New chapter is new! Hehe, get ready for some ghostly action! Enjoy!

"There is something odd in this Ryokan, Mai. I would feel better if Noll hadn't waited to follow you here." Gene told her as they began to walk through the garden. Mai watched as glowing orbs floated up towards the sky. She had become used to seeing them each time she entered the astral plane to meet with Gene.

"I've felt something weird here since we entered the building. I also saw the ghost, at least I think it was the ghost, causing all this trouble. It might have very well been one of the scariest things I've seen." she told him. Gene nodded before pointing as they entered one of the hallways.

Mai blinked at the beautiful woman dressed in a kimono that was pacing up and down the hallway. Mai felt her mouth drop slightly as she realized it was the same woman from the picture that had broken. Her black hair was in a low ponytail instead of the bun in the picture but it was the same profile and brown eyes. She looked at Gene but he shook his head and once against motioned to the woman.

"Kaa-san? Are you coming?" Mai watched as a younger Miwako appeared at the other end of the hallway also dressed in a kimono. Mai realized belatedly how much she looked like her mother. She shook her head as she returned her attention to the scene playing before her knowing it would be important if Gene felt she needed to see it.

"Not right now. Your grandmother's arthritis is acting up and she needs me to clean the hot spring before I leave. Why don't you and Yumi go together?" the woman said, the woman Mai now classified as Kasumi, as she put a gentle hand on Miwako's shoulder. The younger girl looked up at her mother as she shook her head.

"It's dangerous to clean them by yourself, Kaa-san. Let me and Yumi help you so we can all go together." Miwako said. Kasumi shook her head as she began to push Miwako out of the hallway.

"Go on and enjoy the festival with your sister. I can handle cleaning it by myself." she managed to push Miwako out. Mai watched as the woman put a hand to her hand before shaking it. Mai furrowed her brow as suddenly Kasumi collapsed against the wall. She began to move towards her as something began to tug on her heart. "Oh, come on, Kasumi. You can't let a little fever get you down!"

Mai felt her heart drop as the woman pushed herself away from the wall. She watched as she also disappeared from the hallway. Mai turned to Gene to see he had also watched the scene play out in front of them. Their eyes met and he gave her a small smile. Mai managed to return it as she wondered what he was going to say.

"She was running a fever and dizzy. Why would she do something as dangerous as cleaning the hot springs?" she asked. Gene shrugged his shoulders before a sad smile spread across his face.

"Because someone she loved asked her to do so. It's hard to say no to someone who loves you and needs you to do something." he managed to reply. She realized he was right. If her mother had asked her to do something, despite being sick herself, chances were she would do it. She could understand Kasumi's stubbornness. She was saddened by the fact that stubbornness had cost her life in the end.

"Gene, is the ghost really Kasumi? It doesn't make sense for her…for her to turn into something filled with so much hate!" Mai asked. The boy blinked before shrugging his shoulders. Mai realized she wasn't going to like the answer he was about to give her.

"I don't know, Mai. There is a sense of deep hatred but as to who or what it could possibly be…even I don't have answers. Tell that idiot brother of mine to hurry up and get here. You need his help." Gene told her as he began to fade away. She reached out towards him only to watch as her surroundings began to fade in darkness. It only took one good deep breath to wake herself up.

As her eyes opened she realized there was a very familiar face over hers. She watched as John gave her a small smile before moving back to give her room. Mai slowly sat up and realized she was back in the room she had spent the night before in. She looked around and saw John was not the only one in the room. Masako and Takigawa were sitting against one of the walls. When the monk realized she was awake he gave her a small smile.

"Welcome back to the world of the living. Did you find out anything useful?" he greeted her. She swallowed as she looked down at her lap. She was slightly disappointed herself that she hadn't learned anything new and somehow felt Takigawa would feel the same way.

"Nothing we didn't already know. Well, except for the fact Kasumi was sick when she went to clean the hot springs. It probably played a part in her death. She got dizzy and slipped on a wet spot." Mai revealed. She looked at Masako to see the other girl didn't seem to be surprised at the news. Mai let out a soft sigh. There was no doubt Masako had already been aware of Kasumi's illness.

"It's unlike Davis-san to be unable to help, Mai." John said. She looked at the priest before nodding in agreement. It was unusual for Gene to be unable to assist. He was normally able to get information that they would otherwise not have. Mai wondered if there was probably something in the dream she was missing.

"He did back up what Masako has been saying, though. He said he could feel a deep hatred as well but didn't know who or what was causing it. He seemed rather confused by the whole thing." Mai said. She let out a soft sigh before looking back up at Masako.

"What did you find out from Miwako? When she gets done explaining, could someone tell me how long I was out for John and Takigawa to be here already?" Mai asked. Masako shook her head at the other girl.

"I'll answer both. John and Takigawa got here extremely early. It's barely ten o'clock in the morning. At any rate, I only found out a little from Miwako. She's doing okay and confirmed what you just said. Apparently her mother had been fighting a summer cold for almost two weeks so she could go to a small summer festival held on the outskirts of the small village about ten minutes from the Ryokan.

"She said she and Yumi went together but Yumi got a headache and left early. Miwako said she could a call about twenty minutes later telling her Yumi had found Kasumi in the hot springs dead. It was then Takae demanded we stop talking about. She's afraid if we talk about Kasumi too much then her ghost will get angry and only cause more damage." Masako revealed softly. Mai sighed as she looked up at the ceiling of the room.

"What do you want to do, Mai? I mean you're the only one here from the office so you could technically be considered the boss." Takigawa asked. Mai made a face at him before shaking her head.

"I guess we should count and measure the rooms. If I don't call Naru back with schematics before he has to pack he'll have a coronary. I have no desire to meet anyone else who is as much of a control freak as him." Mai said as she stood up. She watched as the other occupants of the room shared looks before dropping their heads. They all realized she was right in her observation.

"Alright then. How about Mai and I take this wing while John and Masako take the other wing? That way, Masako, if you bump into any of the family you might be able to get some more information out of them. Especially if it's the Miwako girl and her grandmother isn't around." Takigawa suggested as he also climbed to his feet. Masako blinked before nodding in agreement.

"You're right, if her grandmother isn't present I might be able to get more information from Miwako. I wish to ask her if these things were happening on a much severe level before her mother passed away." Masako murmured before she joined John at the door where he had moved during the conversations.

"Let's meet back here once we're all done!" John said with a bright smile on his face as the door shut behind them. Mai let out a soft sigh before looking at Takigawa as he cleared his throat. She blinked at the question in his eyes. She didn't understand what he could be confused about other than the case.

"You and Masako seem to be getting along well. If I remember correctly…the last time you two were together in the office all you were doing was glaring at each other. What changed?" he asked. Mai blinked before shrugging her shoulders.

"I guess it could be a number of things. I think the big one is the fact she's attached to the client. Her mind is probably somewhere else instead of focusing on how much she dislikes me." Mai told him as they also left the room. They began down the hallway as Mai silently counted them in her mind. She realized quickly there was no way the office had enough equipment to cover the entire Ryokan.

"Tell me, Mai. Do you think Kasumi could be behind all of this?" Takigawa asked after they had walked in silence for almost ten minutes. Mai paused as she turned the question over in her mind. She was unsure how to answer the question because it seem as though her intuition had split in two parts and were battling with each other.

"One part of me wants to say yes but then another part says there's no way she could be doing this to her family." Mai finally answered. She looked at Takigawa to see he had brought a hand up to his chin indicating he was deep in thought. She swallowed as she once again couldn't read his face. It was so unusual for her to be unable to detect what the monk was thinking.

"That's not good, Mai. It worries me you don't have a clear feeling about this." he told her. Mai sighed in agreement. It was unusual for her instincts to not give her a clear feeling of what was going on. The only thing she was sure of was there was something just not right about the ghost she had seen or the problems plaguing the family.

"I wonder if it's possibly for someone to be playing a very cruel prank on this family." the monk mused as they walked downstairs. Mai shook her head at him. They entered the hallway that contained the entryway to the hot springs.

"This is no prank, Bou-san. I've seen her and she was transparent. It would be hard for any human to do the things I saw last night. I'm sure it's paranormal…I just don't know what kind of paranormal." Mai whispered. She stopped at the hot springs doorway before letting out a soft sigh. She tilted her head as the cloth hanging in the doorway was red.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. I asked that Rentaro guy where the hot springs were. He said there is only one at the Ryokan. He said because of that they alternate the days different genders can use it. The red cloth means women only while blue means guys." Takigawa said. Mai furrowed her brow before shaking her head again. Takigawa blinked at her.

"I thought there was two." she murmured before turning back to the door. She shrugged her shoulders before shooting a smile at him over her shoulder. "I'm going to go check it out. Maybe I'll bully Ayako and Masako into joining me before we solve the case."

"Alright, while you're doing that I'm going to go look at the gardens to see what I can find." he told her. She giggled as she watched him disappear around the corner at the end of the hallway that also opened into the gardens. She entered the door to the hot springs only to find there was a changing area that allowed the visitors to store their belongings.

'I guess the actual hot springs is through that door.' Mai thought as she noticed a door on the other side of the room. It wasn't the door that caught her attention but the mirror beside the door. She wasn't sure why she was being pulled towards but she felt her heart beating up in her throat as the lights flickered overhead.

She stopped in front of the mirror with her head bent as she looked at the sinks in front of her. Something was telling her she really didn't want to look in the mirror. She swallowed before finally forcing herself to look up. Her eyes went wide as she saw the reflection of the ghost behind her with her head bent. She whirled around as the lights finally went out only for her heart rate to speed up. There was nothing behind her. She turned back to the mirror only to jump as the ghost had moved closer with its face now clearly seen. The mouth was open and her hands were pressing against the class.

'I will never forgive them!' echoed a raspy voice in Mai's mind. The brown headed girl screamed as the mirror shattered and she brought her arms up to protect her face from the flying glass. She collapsed to the ground breathing hard as the light flickered back on.

'What…it was that thing again!' Mai thought as she stared up at the broken mirror in shocked horror. She had only come that close to a ghost once before. She still had nightmares about Urado's face. She looked down at her bare arms as she wearing a t-shirt only to sigh as she saw the cuts on her arms. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised about getting hurt so early on. It was new to her, though, that the ghost wasn't targeting her. Rather, it seemed to be only trying to make a point.

"MAI! Are you okay?!" she shook her head as she heard Takigawa calling for her outside of the door to lead into the changing room. She climbed to her feet and quickly left. She had no desire to be in the room by herself at the moment. When she finally appeared in front of Takigawa she watched as his eyes went wide at the sight of her arms.

"What happened?!" he asked. Mai sighed as she looked down once again at her scratched arms. She was relieved the cuts weren't deep enough to be bleeding. They were just deep enough to be red. She looked back at Takigawa only to realize he was waiting for an answer about what had happened.

"Well, I guess I don't have to tell you I saw the ghost again. She wasn't exactly friendly but how is that surprising?" she asked. He shook his head before taking her hands to take a closer look at her injuries.

"Well, they don't look too bad. I suppose we can clean and bandage them. It'll keep them clean long enough until Ayako can get here tomorrow night. When, exactly, is Naru supposed to get here? It's too much to ask for him to not get here until they heal, right?" he asked. She gave him a small smile.

"Not unless they heal before the day after tomorrow. Trust me, I don't really want to explain to him either how I managed to get this many cuts on my arms." Mai said with a small smile on her face. The smile fell from her face when she thought about the expression that would be on Naru's face when he saw her arms. It was not a pleasant thought.

"Let's go see if Miwako is at the desk. She'll probably know where bandages and some antiseptic can be located." he told her. Mai sighed before nodding in agreement. She followed the older man to the lobby. She let out a small sigh as Miwako's eyes went wide at Mai's arms.

"Oh, Taniyama-san! What in the world happened?" she asked. Mai gave her a sheepish smile before explaining. She watched as the girl's face paled at the explanation. Mai watched in concern as Miwako's eyes closed with tears slowly running down her cheeks. She could tell this was beginning to take its toll on Miwako.

"I'm so sorry, Taniyama-san. Maybe it will be for the best if you all leave. I don't want anyone else to get hurt." Miwako whispered. Mai frowned before walking behind the desk and took the older girl's hands in her own. She smiled at the widening of Miwako's eyes.

"In this profession I'm used to getting scrapes and bruises. Don't worry about it, Miwako. I want to help you figure this out. If, for some reason, it is your mother I want to find out a way to help her. That and I don't see my boss leaving without an answer as to what is happening here." she said. She met Miwako's eyes as the other girl stared at her before a shy smile spread across her face.

"Thank you. Let me go get you some bandages and disinfectant. I'll be right back." she watched as Miwako disappeared down the hallway Mai realized the girl's grandmother resided in. She looked at Takigawa with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Now all we have to worry about is how the others here are going to react to this." he said with chuckle. Mai could almost imagine the look John would give her.

John's expression was exactly as Mai had imagined. What she hadn't expected was him calling Naru the moment she'd told the story. It explained why they were all sitting in a circle around the exorcist's phone on speaker. Mai couldn't stop from shooting the blonde a glare. He scooted closer to Takigawa and farther away from her in response. She sharpened her glare to allow him to know it was a good decision.

"Mai!" she jumped at the call. She turned her attention back to the phone with a glare as she could almost imagine the condescending look on his face. She thought, not for the first time, he really was lucky to be in another city. Really, really, really lucky.

"Yes, Naru?" she managed to ask without letting her resentment show. She felt as though she had been tattled on when she hadn't even done anything wrong.

"I have no doubt you and my impossible brother have been traipsing around on the astral plane. What did you find?" he demanded. Mai scowled at the phone even though he was unable to see it. It certainly made her feel better.

"Other than he agrees with Masako there is a sense of hatred here? Absolutely nothing. I get the feeling we can't rely on him as much as we're used to. I feel as though…there's just something off about this ghost! It would make sense if something happened to anger her but it was an accident! If their mother's ghost was still here you would think she'd be trying to convince her family it was not their fault. Instead, this thing is torturing them." Mai whispered softly.

"I see. Very well. As all of you know Lin and myself cannot be there until the day after tomorrow. Yasuhara will be riding with us. I want each of you to keep a list of activities that are occurring there. See if you can find certain areas that seem more affected than others. It will be a starting point. Which we should already have, Mai, if you were doing your job." Mai realized the hand Takigawa put on her shoulder wasn't meant to be comforting. It was meant to keep her from launching at John's innocent phone to destroy it.

"Sorry, you idiot scientist! I've been more worried about trying to figure out what is going on here rather that figuring out where it's centered! I will make sure to have my priorities straightened out when you get here! Good-bye!" she reached over and hit the red button with more force than was necessary. She ignored the looks the others were giving her as she breathed heavily. She wished she could hit him.

"Excuse me?" Mai looked up as Miwako poked her head into the room. She managed to give her a small smile despite the anger still bubbling in her veins. She didn't want to show how easy she was riled up.

"How can we help you, Miwako?" Masako asked gently. The girl looked at her before turning her attention back to Mai.

"I know this is going to sound odd but my Obaa-san wishes to speak with Taniyama-san if she's agreeable." Miwako said. Mai blinked before climbing to her feet as she waved away a worried Takigawa. She knew she would be alright with the old woman.

"It's not a problem. Would you take me to her, Miwako?" she asked. The girl nodded then bowed to the rest of the room. Mai waved as the door closed behind them. She followed Miwako to the other wing of the Ryokan. She watched as Miwako knocked on one of the doors closer to where the hallway opened to the gardens. Mai swallowed as Takae called for them to come in.

Mai entered the room and was surprised to find the elderly woman kneeling at a tea table. Mai smiled at her as she watched the woman look up from the table. Mai bowed her head silently asking if she could join the other woman. She received a nod in reply.

"I'd heard about the incident in the hot springs changing room. I must ask forgiveness for Kasumi's actions. She was not like this in life." the woman finally said once Miwako left them in silence. Mai gave Takae a gentle smile. She could see Kasumi in the older woman and realized if Kasumi had made it to an older age she would have looked like her mother. It made Mai's heart ache in sympathy.

"I know you think this is Kasumi, Takae, and maybe it is. However, I get the feeling even if it is her…this is not her will. Tell me about her. I feel as though she was a good woman." Mai whispered softly. She watched Takae's eyes go wide before the woman nodded.

"She was a good woman. She always tried to help others. When we were having slow weeks here at the Ryokan she would go volunteer at the hospitals in the city. She would also volunteer at animal shelters. She would even take Yumi and Miwako with her. I have heard Yumi still helps others." Takae said. Mai furrowed her brow. She had wondered why she hadn't met Yumi yet since she was the girl who had requested their help originally.

"Why doesn't Yumi live here?" she questioned gently. She didn't want to set off a bomb that could cause more emotional damage to this woman who had lost her only daughter.

"Yumi loved her mother. It was a hard blow to her when Kasumi passed on. Unfortunately, we have all suffered from Kasumi's absence. It was my daughter's wish that her daughters would run the Ryokan together. Yumi refuses to even get involved. She would rather run her little…bento business at the train station." Mai swallowed at the look that crossed over Takae's face.

"I take it you agree with your daughter's wish?" Mai ventured. Takae nodded with a pained look on her face.

"I do. This Ryokan passes through the eldest daughter. Yumi is supposed to be the only owner but Kasumi convinced me it would be best if they ran it together. It would give Yumi the freedom she so wanted as well as the structure Miwako desires. Unfortunately, Kasumi's passing changed everything." Takae said with a steel edge in her voice. Mai decided it was probably for the best to change the subject. Takae obviously did not want to talk about her granddaughter's choice any longer. Before Mai could change the subject the lights went out.

'Again?!' Mai thought stunned. Takae gasped in surprise causing Mai to look at the shoji wall that led out to the porch that wrapped around the building. Her heart jumped into her throat as the shadowy figure of the ghost appeared. Mai watched as it raised its hand and the paper in the squares began to rip violently.

"No….Kasumi, please!" Takae cried weakly. Mai watched as the ghost reached a hand through one of the now empty squares in the paneling.

"Nau Maku San Manda Bazara Dan Kan!" Mai let out a soft breath as Takigawa burst in. She watched as the spirit disappeared from sight. She looked up at the ceiling as relief finally took hold of her. She wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to survive if the attacks continued at the rate they were going.

"Obaa-san!" Mai turned only to gasp when she saw Takae was slumped on the ground and unmoving. Mai watched as Miwako felt for a pulse before the girl looked up with terror in her eyes.

"Call an ambulance! She doesn't have a pulse!"

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