Chapter three~ :3 I still don't own Ghost Hunt…and it's not gonna change.

…

Koto's actions were something none of them were prepared for. Even Lin seemed mildly taken aback, if not completely shocked. Naru made no move to stop her, and merely let his head roll to the side to lessen the blow a little. The impact left a red handprint on his face. They both merely held their positions for a moment, Koto with her hand off to the side, glaring fiercely. After what seemed like an eternity, Naru turned his head back to her.

"I guess I deserved that."

Now they were confused. This kind of behavior in Naru was unheard of. Letting himself get slapped was one thing, but then saying he deserved it? Just who the heck was Koto anyway?

"You are such an insufferable piece of…" Koto cut herself off, apparently adding something colorful to describe Naru in her mind. "I can't believe you, N—"

Quick as a flash, Naru put a hand over her mouth. His eyes had narrowed slightly, but other than that, they couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Wrong nickname. It's Naru now."

Koto stared right back until he took his hand away. "Naru, huh? Let me guess…as in, Naru the narcissist? Who came up with that clever one?" Naru gave a nod in Mai's direction. Koto followed it, then grinned. "Good job, Mai. You hit the nail on the head." Her cheerful demeanor vanished an instant later as she whipped her head back to Naru. "So what do you have to say for yourself, mister? No, wait, I don't want to hear it. I'll have nothing to do with you anymore!" She gave a stiff but curt nod towards Lin. "Lin." Koto turned on her heel and stalked off. No one tried to stop her; they were all busy processing what had just happened.

"Naru…do you know her?" Ayako asked dumbly after a long silence.

"We're acquainted," he replied shortly.

"Sounds like you're more than that," the self-proclaimed miko added under her breath. She formed a small circle with Monk, Masako, John, and Mai. "So who is she, Mai?"

"How should I know?" Mai whispered back.

"You're the one who goes to school with her," Masako pointed out softly, which earned her a glare from Mai.

"Well…she's very quiet. I didn't get more than a sentence out of her at a time. And…" Mai hesitated. "Well, there's a ghost following her around, terrorizing all the kids who tease her."

"A ghost?" Monk didn't have to think long before he came up wit an answer. "Do you mean the spirit who possessed her the other day? Rubi, right?"

"Yeah, that's her," Mai replied quietly. "I saw her…in the mirror. And I think she was messing around with me in art class. My brushes kept rolling across the table, and sometimes I felt hands on my arm or a voice in my ear. It wasn't much but…it happened repeatedly."

"I didn't sense anything in Koto's vicinity when she was here," Masako said, answering their unspoken question. "Perhaps the spirit knew who and what we were, and decided to stay away. I did feel a faint presence inside the school…just inside the main entrance, as if looking out at us."

"I think I saw a face in the window," John said suddenly. "It looked like a girl with green eyes and auburn hair."

"That's Rubi!" Mai said, surprised. "She's the one I saw in the mirror. I heard her talk, too. She spoke quite clearly…"

"Then it's an intelligent spirit we're dealing with," Monk said absently.

"Intelligent?" Mai repeated, feeling like an amateur again.

"I'll explain for Mai's sake." They all looked over to Naru as he continued, apparently oblivious to Mai's newfound rage. "There are different types of spirits that can cause a haunting. They are intelligent, residual, poltergeists, and entities. Poltergeists, as you know, are often caused by humans, usually adolescent females, undergoing a lot of stress. An example of an entity in a building would be Urado. He was obsessed with the task of keeping himself alive, and his spirit was transformed into a monster as a result. Residual hauntings are the most common and merely involve a spirit trapped in a place and unable to leave. They aren't aware that they're dead or that there may be other people around them, and merely repeat the same actions over and over like a broken record. Residual hauntings only occur in one place, such as school or a house. Intelligent spirits are aware that they're dead and can interact with the living as they please. Intelligent spirits tend to follow certain people around and cause trouble everywhere."

"Do you think they could mess up your equipment?" Ayako asked.

"It's a very real possibility." Naru seemed to deflate slightly. "But before we can do anything, we need to find Koto again. Mai, did she say anything strange to you during school? Anything that sticks out?"

Mai thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Nope, not that I can recall."

"Then there's only one place she could have gone… Lin, take the others back to the main building. Koto and I will be arriving shortly."

"Hey, Naru, wait—!" Mai started, reaching out a hand, but he was already swiftly walking away. She pulled her hand back, scowling. "And there he goes. Honestly, you'd think he'd at least tell us where he's going once in a while…" She turned to Lin, who seemed to be debating with himself on the wisdom of letting Naru waltz off on his own. "Hey, Lin, do you know Koto, too?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, but now isn't the time or place to discuss it. I'm not at liberty to reveal Koto's secrets without her permission." He raised a hand as they all started to protest. "I promised to keep my silence. She's a very insecure girl who takes everything people say and twists it so it sounds harmful. She doesn't mean to, but I suggest you all watch your tongues. It takes very little to set her off, even by accident."

"She's paranoid?" John reconfirmed. When Lin nodded, John said, "Ah, I see… She doesn't appear to have a lot of faith in herself, judging from what I've been told thus far."

"She doesn't, but I can't say any more without Koto's word. Let's just head back. Naru will return soon, and if he sees we're not there, he'll be upset."

There were mutters of agreement. If there was one thing that could motivate them, it was Naru's anger. It was a frightening thing…

…;;An Hour Later;;…

An hour later, and Naru and Koto had returned. Masako sensed Rubi's spirit close behind the duo, but didn't have to announce it. The moment they walked in, the room chilled. Mai was tempted to go find a sweater, but refrained. They all chatted for a while, Naru doing most of the talking. Koto kept quiet unless asked a direct question, which she then answered with as few words as possible. She seemed partial to Naru now, instead of angry, as she'd been before. Throughout the conversation, the coldest part of the room (Rubi) drifted among them, tossing their hair or breathing down their necks occasionally. She didn't do anything violent until…

"Koto, are you considered crazy?" Ayako asked.

The entire room went pitch black. The table rattled violently, and there was banging on the walls. A high-pitched wail echoed through the room, followed by a round of strangely amused and disembodied giggling. Footsteps walking around the group of them, getting increasingly louder and louder, like a vulture circling closer and closer to its prey. Ayako yelped a moment before the lights flickered back on.

There were deep claw marks on her arm, fresh and bleeding. They looked…like she had angered a cat.

"What in the—?" John looked back and forth from Koto to Ayako. "Ayako, are you all right?"

"Yeah, it just caught me by surprise," she replied, casting Koto a nasty glare. "It's not fatal, I'll live."

Koto had her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" She sounded like she was close to tears. "Rubi…she does this when I get upset. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be offended or anything…it's my fault, it's all my fault…"

"Lin," Naru said.

"Right. Koto, here, come with me. Let's have a talk, all right? Just you and me." He led her away, but Rubi made no move to follow. She hovered invisibly behind Ayako, tugging violently at the miko's hair.

"Masako, can't you tell her to cut it out?" she hissed, her patience rapidly running thin.

Masako merely hid a small smile behind her sleeve. "You appear to have upset her, Ayako. Try apologizing."

"What? No way!"

"That's enough."

They turned their attention back to Naru. His eyes were fixed entirely on where Rubi was, and he still seemed calm as ever.

"Rubi, I need to talk with you. They'll all be yes or no questions, so perhaps you could knock on the walls to answer. One for yes, and two for no. Is this agreeable?"

"Yes."

Obviously, speech had caught them all off guard. Masako did confirm, however, that Rubi had moved away from Ayako and was floating around the edge of the room.

"You are Rubi Tanaka, correct?" Naru asked.

One knock.

"You're aware that you're dead, correct?"

One knock.

"Do you know how you died?"

One knock.

Naru paused. "You're acquainted with Koto Yamamoto. Is she your friend?"

One knock.

"Are you protecting her?"

One knock.

"Are you the one who asked for help?

There was a long pause. Masako whispered that Rubi was still in the room. After what seemed like forever, there was one knock on the wall.

"Do you still want our help?" Naru inquired.

One knock.

"The place you're most comfortable in…is it the graveyard?"

Two knocks.

"Is it your parent's house?"

Two knocks.

"Is it Koto's house?"

One knock.

Naru nodded. "I see. Thank you, Rubi, you have been most helpful. Last question. If we agreed to set up the investigation at Koto's house, would you be able to communicate more accurately with us there?"

There was a pause, but this one didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt…more thoughtful, as if Rubi honestly wasn't quite sure. There was a tentative knock on the wall followed by "I don't know." There was another pause, then Rubi came back towards them. "Maybe."

"You can go with Koto now," Naru said. Another moment paused, then the room lost its chill. Mai heaved a sigh.

"Rubi has moved to Lin's office," Masako confirmed. "She's lingering around Koto and Lin, but I don't sense any evil intentions at the moment."

Naru got to his feet. "All right. It's decided. Once we get Koto's permission, we'll set up base and get to work."

…

End of chapter three~ This one's a little longer than the other two. Normally, I'll have the chapter varying from four to six pages, just so you know.