it's just you." Nii-chan was fixing to sneak out his window.

"Where are you going?" Nii-chan sighed.

"Don't tell mom and dad, okay? I'm going to see my friend. So please don't tell?" Aki nodded, looking determined.

"Hai, Nii-chan!" Nii-chan smiled in relief.

"Good, now go back to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Mm!" Then Aki turned around and went back to her room like she was told. The next day though, Aki woke up to yelling. She yawned and went into the kitchen. As she got closer, she started to understand that her brother was getting into trouble for sneaking out the night before. "Ne, what's going on?" She decided it was best to just play dumb.

"Nothing, go make yourself a bowl of cereal." Oka-san ordered her. She nodded and did as she was told. Later on after the yelling had stopped, Nii-chan walked into her room.

"Hi, Nii-chan!" She greeted him with a wide smile. He, however, was not smiling. He was glaring at her.

"You told her didn't you?" She gasped.

"I didn't! I promise!" He didn't believe her.

"Liar!" She felt the tears coming. "Whatever," He muttered before leaving her alone. She cried the rest of the day. Why did he have to call her a liar like all the other kids? She really did see those ghosts. She couldn't help it if they came to her. She didn't ask them to. Why did everyone have to be so mean to her? That thought made her cry more.

"Aki! Aki, wake up! You're having a bad dream!" Mai's voice broke through my sleep ridden mind. I opened my eyes and realized that I had been crying.

"I-I'm okay, Mai." I said sniffling and rubbing my eyes.

"What were you dreaming about?"

"Um, I was 8 at the time and my brother woke me up in the middle of the night. I caught him sneaking out and he told me not to tell my mom and dad. The next day, my mom was yelling at him for sneaking out and later on, he came into my room and accused me of telling her and when I denied it, he called me a liar. It really made me upset, because when I was little I tried to get other kids to believe me when I said I saw a ghost, but they never believed me and called me a liar." I said sighing.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone!" Mai said hugging me. I smiled and hugged her back.

"Thanks Mai."

"You're welcome Aki," Suddenly both of our stomachs growled causing us to laugh.

"I guess we should find something to fill our stomachs."

"Leave it to me!" Mai said grinning.

"Okay, Chef Mai!" Mai puffed out her chest and went into kitchen. I laughed and shook my head. I love this girl. Seriously, she's such a good friend. I'm glad I met her. Speaking of friends, I have a text message from Michiru.

Hey, how's the case going? – M

Actually, it's going pretty badly at the moment. I'll tell you about it after we finish it, okay? I'd really rather not talk about it now. – A

It's okay, I understand. – M

Oh yeah, Mai and I were wondering if you and Keiko wanted to tell ghost stories with us, John, and Monk after school one day. – A

We'd absolutely love to! Keiko is with me and she wants to do it too! – M

Great! I'll tell Mai! – A

Wait, why are you with Mai this early in the morning? – M

It's complicated but I'm having issues with my family right now. So I'm bumming off Mai for a little bit until I get the money to get my own place. – A

I see, well, if you ever need to talk to someone, you can come to me or Keiko! We've got your back! – M

Thank you, Michiru, Keiko. I'm glad I got to meet you two and Mai. You're the first group of friends I've had who doesn't care that I can see ghosts. :) –A

Aw, Aki, don't cry! T~T – M

I'm not crying! :P Anyways, I'll get back to you when I find out what day we're going to tell ghost stories. –A

Okay, talk to you later! –M

Later! – A

"Aki, breakfast is ready!"

"Okay!" I grabbed my phone and walked into the kitchen. "Mm, it smells good!"

"Thanks!"

"I was just talking to Michiru. She said she and Keiko want to tell ghost stories with us, Monk, and John."

"Great! Breakfast is served!" I sat down at the table and we started eating.

"Have you got any messages back from Naru?"

"No, but I doubt he'd message me back unless it's something really important." Mai said sighing.

"He really does like you, you know?" She scowled."I'm serious! I've met a person who was completely serious and didn't bother with people much, until some months later. He started acting more open and stuff and he was always with this girl."

"Is there a point to this story?"

"If Naru didn't like you, then he wouldn't have given you your job and he wouldn't do the little things like help you pick up your files and stuff when you drop them." Mai blushed.

"Y-You saw that?" I grinned.

"Yep, but don't worry, I won't say anything!" She sighed, but this time she was smiling.

"Thanks, Aki,"

"That's what friends are for!"

"Oh, I just got a message from Naru!" She said blushing. I grinned.

"See? He likes you!"

"He wants us to meet him and the others at the office."

"Okay, let's get dressed first." She nodded smiling. Thirty minutes later, we were heading to the office, running. I can see why Mai is late sometimes.

"Sorry, we're late!" Mai said out of breath as we entered the office. Naru sighed.

"It's fine. We've got some information to share with everyone." I nodded.

"Ne, where are the others?" I asked frowning.

"They're almost here." Lin answered from his computer.

"So they're late too, huh?" I chuckled. Mai huffed and went into the small kitchenette to make tea for everyone.

"How are your bruises?"

"They're starting to heal."

"That's good," Lin said smiling. I smiled back at him.

"I haven't heard from my family yet, but I'm sure my brother will try to contact me, somehow..." Mai frowned as she walked into the room with a tray of tea cups.

"I don't think you should be near him." She said worriedly. I shrugged.

"I know what you mean, Mai, but he's still my brother and my parents are still my parents. Even if they don't care for me, I still care for them."

"That's a good feeling to have." Masako said as she and the others finally walk in. I nodded. Monk sat next to me and hugged me out of the blue.

"Eh? Monk what are you doing?"

"You can always come to me!" He said teary-eyed. I rolled my eyes but chuckled.

"Thank you Monk," I said hugging him back.

"You're welcome!" He said letting me go and ruffling my hair.

"Oi, I just did my hair!" I scowled, trying to fix it as he laughed. "Jerk," I muttered crossing my arms.

"Aw, don't say that T~T" I just grinned at him.