A/N: So here is the next chapter! It was my birthday today, but I still got around to getting this up (and it is LONG!! wheee!) so I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know!

Not long after, Mai and the other women appeared just in time for breakfast and a briefing on what had to be done. The meal was rushed and a bit hectic, but that didn't seem to bother anyone…except maybe Masako, but that was typical.

Soon after, the exorcisms began along with the bickering of a certain monk and miko. Bou-san had made some snide remark about how he could handle all the 'hot spots' as he called them since, according to him, Ayako would be useless in dealing with any of the important places. This of course made Ayako practically rip his head off. So, as a result the two were seemingly having a competition amongst themselves on who could perform the most exorcisms around the inn.

From Mai's point of view, which was currently in front of the monitors, they resembled chickens with their heads cut off the way they were rushing around from place to place. Masako and John were of course conducting all their duties with the utmost professionalism and care.

For the most part, as it often was, Mai was bored since she had been left alone in the base room to watch the monitors. Bou-san and Ayako had provided sufficient entertainment for the first hour or so, but now it was just repetitive banter that no longer held her attention. Naru and Lin had left to conduct some kind of research somewhere…or maybe it was interviews…Mai was not sure.

Mai flinched as her arm emitted a slight sting of pain; a painful reminder of her dream. Mai shivered despite herself as she recollected the images. Once again she had foolishly gotten hurt and caused Naru to worry about her, which was the last thing she wanted. It was probably for that reason that he had left her in the base doing the most menial task…and also the safest task. It was so like him to distance her from danger, though that did not seem to help at times when danger seemed to seek her out…or that she sought it out herself against his will.

Either way, Mai had a bad feeling about things to come. No matter how far away she was from 'the action' as Bou-san often liked to call it, she didn't feel safe at all. Naru was always protecting her, guarding her from harm but now…

'I am not even safe in my dreams…' Mai sighed as she looked at the bandages peeking out from her shirt. Now there was a whole new dimension to the danger, and Mai didn't like it one bit.

--

"I won I tell you!" A loud male voice filtered through the room and Mai turned startled to the entrance. Lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice that the rest of the team had stopped working and had come back to the base. "I did the most successful exorcisms!"

"Ha, you must be some kind of idiot" Ayako huffed, "since it seems like you can't count!"

"What does it matter anyway!?" Bou-san retorted enthusiastically catching Mai's attention even more than he already had. "We didn't make any headway at all! No matter how many exorcisms we did…it didn't even make a dent!"

"What do you mean?" Mai voiced causing all those present to look in her direction. "I thought the exorcisms were successful…"

Masako huffed and sat down, resting her hands in her lap delicately. Mai frowned; Masako was giving her the look that meant she knew something that she didn't and therefore, she was an idiot for not knowing. "They did work." The medium said presumptively.

"Yeah, they worked all right!" Bou-san added as he, and a dragged Ayako, flopped on the couch. John took a seat moments later and Mai joined them as well.

"Apparently even though we were successful…there are so many spirits here that as soon as we exorcized the active areas…more immediately replaced them. We could go in circles all day long and still never make a dent." John explained rather haplessly.

"There is no end to it! It's crazy!" Ayako exclaimed as she wrestled her hand away from the over exuberant monk. She rather die than admit it…but she rather enjoyed the feeling of the monk's hand on hers…it was a lot softer than she had expected. If she didn't get away quickly she feared blushing despite herself, which would cause him to tease her all over again…and that she didn't want to go though that at the moment even though she secretly enjoyed their mild bickering.

"What could be the cause?" Mai asked, dully noting Ayako's discomfort.

"There are just too many spirits here for some reason." Masako stated simply as everyone fell silent pondering her words.

--

Naru walked briskly down the hallway of the inn, Lin close in tow. While the others spent the afternoon performing exorcisms, he and Lin had been doing research with some time on the phone to Madoka and Yasuhara.

They had found out some relevant information, but nothing ground breaking. Naru was eager to get back and find out how the others faired. It would be another piece of data he could add to the puzzle…if what they had done helped or not.

"Well?" he sternly spoke upon entry. Everyone was back and sitting near the center of the room. They obviously finished what they were attempting to do.

"It was successful, but it didn't make a difference. There are too many spirits here. We didn't make any headway at all." John explained.

"There are more and more spirits arriving here that are unable to leave. We could go all day and still not have an effect." Masako did not miss her chance to speak up and impress Naru.

Naru said nothing as he and Lin made their way to the monitors where Lin promptly started recording the new information on his laptop. "Anything on your end?" Bou-san questioned curiously.

Naru audibly sighed. He had not found the answers he was looking for by any means and was disappointed with that fact. "Lin" he prompted.

Lin turned in his chair letting some documents rest on the table top. "Concerning Mai-san's dream…"

Mai immediately stiffened in her seat. She didn't want to recall those images nor remember the pain of the cuts on her arms. "Most information concerning the iconography of ravens and crows is scattered and inconsistent and mostly culturally based" Lin continued.

"The most likely explanation for what Mai saw reflects the belief that ravens can represent the souls of the dead." Naru finished.

"Well, that does make sense" Ayako glanced at Mai. She and Masako were briefed about Mai's dream while they were out around the inn, with Mai conveniently at the base. It must have been terrifying to see…

"I also found references referring to the Landeythan, which means land-waster. It was said to be a raven type bird that litterally laid waste to the land. It could relate to the fact that the surrounding area is devoid of life." Lin glanced at Mai trying to gage her reaction to the information presented. Not much to his surprise, Mai had gone into her own little world thinking about who knows what.

"Is that from mythology?" John asked.

"Yes, it is…but in this case I thought it might have some relavance. Though, even if it did, there is still nothing substancial. There is nothing to be done about it even if that where the case." Naru dead paned.

"So…" Mai started hesitently, her attention suddenly back on the conversation. "We're back at square one. We know there are spirits here, but we don't why or what is keeping them all here. I saw ravens in my dream, which may or may not represent or mean something…and that information is just speculation anyway…"

"Basically." Naru picked up his cup and took a sip. "We obviously need more to go on, and we have only been here a day. There are many more pieces to the puzzle we have yet to put together."

"Of course" Bou-san chimed in, "what is our next move?" He knew as well as everyone that they had nothing to go on yet, and that the problem was much different than what he had first anticipated. No matter how hard he had tried, there was no end and no stop to the endless spiritual activity that flooded the area. The spirits presence didn't seem to have any bearing on the other problems plaguing the inn, such as the lack of animals and the changing water color. So, that was yet another thing to worry about…

"Since we are all here…" Ayako voiced, "Let's have lunch. We can replenish before trying again."

"That sounds like a good idea!" John said happily. He was more than ready for lunch and more than ready for a longer break.

--

Lunch was rowdy and loud…thanks to a certain monk and miko. Masako had skillfully weaseled her way to Naru's left side, though he was kindly ignoring her along with most everything else that was happening around him. Lin was mirroring the sentiment, Mai noted dully as she glanced to her side.

She felt, for the most part, very uncomfortable. It had already been a taxing day and it was only lunch…there was still most of the day remaining! Mai didn't know why, but she felt very uneasy. Her entire body was telling her to tuck tail and leave, yet the rational part of her wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was causing her to feel the way she did. Yes, the inn was flooded with spirits that for some reason or other were unable to leave…but…beyond that, there was something missing. Something that Mai knew was not right…

Naru silently observed his wife, unbeknownst to her of course. Mai was obviously on edge and she was clearly too focused on her own thoughts to notice Naru's scrutiny. There was more going on than he had first anticipated and Mai's dream had only added to the mystery. He unconsciously grit his teeth…he didn't want to admit it, but he needed more to go on and unfortunately the best way was for Mai to dream again.

'Tch…I don't want her to dream again…I don't want to see her hurt again…'

A/N: Happy B-day to me! ENJOY! I am going to warn you guys that it might be awhile until I get the next part out! I will try my very hardest to get it out and written but...I just have no idea how to write what I know needs to be DONE! I know what I want to happen but it is just so hard to write! ARG! flail

So, I am at a wall. It happens! Please let me know how you like this part and I will work on the next part! Thanks for reading!!