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~NARU'S POV~

Naru hadn't gone very far down the hall before he realized that John and Masako probably wouldn't be allowed to access the necessary files. He turned in the direction of the office, but hadn't made it very far before he met the two from his team in the hallway.

"We weren't allowed to have them. Sorry, mate. I tried to explain why, but she insisted she couldn't give them to us." John looked apologetically at Naru, knowing he wasn't in the best mood to start with.

"It's fine. I figured as much. You two can return to base or your rooms. There is nothing else I have for you to do at the moment." The two bowed their heads as their boss passed them and silently returned to base to wait.

Naru and Lin arrived at the records office and approached the woman behind the desk.

"We need to see the record of all employees working here from the time just prior to the death of Kei Fukuoka to the present." Naru was still rather annoyed at his current situation and so didn't bother with the polite act he knew he should have put on for this request. Oh well, he had been given access to anything he would need, and now that included these records. He would get them one way or another.

"Um, sir, I'm sorry but those are private. They aren't for public use, I apologize but I must insist you return to the zoo. Enjoy your day." The receptionist turned back to her computer, but looked at Naru suspiciously when he remained in front of her. 'how many young people were going to pass by requesting this?' she thought. "Sir?" This young man standing before her held himself with great importance and she knew this would be a hassle.

"With all do respect, I am not simply part of the public in this instance, and it was the owner of this zoo that invited me here. I am to be given full access to anything I require, now if you wouldn't mind handing those records over now."

The woman jumped to her feet and was about to give this rude man a piece of her mind when her stapler flew from her desk and thudded solidly into his stomach.

"I apologize, I am Kazuya Shibuya, I need those records for my investigation. If you would be so kind as to lend them to me, they will be returned shortly." Naru said through gritted teeth while thinking, 'This case is going to be the death of me.'

Pleasantly surprised with the man's sudden politeness, and recognizing his name, the woman replied with, "Well that's more like it." She went to get the files while marveling at her flying stapler. She hadn't believed anything was really happening, but this little incident made her a believer.

The woman returned shortly with a thick file. "I hope this works for you Mr. Shibuya."

"Thanks" Naru replied shortly, wanting nothing more than to find a place for solitude where this spirit would leave him be.

After a brief search for a safe, empty room so he could avoid triggering another attack, Naru and Lin began paging through the records looking for anyone who may have worked closely with Kei or who would have held a position of power of him. One such person was the Head Manager of the zoo, Yoshiko Nori. 'Why haven't I heard of this woman? She should be important. And present.' Naru decided he needed to call her in.

"Lin, make sure we call this manager in. Yoshiko Nori. She's supposed to be the Head Manager here, but I haven't seen her this entire time. We'll need to interview her." Just after saying this Naru felt like he was lighter, as if something had left his general vicinity. He took this as a sign. "We definitely need to speak with this woman. She is connected to this case." He returned all the pages to the file and stood.

~Back at base, Mai POV~

Everyone had returned to base except Naru and Lin by the time Mai and Yasu finished watching the tapes. While reviewing the most recent video, the two of them had seen Ayako being bothered more than ever before. They had seen her hair get pulled backwards and watched her stumble more than once from unseen hands. Most of it had occurred after she had said something to Monk, but some of the incidents on tape happened without her having said anything. Mai made a mental note to ask about it, but it was unnecessary because the miko was ranting and raving about it upon their return.

"It just KEPT HAPPENING! All of a sudden I felt heavy and then if I did so much as look at Monk wrong I would get poked, pushed or pulled! THIS. IS. RIDICULOUS." Just as she finished her sentence, Monk sat down on the same couch she had been. She promptly stood and briskly walked to the opposite end of the room. Ayako seemed to be resigned to avoiding the monk in the room.

"C'mon, Ayako, I know it kept attacking you, but that doesn't mean you have to avoid me. Just be nice and you'll be fine!" Monk said following Ayako to her isolation corner.

"Don't come near me, you-" She stopped short with a worried look, "-nice young man." She finished calmly while slipping around him and behind Mai.

"Oh, perfect, no more competition for my special Bou-san's attention!" Yasu said with delight while rushing over to attach himself to Monk's arm.

Monk was saved by his bosses return.

"Enough fooling around. We have work to do. Monk, Ayako, what did you get temperature-wise?"

"Nothing for awhile, but then Ayako started getting targeted and the temperatures started dropping a little around her. It followed her wherever we went, so we returned to base early because we couldn't get good results."

"Alright. Mai and Yasu, did you get anything from the videos?" Naru's tone unintentionally turned more polite at the mention of Mai's name, everyone noticed, earning small smiles from most of the team.

"Nothing for us either. All we have is the video of Ayako getting attacked. Nothing else was caught on tape." Mai began towards the door after saying her report.

"Mai-"

"On my way!" Mai interrupted, knowing he wanted tea.

Naru apparently was too lost in thought to notice her initial movement. With surprise, he looked up and mumbled a polite, sincere, "thank you" before returning to his thoughts.

Mai left the room looking pleased with herself. 'Maybe I can get him to permanently lighten up on me if I have the ghost on my side and keep ahead of him with tea during this case.' Mai was brewing both the tea on the stove and the idea in her mind, but as she started back to base she thought, 'There's no way he'll keep this up, it's a lost cause' she sighed to herself but decided to enjoy her little victories for now, at least they should keep him from killing her after this case is over.

When she returned to base, she saw Naru on his phone having an intense conversation with someone.

"Who is he talking to?" Mai questioned aloud.

"The zoo's Head Manager." John responded quietly, trying not to disturb his boss's call.

"We need to ask some questions of you. It won't take long and I can assure you, someone can escort you the entire time if you feel it's necessary. As the Head Manager, we really do require your presence." Naru was getting agitated but it appeared he was successful in getting the interview set up. "Thank you, today would be fine." He finished, hanging up and returning his phone to his pocket. "Ms. Nori will be here within two hours." He announced, addressing his team.

Almost immediately after his comment the room seemed to shake briefly, knocking books down and clattering chairs. Before anyone could say anything else, Monk was heard shouting "Mai" as the girl once again slumped to the floor.