I do Not own the Anime/Manga Ghost Hunt, or its characters.

This story was inspired by my "It may be time." It was just a random fic that popped into my head, and I wrote it. Another idea shortly followed, and here it is!

Please Review!

I put my coat in the rack next to Mai's. Monk's was draped on the arm of the couch, and Ayako's was on the back on the chair. A few minutes later, Lin walked in and handed Naru something to sign. Already, I could smell the earthy sent of the herbal tea Mai was making. Before coming to Japan, I wasn't much of a tea person and after the first month of trying to adjust my taste buds, I found that there were just some teas I couldn't stand. The herbal that Mai was currently making was one of them. I hated to decline her tea.

As she came back in, there was a knock on the door. Being closest, I opened it. I was greeted by an older woman, her hair grey and wrapped into a professional bun. Her eyes were a sharp, steely blue. But, they sparkled with a light hearted amusement. I stepped aside. "Hello and welcome."

She smiled, but the grey bags under her eyes and pale completion urged to me to escort her to the nearest chair. "Good Morning. My name is Tamari Nara, and I called yesterday about the girl's academy...?"

"Yes, Ms. Nara." Naru leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, fingers interlocked in front of his face. "Shall we get down to business? The sooner we get this interview finished, the sooner we can decided on our position on the matter."

"May I take your coat?" I asked as she pulled it off.

"Oh, why thank you, young man." She handed it to me and sat down. I put it in the case next to my coat. "Yes, yes. Let's get on with this. We are in need of dire help."

I caught Mai finishing putting the tea on the tray with the cups. I picked it up before she could and she smiled. I led her back towards the group and handed out the tea. Naru was already questioning her. The others were listening intently, Monk's arm hanging off the back of the sofa.

"-has this been going on for?"

"Well, it all started about a month ago." She answered, after some thought. I handed her a cup of tea, but she hardly even looked at it.

Naru nodded as Lin typed away on his computer. "Now, in detail, tell me what's happened so far."

"It started with an uneasy feeling in the halls, after lights out. Cold spots began appearing, sometimes even in the boiler room - and its always almost eighty degrees in that room. And then, came the shadows in classes, and the laughter. Its such a horrible noise." She shuttered, "At night, the wind howls like screaming and several windows have been broken by the wind and nothing else! About a week ago, two of my students were attacked."

"Attacked?" Mai gasped, "How?"

The old woman's eyes shot up, fear filling them. "They were dragged up the stairs, kicking and screaming. There was no one there, no one. Whatever it was broke their ankles, not to mention the concussions from being ripped up those steps."

Naru had that look in his eye. "Anything else?"

Tamari nodded gravely before unzipping her purse. She pulled out a handful of photographs, and passed them to me. "These were taken just last night. Its why I called. Its gotten too out of hand. My students are in danger. I didn't know what it read at first; I don't speak English. I had a teacher translate."

I looked at the picture; they were of a large wall with a summer scene, flowers dotting the lower part and a large oak with a tree in its middle. It was a mural, and a shockingly good one at that. It was so life like - but that's not what made me suck in a sharp breath.

On it, written in what looked to be blood, was indeed English. I read it aloud, translating, "This school destroyed me and forgot me. This place will be destroyed. My rage will not be so easily forgotten."

Uneasy glances were shared around the room. Naru looked thoughtful and Lin had looked up from his screen, eyes drilling into our boss's face. Naru straightened and stood up, "We will help. We leave in an hour."

The relief in her face made my heart clench. She looked so frail and it made me guilty that Naru had made it seem like we wouldn't help her, when something like this was happening and hurting people. She got to her feet, bowing deeply. "Oh thank you. Thank you."

"If you need a ride back, I can give you one." I offered, handing the pictures to Naru.

She looked at me in surprise, but gave a soft smile. "Oh, I think not but thank you. I need to leave now. I don't want to leave my students there alone. Yes, there are teachers there, but...the students, they're my responsibility as the principal and dean."

I grabbed her coat from the unit, "I can leave right now. I have a bag waiting in the vehicle. While we're waiting for the others, I can perform interviews from other eye witnesses."

"Oh, well, if you're sure..."

"I am." I gave a firm nod, grabbing my own coat. I looked around the room. "Anyone else ready to go a while?"

Monk raised his hand. "I always have a go-bag ready, in case of emergencies. Can I get a ride with you?"

Mai had that look on her face, as if she's just realized something important about a person, or situation. I decided not to read too much into it. Naru was already discussing possible theories with Lin, while Ayako and Masako were getting ready to grab the stuff they'd need from their own apartments.

"Sure," I helped Ms. Nara into her coat before putting mine on. "You ready, Ms. Nara?" I asked politely, opening the door.

"Oh, Yes. But please, call me Tamari, Mister...?"

"Brown." I answered, giving a small bow. "John Brown."

"He's a priest," Mai chipped happily.

Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, before she nodded. She glanced between me and the others. "You're...a little young, I think. You all are, honestly. But, according to the person I talked to, you do good work. Please, when you get there, be careful."

"We will," Naru promised, his eyes intent.

-X-

She gave me directions from her seat in the back. She insisted on sitting in the back, where she could stretch out. I think because of all the stress - and partly because of those bags under her eyes - that she hadn't been sleeping well. She was taking the chance to rest up; having gotten up at four just to get to her appointment on time probably hadn't helped any.

Soon enough, she drifted to sleep. I was glad she was resting, though Monk was having a bit of a freak out. He had the only map I owned in his lap, spilling onto the floor and fighting with it. He was wrinkling, and I heard a sharp tearing noise, before he moaned, "I don't know where we're at, John."

Chuckling, I reached down to my console and pressed a few buttons from memory. When a low hum filled the vehicle, I said, every clearly in English, "(Vocalized directions to Hizamuno Academy)."

Monk looked over at me, a confused frown on his face. A moment later, a soft computerized voice told me to go left at the next stop sign. Monk jumped at the sound, head swerving to the console. "You have a GPS?"

"Yeah."

"And it only speaks in English?"

"No." I said slowly, "But I don't know how to change the settings yet."

"Huh," he leaned closer to it. "How long have you had it?"

I tried to drag up the memory of when I had gotten it, slowly turning left and heading out of the city. Eventually, I gave up. I knew it was before I had come to Japan and that it had been before my becoming a priest. "Three years ago? Maybe more."

"Wait, wait, wait." He snickered, "You've had this thing for at least three years, and you hardly know how to work it?"

"Yeah. So?" I gave him a quick look before looking back to the road.

"Nothing." He said unconvincingly. He turned his attention to the window and we lapsed into a comfortable silence. A few minutes, he broke it. "Flesh eating spiders."

What he said was so absurd, I gave him another glance. "What?"

"Australia. Does it really have flesh eating spiders?"

"No." I said slowly. My index finger tapped on the wheel, "Its their venom that decomposes live tissues. You get bit by one of them, in an hour you've lost a big chunk of skin. Sometimes, the doctors have no choice but to cut away the diseased flesh, depending on how badly its spread."

He grimaced, shuttering, "That's gotta be painful."

"Oh it is," I nodded. The GPS told me to take a right and follow the highway. "I've had broken bones that've hurt less."

"Wait!" He choked out, "You've been bitten by one of them?!"

"More like ten," it was my turn to grimace. That was an unpleasant memory, to say the least. "I stepped into a nest that had just hatched. I was about eight."

Monk gave a low whistle, "Man."

I nodded, though I wasn't sure what I was agreeing to.

After a moment, he said, "Wait. What bones did you break? I broke my arm once. Hurt like a bitch."

I wasn't the one breaking them, I thought hotly. Instead I said, my hands tightening on the wheel. "My arm, twice. My leg. My ribs."