I understand if you hate me. I have no excuses besides school...and I deeply offer my most humblest apologies. Thank you so much to all who reviewed and encouraged me. I'm dearly sorry to have let you down. But on the brightside I hope to continue and finish the story as I still have all my notes for the plotline. Your patience is appreciated and I strive to make the other chapters worth your time. Thank you!

"So this is the Schoolhouse of Terror." Monk commented dryly. He leaned against the doorway, eyeing the classroom derisively. "It's not so terrifying. It even has some lighting." He jabbed his head at the dusty lightbulb dangling from the ceiling.

Mai peered over his shoulder, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the gloom. Pale amber light (partly from the bulb, the other due to sunlight streaming though the boarded windows) bathed what remained of the small classroom. From an objective standpoint she had to admit the room wasn't as menacing as she thought it would be. It was overall...just a room. It was a bit small, but large enough to stuff in about twenty or so students. One wall lined with windows was now completely covered, fading in with the plain paneling on the walls and floor. All of the furniture had been removed, save an ancient chalk board on the far wall and a pile of miscellaneous equipment in the corner.

I'm surprised that school actually stores stuff here. She frowned, squinting at the silver logo on the side of a large heavy black box with shiny silver clasps. It looks new too. Wouldn't it have been vandalized by now?

"Surprised it hasn't been tipied or graffitied." She jumped, darting a wary glance at the Buddhist priest. He'd failed to notice her reaction to hearing her own thoughts voiced aloud. Instead he was sending a wry look to the other guardian. "Surely a building with this big, bad of a history has a few trespassers."

"Principal didn't mention anything, though he says that they make a special point to make sure all entrances are locked every night."

"Never stopped determined, horror-addicted teenagers before."

Mai elbowed him in the ribs playfully. "You would know?"

He shoved back, though putting no force in his action. "I was a kid once too."

"Maybe this building is just too dangerous. Maybe local kids are smart enough to stay away." Ayako's red hair whipped wildly as she turned to glare at Monk's incredulous snort. "Hey, it's a possibility!" There was a breathy rustle as she flipped through the pamphlet. Squinting, she drew it closer until her nose brushed the page. "God, I hate this lighting!"

"Need reading glasses, old lady?"

"My eyes are perfectly fine, it's this...God awful...Ah!" She flipped the page and was now tapping it knowingly. "This explains everything. Apparently an electrical man was strangled to death during the installation. He was found several feet from his ladder, an insulated chord from an overhead lamp wrapped mysteriously around his neck..." She mumbled a few more details, eyes narrowing at the page. "They didn't list the company."

"Does it matter?"

"I'd like to know. They did a horrible job."

"Well it's hard to do it correctly when you're dangling from the ceiling."

Mai glared at them. "You two are horrible human beings."

"Just a little black humor, Mai."

"It's cruel."

"So is this God awful lighting." Ayako grumbled, barging past the other two to fully enter into the classroom. Her tone suddenly became brusque and business like. "Alright, since we only have a few hours of sunlight left, no in-structure-lighting and no flashlights I say we do a quick preliminary sweep and retire for the night. According to this," yet another manicured nail thwacked against paper. "It's best not to be anywhere near this place after sundown."

"Yeah, yeah. We know the drill." Monk was inspecting a rusty nail lodged in the doorframe. "Anything else, Your Highness?"

"Forty, forty, twenty." She intoned darkly.

He was already disappearing into the hallway. "I'm sweeping the other wing and the gym, I'll see ya guys in thirty minutes!"

"Great. Which leaves me basically the other three fourths of the floor to work with." Ayako grumbled. She turned to her assistant, still hovering by the door. "You good with taking the second floor?"

"Wha-" The girl whirled away from where she'd been watching the hallway. An abashed grin flashed across her face. "Oh, yeah. Sure, I'm on it!"

The shrine maiden gave her small smile. "Hey, don't worry about a thing. Everything's going to work out. Five years is plenty of time."

"I know." Unconsciously Mai's eyes darted back to the hallway.

"We'll do whatever we can to protect you." Pure determination steeled the woman's dark eyes. "We won't let anything hurt you, Mai."

"I know." This time Mai wasted no effort on a smile. She met her guardian's gaze and nodded grimly. "Thanks, Ayako. I'll take the upstairs." With that she slipped out of the amber light into the dank hallway.

"Yeah. Thanks Ayako." Mai grumbled as she eased a sneaker onto another step. "'Take the second floor'. Freaking brilliant idea." She whispered, finally creeping onto the second floor landing. "Send the assistant to the creepiest, secluded part of the dangerously haunted building." A miserable glance at the gaping pitch black doorways stretching into the shadows confirmed her suspicion. "Gee, good thing there's only-" Now a bitter glance at her bare wrist. "Thirty or so minutes before sundown. Good thinking bringing a watch, Mai. All in a day's work."

A creak cut off her babbling. She froze, staring into the dark hallway before her. Experience with horror movies taught her many things; bad acting, an ear for whiny violin music and last but not least a healthy lack of curiosity. Shock still, she searched wide eyed for the source which, astonishingly enough, didn't reveal itself.

Unbidden a chill slithered down her spine. It was in one of the classrooms. She was sure of it. Mai waited, motionless, studying the hall. Loyal to its fellow structure below both sides the building were lined with classrooms, sliding doors ajar. At the far end was (what Mai assumed) the other staircase that led to the back entrance and gym. Only there and the spot were Mai currently situated held any sort of sunlight. The hallway mysteriously pooled the darkness in the middle and around the doorways.

A glint from the third door from the back caught her eye. Still straining for sound she edged forward, keeping the glint just in her peripheral. Something silver? More equipment? Frowning she sidled past the first doors bracing herself in case something were to lunge out of the shadows. Nothing. Slightly relieved she moved on. Would the school really use such a building to store equipment? And in a random second story room? It must have sucked lugging everything up those stairs. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how much lighter the room seemed. There, the darkness wasn't as heavy as the other classrooms. It held the slightest glow as though from a window.

Darting past another set of doorways she focused entirely on the lighted room. Her curiosity was peaked. And subconsciously she knew it was a bad thing.

If something attacks me at least I know some protection sutras. Mai grabbled with the nonsense syllables, trying to drag them from her memory. Or something close to it. Ren, Sha, Ketsu….damn it was it Ken or Kai?

As she finally drew within a foot of the doorway she hesitated, slowly edging forward to peer in. Immediately she identified the source of light. Here one of the workers had tried to ignore the laws of matter; nailing boards wildly across the windows so that they overlapped and crisscrossed forming a rough mountain range across the far wall. The gaps and slits between glowed a brilliant golden orange. Besides making a rather attractive pattern on the floorboards and the bright blue tarp pinned in the center of the room, it also reflected off a shiny silver tripod and speaker crouched in the corner.

Her eye was immediately drawn to the camera. It was larger than the recreational ones couples and families used to capture their summer vacations. Sturdy and black, like the ones that might be found on a movie set or studio. She found herself being drawn into the room, carefully making her way around the tarp. Her eyes followed the sleek black wires extending from the back of the camera to an outlet in the wall, then slithering along at the base of the wall and out of the corner of the doorway.

Mai frowned as she noticed the small green light on the side was glowing. Who would put a camera in this room? She bent down to glare into the lens, her arm reaching out to brace on the side-

"Hey!"

Startled she whirled around as a figure lunged forward, arms raised before them. With a cry she dodged to the side, twisting as she struck something cold and slick beneath her. Suddenly she was enveloped in blue, floating weightless. She hardly felt the hand closing around her ankle. She didn't even know she was falling until she hit the floor.

****Give me a heads up if the 'dark humor' thing was too distasteful. I thought it was fine, but looking back it's sort of disturbing. Feedback is appreciated, but, mind you no flames please.