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

A/N: If someone's fever rises really, dangerously high that person must be cooled down immediately. If not, the fever can cause brain damage, nervous system damage, and be life threatening - among other things. / Again, another short-ish chapter. Sorry!

"So what you're saying is, when my fever spiked and Monk had to get me cool down, the spirit attacked him?" I asked, a sinking feeling dragging at me as I sat down at Base. Late afternoon light filtered in through the window. Incredibly, my fever broke not long after I had puked my guts out. In the women's locker room. That part still had me stumped and beyond mortified. How in the Hell did I manage to get into there?! Moreover, why couldn't I remember what happened after heading back to our rom last night? "Why?"

I looked over at Monk, whose head was bandaged, but he just shrugged. Other than that, he didn't seem to be hurt - he hadn't been limping, or holding onto anything that looked painful.

"You tell us." Ayako said, crossing her arms over her chest. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side, curiosity peeking through that stoic appearance. "She was ranting and raving in English."

Mai hit play on the computer, and all the screens lit up - all replaying the same video feed.

I leaned forward, my hair still wet from the shower I had just taken, and watched. The camera was set up in the hall that housed our rooms and the locker areas. I couldn't see what was happening - we couldn't put the cameras inside the living areas, after all - but I heard ever word of it.

I could feel the blood draining from my face as my stomach knotted itself.

Monk hit pause, and looked at me pointedly. "Naru and Lin are out getting supplies and conducting a few interviews at the police station. If we have to, we can delete this; they haven't seen it yet."

"Tamper with evidence?!" Ayako cried, looking outraged and frightened. "Why in the hell would we do that?! What if...That's...Naru would have a massive bitch fit!"

He didn't even spare her a glance. "John, either you can tell them or I will."

"T-Tell them what?" I felt taken aback - what was he going on about now?

He sighed, but not impatiently. He ran a hand through his hair, looking up and away. His next few words chilled me worse than the pond water had. "When I had to cool you down, I took off your shirt and well..."

He had seen them.

The horror I felt must've shown on my face because Mai and Ayako shared an uneasy glance. Then, Mai tried to sound as soothing as possible, "Now, John...Don't panic, okay? I've been reading up on your religion - and Monk wasn't making a pass at you. Okay? He's straight and -"

I shook my head rapidly, my voice sounding strained, "You misunderstand, Mai. That's not...That doesn't have anything to do with what-what Monk's talking about. Honestly."

Confusion clouded her eyes for a moment, "Then, what's the big deal?"

I couldn't even begin to figure out what to tell them, let alone how to break it to them easily. Just the thought was enough to make bile rise in the back of my throat - how was I suppose to expect anything less from them? Physical abuse was one thing...But that was what it was, wasn't it? What Monk had seen.

Unable to look them in the eye, partly in fear of them seeing what I was hiding, I looked towards the ceiling. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I said, "Growing up, I was in the foster care system. And sometimes I was put into houses that had problems. Problems that they took out on me."

"What are you saying?" Ayako asked, equal parts suspicion and weariness - like she knew what I was going to say, and totally afraid that it was the truth. Mai looked on the verge of tears.

"I...I have scars." My eyes slipped shut without my consent, my head tipping down. I ran a hand through my damp hair, "And they're not easily ignored."

"I'm...I'm so sorry," Mai rushed over, throwing her arms around my neck and nearly choking the life out of me. She was trembling, "That's so awful, John! Why didn't you tell us? We could've helped...somehow."

I blinked, eyes wide and staring at her brown hair -it was the only part of her head that I could see. But then, I smiled - it was gentle and sad and completely fake, "There's nothing to be done about them or the past. Its best to leave it all buried."

She pulled back in shock, but her eyes began burning with that fierce determination of hers. I didn't like that look in her eyes - what foolish idea does she have in her head this time? But then she blinked, "Wait. Why would we delete the footage, again?"

"Because whatever she said hit a nerve." Ayako said grimly, now catching on to what Monk had been implying. She leaned back in her chair, clearly thinking hard. She sighed, shoulders slumping before she shrugged, "Well, as long as it doesn't have any direct evidence, I don't see why we can't just pretend the footage doesn't exist."

This time, the smile was grateful and true.

-X-

To cover the missing tape, we re-recorded another segment and marked it down as what it would have been.

I watched as Monk worked, realizing that he was very tech savvy. I wondered if he'd be able to figure out how to re-program my GPS to vocalize Japanese directions. Then, I wondered if my little mini-lesson had stuck - from when we had driven here. The thought was chilling. When I had been teaching him the words - they were random and had no meaning at the time.

But now.

Would he be able to piece together some of the words from the video he had just deleted?

I racked my brain, trying to remember all the words I had taught him.

Monk... Father... Mother... Sister... Brother... Family... House... Apple... Horse... Cat... Dog... Mouse... Cheese... Pizza... Ghost... Spirit... Haunting... Night... Day... Dark... Light... Evil... Good... Mate... Friend... Friendship... Reality...

I felt a frown twist onto my lips - I knew I was forgetting words, words that I had taught him. Words he had asked to teach him. Words that had just popped into my head. Words that made sentences.

Music... Lyrics... It's... Nice... To... Meet... You... Where... Is... The... Bathroom... Left... Right... Door... Help...

I sent a hard look to the back of his head - were those words worth worrying about? How much had he retained? How much could he guess at? Would he tell the others? What all did he think he knew? How much of it was wrong?

How much of it was right?

-X-

When Lin and Naru returned and none of us had anything more to report, we knew we had hit another brick wall.

I had worked hard to assure the others that what we had covered up had nothing to directly effect the case. It was just her freaking out because I was sick and Monk had sorta-kinda stripped me. A fact that I had chosen to ignore.

That was harder than it sounded.

Lin was listening to audio, Naru was looking over whatever notes he had taken. Mai and Monk had taken to playing a card game while Ayako watched. I took up a spot by the window, my book once more in my hands. The light was fading and a light snow fall had started again. It was strange, because this time of the year there was generally more rain showers than snow falls. I caught myself standing and watching the pond - searching for her red jacket.

I hadn't even noticed that the room had gotten quiet until, "John?"

"Hmm?" I dragged my attention back to the group. "What?"

"We're going to take temperature readings." Naru decided, "Because of the weather constantly changing outside, its hard to discern if the temperature fluctuations are from the heaters or the spirit."

"She has a name."

He looked up sharply from his work, "What?"

"I said, she has a name. Why hasn't anyone been using it? Her name is Kayla." I marked my place in my book, noticing Naru's eyes lingering on its cover. "Its not a crime to use her name. Its not forbidden. Its just downright cruel, talking about her as if she's just some nameless creature haunting without a purpose or mind of her own."

He stared at me for what felt like an eternity, but I didn't squirm under his hard gaze. "Fine. We don't know if Kayla is behind all of this."

-X-

Mai and I were in Tamari's office, trying to locate where her heating system fed into the office. We started high and slowly worked our way around the room. Finally, we found the black, orient vent behind a large oak bookshelf. It had been a struggle between the two of us to move it - even after we took off almost all the books. Face it, we're both short and I wasn't feeling one hundred percent yet.

I knelt down as she handed over the flashlight. I bent and peered into the darkness, and blinked in shock. My voice sounded funny to my own ears, "Mai. Find me a screw driver. Now."

Inside the grate, covered with dust and cobwebs, was what looked like a stack of papers.

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