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Pale hair flashed before her eyes as her mother fell towards the wood floor. She reached with an outstretched hand, small and just as it had been as she was a child. It slowly grew larger as she tried to reach her mother before she hit the ground. A bright lime colour surrounded her and she let out a strangled cry. Suddenly finding herself under the surface of a large body of water. Her mother was above her with a gentle smile, yet there was a sadness in her eyes. Her mother reached out with one of her hands, so like her own, and touched her cheek. She could feel her mother's love from the gentle touch.

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"Mama!" Yuki exclaimed as she bolted up in her bed.

She let out a shuddering breath and she tried to regain some sense of composure, even though she was the only one in her apartment. Her dreams were getting worse and worse, and she didn't know why. She hadn't really dreamt of her parents in years. Was it due to her suppressing the memories of them? She heard the rapid jingling of dog tags and looked up as Bones bounded up onto the bed and bumped her nose against her cheek. Yuki clung to her and buried her face in the thick fur. A sob erupted from her as she let go of some of the emotions she had buried deep. Bones sat there and allowed her to cry it out. Yuki knew this was one of the reasons why she refused to get attached to anyone, she hated losing people and she refused to go through it again. She couldn't go through it again. Bones moved to where she was no longer being clung to and gently licked her owner's cheek.

"I miss them, Bones," Yuki softly admitted before bringing a hand up and wiping at her eyes, "do you want to take a walk?"

Bones gave an excited bark before jumping from the bed and running towards the door. Yuki let out a sound of amusement before letting the smallest of smiles appear on her face. Bones always made her feel better even if she didn't show it in public. She slowly got out of her bed and winced as her muscles, and right knee, protested. It seemed as though she had put her body through the wringer the previous day. She gave an annoyed sigh and changed into a pair of loose clothing that would be easy to get out of when she came back to get ready for school. She paused and wrapped a blue scarf around her neck to keep out some of the cold. Bones was sitting in front of the door, patiently waiting for her. A harness went on Bones as did the leash. Yuki pulled on her old sneakers and grabbed her keys before heading out of the apartment with Bones.

It was a chilly morning, and their breath came out as small clouds. Yuki placed her free hand in one of the pockets of the loose jeans she was wearing. Bones sniffed before sneezing as she had picked up a few cherry blossom petals with her sniff. They walked around the neighbourhood for a while before coming across one of the public parks that were open to dogs. Yuki took a break and sat down on a nearby bench. Her leg had started to hurt, she brought a hand down and gently prodded her right knee. It was swelled, and painful to touch. She refused to get it checked out because she didn't want anyone else dragged into Kazuya's situation. He'd most likely end up making one of the students cry. She was good at dealing with someone like him. She shivered as the chilly air hit some of her neck that had been revealed by the scarf moving. She fixed it back into place and watched as Bones ran around before grabbing a large stick and bringing it to her. She let out a slight sound of pain as she grasped the cool, damp wood and brought her arm back. It went flying as she threw it. Bones took off after the stick and easily jumped into the air and caught it. It was brought back, and Yuki threw it once again.

They played like that for a while before heading back to the apartment. The sun was slowly rising, and Yuki yawned as she suddenly felt tired. It wasn't like she was sleeping well, and she looked towards her dog in thought. When was the last time she had gotten decent sleep? She couldn't remember, those dreams had started a few years back. They were always different, though the one where she was hit by a car had increased in its appearances during the summer of the previous year. It had stopped for a while before happening the day, she met Kazuya. If she was superstitious, she'd think he had something to do with it. She didn't. She wasn't about to put stock into her dreams, most of the time they meant nothing or were abstract in their meanings to where she couldn't figure what she was being warned about.

She let those thoughts die out as she headed inside the apartment and went to get ready for school. A quick warm shower was her friend, and she laid a towel on her head as she removed Bones's harness. She used the towel to dry her hair before putting it back. She did her usual routine, fill the dog bowls up, make tea and breakfast, and then head to school. She pondered what to have for lunch since she didn't make anything the night before. Her stomach let out an uncomfortable churning and she decided against it. She wasn't feeling the best. She sipped at her tea, and she realised she hadn't finished all her homework. It was her English homework, so it didn't take long for her to do while eating some toast with prickly pear jam, something she got from an international store. She put everything into her school bag before cleaning up and heading out to school.

She had switched her knee highs for black leggings, and noticed that they did nothing to hide her swelled up knee. They didn't do anything to help with the pain she was feeling either. She had a slight limp to her walk, and it was obvious she was favouring her left leg. She headed past the old school building and went into the one in use. A few girls stood around her footlocker, and she felt her brow twitch. Ah, they were most likely placing tacks in her shoes again. Either that or she was getting hate-filled letters because she had "captured" the attention of a "major hottie". She knew how girls talked and she thought she had done a good job at summarising what they were most likely thinking. She walked up to her locker, and they scurried off. She opened her locker and letters fell out of it, there was also a small box tucked in the back of it. She grabbed everything and placed it in her school bag before checking her shoes for tacks. There were quite a few, and they joined their distant cousins in her bag. She'd make sure to read all the letters and figure out what was in the box during lunch, she didn't have the time to do so before class. She headed up to her class and sat down at her desk. Her classroom overlooked the old school building, and she couldn't help but stare at the black van. She hoped that Kazuya had gotten some sleep. She frowned at that, and wondered why she would even care if he got sleep? He was her boss, not her friend. She sat through all the lessons and sighed in relief when lunch came around.

Yuki had secured a spot on the roof to eat, it was technically out of bounds, but no one really paid attention to that rule. The school had put up a fence around the perimeter so no one would jump from the roof. Someone had tried when the school was first built and that led to them closing the roof door and locking it. Until one of her old senpai's had decided to pick the lock and somehow broke it. She sat down behind the entrance to the roof, somewhere that was constantly bathed in the shade and opened her bag. All the letters she had gotten that morning were a bit crumpled due to her stuffing them in her bag, but their messages rang clear. The muscle in her jaw tightened as she read them.

Murderer.

Why don't you off yourself already, you'd save the police the trouble of locking you up for the rest of your life.

No wonder you have the nickname of 'ice queen' it suits a murderer like you.

You'll always be alone, you deserve it.

That last one caused her stomach to clench and she was suddenly relieved that she hadn't brought lunch. It would've been coming back up as she brought her knees up to her chest and took deep breaths. She was starting to panic and was doing her best to mitigate let out a humourless laugh.

"I fucked up," She muttered, "a second chance at life and I just continue the same bad habits."

She had a chance to be normal and she had thrown it out the window without even thinking. She could've had friends, hell she could've been one of the most popular kids in her school, yet she wasn't. She continued to push people away and be cold. That nickname had followed her from her previous life, and it was an apt one too. Still, she got hurt in the process. They picked up on the fact that she also blamed herself for her parent's deaths. Even if she hadn't been the main reason, she still felt responsible. She tilted her head back to look up at the sky and let out a soft sigh. There wasn't much she could do and change, so she supposed it was best to let things continue as they were. She could handle it; she'd handle worse before. She folded all the letters together into a square and easily tired them apart with quick snaps of her wrist. They went into the bin next to the door and she returned to her spot, giving the small present a dirty look. It was wrapped in red and gold chrome paper with a dark blue ribbon tied around it. Her name was attached to the ribbon with a small tag. She gave a gentle sigh and pulled the ribbon, opening the gift. Her eyes widened slightly, even the paper came away with the ribbon. A small box revealed itself and she pried it open.

There in the middle of it was a charm bracelet with sparse charms on it. A note was underneath it and she slipped it out. She was surprised by the positivity coming from the note. She gave it a secondary read and blinked in confusion.

Hang in there rep! Don't let those girls get you down!

Her classmates were showing her that not everyone thought the same about her. She looked at the charm bracelet that had a small book, dog, glasses, and snowflake hanging from it. It was silver, and she knew that it most likely had cost someone quite a bit. She fiddled with the charms and noted that they were also silver. She frowned as she remembered something she had read in one of her mother's books. Silver and Iron was strong protection against the supernatural, she couldn't remember if Silver was since it had a strong connection with the moon. She wasn't about to say anything out loud, she refused to sound like an idiot. She'd ask before spouting something that could be false. She put the note and box into her school bag. She hesitated for a few seconds before putting the charm bracelet on. It was oddly lightweight, and the sun glinted off something. Ah, she had missed some interesting gems on the charms. The dog had peridot eyes, and she wracked her brain for what it could mean in the spiritual sense. She then noticed the other gems dotting the charms and some of the links. Peridot was usually associated with protection, purity, and emotional balance which she understood their reasoning for choosing it.

Yet, they also picked out Shungite which deflected external sources of bad energy. Smoky quartz for safety, tranquillity, and strength. Jet was a powerful protector against negativity and curses. Amethyst helps to connect with imagination and intuition and when used with Jet or Shungite opens the mind to ghostly presences around the holder. Just what were they thinking? She frowned before shaking her head, perhaps they just thought it was pretty. There wasn't much she could say without stepping on someone's toes.

The warning bell went off and Yuki got up from the floor and headed back to class. She noticed a few of her classmates smiling at her as she returned to her desk. She felt slightly uneasy at all the kindness shown to her from people she had never really talked to. At the same time, she was also touched by their support. Her day went the same as before, though there wasn't a repeat of the tacks in her shoes from the morning, and she limped past the van and to her apartment. Bones greeted her with a happy woof, and she let a smile finally appeared on her face, a true one not the small ones she was so used to giving.

"Give me a while as I change clothing and then we can get you all suited up for work," Yuki softly said to the dog.

She changed out of her uniform into a Star Wars rebel pilot jacket, a long-sleeved blue shirt, and her black and grey checker skinny jeans. She paired them with a pair of her father's old leather boots that he had kept since he was fourteen. He had kept them out of fondness for his father, it was one of the last gifts the man had even given him. She pulled them on at the front door as Bones brought her things. Her keys, the harnesses, and her leash. She couldn't help but be amused by her dog before getting her ready as well. They were out after that, and she let out a quiet yawn as she approached the van. Her temporary boss was writing in that little dark notebook of his and didn't think it was important to acknowledge her presence.

"Good evening, Kazuya-kun," She greeted with a slight nod of her head, he didn't look up from the notebook, "anything interesting happen last night?"

"No." He answered as he turned the page and continued to write, "Either there are no ghosts, or they're hiding for now. So, there doesn't appear to be any danger at present."

"I don't think so, I think it's the building itself-"

Kazuya turned as a woman's haughty laugh cut Yuki off from what she was saying. Her expression was one of genuine surprise before it went back into its usual blankness. It seemed like the laugh had startled a reaction out of her. She turned to look at the source of the laugh and he watched as Bones tilted her head before sitting down next to her owner.

"My, My! Such impressive equipment!" The owner of the haughty laugh exclaimed as she walked up to them, "For children's toys that is."

The woman had long red hair, and natural at that something that was noticed by the only platinum blonde in a hundred miles, and was wearing a striped yellow and orange suit jacket with a matching shirt. There was a man behind her that was staring at Yuki with a frown like he was trying to place where he had seen her before. Yuki stared back before it hit her. That was one of the monks from her parent's funeral, it seemed he recognized her as well as his eyes widened slightly. He looked different from the last time she had seen him. He had been fifteen at the time, and he had just shaven his head. The long hair suited him, as did the minimalist fashion. A dark grey blazer, tan turtleneck, and a pair of slacks the same colour as his slacks.

"And you are?" Kazuya's question snapped Yuki out of her recollection, his annoyed tone didn't translate with the blank expression on his face.

If the monk was unnerved by the blank faces, he was receiving from the two teenagers, he didn't let them know. The woman on the other hand seemed extremely unnerved by them. She narrowed her eyes before smirking at the two. She wasn't about to be insulted by them. It was a bit impressive that both teenagers had some semblance of unity when it came to deadpanning at people, though that was mainly from an outsider's point of view.

"I'm Matsuzaki Ayako, nice to meet you," The woman introduced, getting a sigh from the albino.

"I'm not interested in your name," Kazuya informed her.

"Blunt." His part-timer muttered in French, and he shot her a look at that.

She caught it and looked away to the side, slight embarrassment shone in her eyes as she gave a slight cough to deter attention away from herself. The monk snickered quietly as Ayako flushed in embarrassment. She narrowed her dark eyes dangerously at the two teenagers.

"You're pretty sassy, aren't you, little boy? Those good looks of yours will only get you so far," Ayako informed him.

"Thank you," Kazuya said.

Yuki got the feeling that she could learn a thing from him about sass. He was a natural at it, and the closest thing she was getting to a King of Sass in her new life. She put her hands into her pockets and leaned against the van as her knee began to slightly throb in pain.

"You know you can't exorcise spirits with your face," Ayako stated.

Yuki let out a strange cough at the mental image of him even attempting. She wouldn't put it past the narcissist to try if he knew he could. She found that referring to him as the full term was taking up too much time. She mentally gave him a nickname that would make it shorter. Naru, it oddly fit him. Thinking of such things allowed her to beat down the smile of amusement that wanted to appear on her face. She bit the inside of her cheek as the image came back and played itself on loop in her thoughts. He started glaring at her and she quickly stamped down her amusement.

"Are you in the same business?" Naru asked, oh it was infinitely easier to use Naru to refer to him and she mentally patted her back for coming up with the nickname.

He had a serious expression on his face. The cold calculation and suspicion in his eyes were familiar, it was something Yuki normally saw in the mirror every day. She wondered if she came off as narcissistic as he did, it seemed possible. She'd ask, but then again that might make her seem like one as well.

"You could say that," Ayako replied with a sly smirk, her posture cocky, "I'm a miko."

Yuki got the oddest feeling that she was telling the truth. A slight breeze went through the area, and she heard the rustling of leave and cinnamon wafting towards her. She paused for a few seconds. A cinnamon tree? Did they even smell of cinnamon? The bark was used to create the essential oil, so she supposed it did. The warm smell oddly suited the miko.

"I thought you had to be a pure and innocent young lady to be a miko," Naru stated with a sweet smile, it was as false as most of his smiles.

Yuki felt a shiver go down her spine as the monk stifled his laugh behind his hand. She was starting to see why her classmates said he was handsome. She quickly stamped that thought down, remembering that jinx she had contemplated the day before. Getting a crush on her boss was unprofessional and she wanted to be at the standards of her parents. A strange part of her wanted to make them proud. Knowing her luck, it was inevitable. She watched as Ayako sent her boss an annoyed look, her face a bright red. Bones let out a sniff before bumping into her leg and she knew then that the old dog was greatly amused by her boss. Naru seemed proud of himself.

"That's not how I look to you?" Ayako asked them and she got a shrug out of Yuki.

Yuki knew it wasn't a personal opinion of her that mattered. She oddly knew that Ayako wasn't lying. The older woman seemed surprised by the shrug, but noticed the slight respect behind the red eyes. It clicked why the girl seemed to be staying out of the sun. Albinos were more likely to have health issues brought about by the sun. They were at a higher risk for cancer. She looked back towards the boss and noted that he was watching his assistant from the corner of his eyes, gauging her expressions and reactions.

"For starters, I'd say you look too old to be innocent and you wear too much makeup to be pure," Naru informed her, and Yuki looked at his eyes to see the humour in them he was messing with Ayako to get a rise out of her, and it was working, "and you? You don't act like you're Matsuzaki-san's assistant."

"No kidding," The monk stated as he stopped laughing to fix them with an easy-going grin, "I'm Takigawa Houshou, a monk from Mount Koya."

"Did they change their rules to start letting monks grow their hair out?" Yuki quietly asked and he let out a slight chuckle.

"Of all people to run into, it would be the one who remembers what I looked like without hair," Takigawa stated with an awkward chuckle, and she gave a slight incline of her head.

"Taking a break?" She asked.

"Yeah," He confirmed.

"Everyone needs a break sometimes," She stated and that got her some strange looks from Ayako, but a narrowing of the eyes from Naru.

"I agree but for now you guys need to head out," Takigawa informed them, "the principal told me that he doesn't have confidence in you due to your ages. He thought since your company is in a prestigious neighbourhood like Shibuya that you'd be able to take care of the situation. Once he found out about your age, he decided to call in professionals."

"It wasn't like Kazuya-kun was hiding his age, nor the fact that he was the president of the company," Yuki said as she attempted to play peacemaker as was normal for her role, "the principal does have an issue with overreacting and charging ahead without thinking about it."

"I have to agree, he is overacting," Ayako agreed, though she seemed reluctant to agree with the sixteen-year-old, "he gathered so many people to work on such a crappy old building."

"I wasn't aware that someone was forcing you to be here I'll look into that right away," Yuki stated, her voice a deadpanned monotone and Takigawa was pressed not to laugh at her reaction.

"Stop kidding around," Ayako huffed, and Yuki simply tilted her head to the side, as though confused about what she was talking about, "I was commenting on the lack of respect he has for miko's."

"That's right, I would've been enough to take care of this," Takigawa stated.

Yuki looked between the two of them and noted that there was now a challenge going on between them. She rubbed at her temples. A monk and a miko having a pissing challenge, she felt as though that was the idea for a sitcom. Her eyes glazed over at how ridiculous the situation was and she noted that everything was blurry, and she was having trouble focusing. Bones nudged against her hand to try and bring her out of whatever had caused her to start disassociating from the whole situation. Naru snapped his notebook shut and she blinked at the sudden noise. He simply looked away from his part-timer and towards the two adults.

"We'll see about that," Ayako growled at Takigawa.

"By the way, little boy, what's your name?" Takigawa questioned as Naru moved to type on a laptop, one that Yuki noted was too advanced for the current year she was in.

She was stuck wondering where he had pulled that from, she was so sure that it hadn't been in sight when she walked up. She let out a soft sigh through her nose as she moved away from the side of the van. Her knee twinged in pain, and she felt her eye twitch as she kept in a wince. She was going to have to get used to it, it wasn't like she twisted it only bruised the bone.

"Shibuya Kazuya," Naru answered, not even looking up.

Yuki's mother would've had her ass if she had been so rude to people. No wonder she was overly polite when the situation called for it. She inwardly cringed at the idea of her mother glaring at her from beyond the grave. She knew that the woman would be cross with how she was acting towards other people. She always wanted her to have friends and to be happy. She was tempted to bring back her mother's way of striking fear into people. Shouting at them in French usually worked.

"Never heard of you, must be third-class," Takigawa muttered.

"I've never heard of Takigawa Houshou either," Ayako informed him.

"Well, then you need to study harder," Takigawa countered, "in fact, I've never heard of Matsuzaki whomever, either."

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty but can we please get back on track," Yuki stated as she tried to get them to stop bickering, "or do I have to put you in timeout?"

"Geez, getting scolded by a kid of all things," Takigawa sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, "you got sterner over the years."

"Such a brat, who are you then?" Ayako questioned, and Bones seemed to realize something dangerous was coming her owner's way.

"Yoshida Yuki, nice to meet you," Yuki politely introduced herself.

"Yoshida? Never heard of you," Ayako said, and Yuki's shoulders relaxed for a few seconds before tensing up again as a suffocating aura descended upon them.

"Yoshida-senpai, you're here as well?" A girl with braided twin tails and thick-framed glasses asked as she noticed the upperclassman, "Who are these people?"

"A monk from Mount Koya, a miko, and my temporary boss," Yuki answered with the slightest of shrugs.

She couldn't help but remember all the issues that had been brought to her about this girl. Kuroda Naoko, she had been going around telling anyone who would listen about the old school building and a few of the third-years were starting to get annoyed with her. They knew it was a bunch of lies, anyone that did even the minimum amount of reading the history of the area would know that. She never did anything about it because no one was really getting hurt, so she allowed it to continue. Even if it annoyed other people. It was a cry for attention, and she was very aware of what could happen if she lost that attention.

"Bones, are you all right, old lady?" Yuki softly asked her dog as she placed a hand on her head while crouching to be eye level with her, Bones turned and pushed her nose into her hand in an anxious manner.

That was how Yuki knew that Bones wanted her to get out of the situation. Something about one of the people bothered her deeply and made her think she was in danger. It truly surprised her how intelligent her dog was. Bones pressed her nose into Yuki's chest, and she wasn't surprised by it. What did surprise her was the sigh coming from Kuroda.

"I'm so glad, I've been having trouble lately because this old building is such a nest for evil spirits," Kuroda informed them.

Takigawa sighed in disbelief but seemed to hold his tongue. Yuki noted that the typing from Naru had stopped a while ago and he was listening intently to the conversation. He caught her eye and she looked back to the second-year girl. Her expression was blank as she thought about Bones's reaction to the girl. Bones hadn't started to growl until Kuroda showed up.

"What did you just say?" Ayako questioned with a frown on her face.

"I'm very psychic and I've been having trouble," Kuroda answered.

"You crave attention, don't you?" Ayako bluntly asked before flipping her hair over her shoulder, missing how Yuki tensed up as she started to stress out of nowhere, "Do you really crave the spotlight that much? Do you want people's attention that badly?"

"Matsuzaki-San, as the president of the student council and class 3-3 representative I must as you not to belittle the students and to keep such words to yourself, please cease," Yuki said as she stood in front of Kuroda with a cold expression on her face.

Ayako took a slight step back in surprise and geared up to argue with the albino. Yuki was having none of her and narrowed her eyes dangerously. Ayako should be glad that she had her father's temperament and therefore a better hold on her temper. It made her less likely to get in trouble and stopped her from yelling in French. Though she refused to do that since her boss could understand what she said. Takigawa was looking between the two women and worried that he was going to have to break up a catfight.

"It's true though, she's not really psychic," Ayako argued.

"I didn't realize that this was up for debate," Yuki stated before turning to Kuroda with a normal expression, "Kuroda-Kouhai, you should go, this can't be good for your stress levels and exams are coming up you don't want to be too stressed."

Kuroda flushed before nodding. She walked off and Yuki was finally able to relax a bit. The stress she had been feeling seemed to have vanished at her departure and Yuki filed that away for later. She felt as though she was starting to understand what was going on. Very few things could fit the criteria she knew of. All those ghost hunting shows she watched seemed to have been helpful, though she needed to start reading her mother's books to learn more. She knew the abilities somewhat, now she just needed to study the type of spirits.

"Why'd you stick up for her?" Takigawa asked, "You seemed to be the type of person who takes those kinds of responsibilities with a teaspoon of salt."

"Who knows," Yuki shrugged before turning towards her boss, "hey, Naru, what do you need me to do today?"

Yuki paused as she realized her nickname for him slipped out. His expression was surprised, and she made sure to memorize the slightly wide-eyed look on his face before he frowned. Well, he was stuck with her until the case was finished, or his actual assistant came back. She was sure it was the latter more than the former. She blinked as he became slightly agitated.

"What did you call me?" Naru questioned, "Did you just call me Naru?"

"I guess I wasn't the only one to call you Naru due to your narcissistic tendencies," Yuki stated as she gave his shoulder a light pat, "so, you going to answer my question, or no?"

She found it to be such a strange reaction to a nickname. Then again, Naru sounded close to the nickname Noll, but she doubted that was the case. She gathered he was more annoyed that she outright called him a narcissist. She gave his shoulder one last pat and she felt as though she was drowning. She removed her hand discreetly and tried to ignore the feeling as her stomach churned. She hated feeling that way. Naru simply sighed his annoyance and she sent him a blank look in response.

"There's been no reaction from the spirits inside, so there's not much we can do now," Naru explained as he looked back to his laptop, "Yuki, some of the second-years were telling ghost stories about this building the other day, are you aware of it?"

Bones moved away from Yuki's side and brought him his clipboard. Naru seemed slightly surprised by it but unbothered. Ah, now she knew why Bones had seemed so happy the other day. So, he had a soft spot for animals? Well, she supposed he couldn't be all that bad. She ignored the warmth in her chest as he used her first name. How long had it been since someone used it without an honorific or in a sarcastic manner? She didn't even know how they got onto a first-name basis, then again, she did give him a nickname that would most likely stick to him for the rest of his life.

"You might have to be a bit more specific about the story," She informed him, "there are several."

"It included a silhouette," He answered.

"That sounds like one of the classrooms in the west end on the second floor," She said as she thought about it, "right, it would be in the room that's uneven."

She nervously scratched the back of her head in thought, a slight frown pulling down at her brows. An old tick that appeared when she was unsure of something. It had followed her from her previous life. She was surprised that it had come back, she thought it wouldn't happen again. Naru quickly wrote down her answer in his notebook.

"We'll set up equipment in that room," Naru informed her, getting a nod of understanding.

"Oh, it's the principal," Takigawa stated getting their attention.

The principal was a pudgy, balding middle-aged man, the assistant principal was in a similar situation except he still had a full head of hair. They both shared one thing in common, the way that the students should behave. Yuki had been a prime example of how they wanted students to act, and she disliked being around them for that reason alone. The only time they had gotten on her case was when she first started there as a first-year. They had tried to get her to dye her hair "back to normal".

"Good afternoon," The principal greeted as he walked up to them, wiping at his brow with a small handkerchief, "we have one more guest joining us. I'd like you to meet Brown John."

"Hello," John Brown bowed in greeting a kind smile on his face, "I'm Brown John and it's a pleasure to meet you."

He had a Kansai accent when he spoke Japanese. He continued to give them a kind smile and Yuki concluded that he was a cinnamon roll and must be protected. He also reminded her of Bones, for some odd reason she felt protective over him. He was shorter than her, and had cropped blonde hair that slightly fell into his blue eyes.

"Apparently, Brown-San learned Japanese in the Kansai area," The principal informed them before turning to Yuki, "please make sure that he is well informed of the situation, Yoshida-Kun. Please excuse us we must be leaving."

"Thank you very much," John said as he bowed to the leaving man he then turned towards Yuki, "I'm in your hands."

"I'll make sure not to steer you wrong," Yuki quietly said before bowing to him, "I'm Yoshida Yuki, it's nice to meet you. Are you from an English-speaking country?"

"Ah, is it that noticeable?" John asked.

"Only on certain words, ignore the two who are laughing," Yuki stated, "the Kansai accent is close to what Americans would call a hillbilly accent, so it's funny to them."

"I'm from Australia," John informed her, and she could hear his actual accent shine through on the single English word.

"Hey, I'm begging, please don't speak in such a weird Kyoto Dialect," Takigawa pleaded as tears slowly went down his face from laughing so hard.

"If I want to speak politely, shouldn't I speak in a Kyoto Dialect?" John asked, and Yuki tilted her head in thought.

"You can if you want, but try to speak more casually, John-Kun," Yuki advised, and he nodded his understanding as he smiled.

Naru let out a slight chuckle as well and Yuki would've missed it if she hadn't been standing close to him. She thought it sounded smooth and wondered how often he laughed. She knew her's sounded rusty from a lack of use, but he didn't have that problem. She turned her attention to Bones who was sitting next to her staring up at John with her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. It was adorable and Yuki wished she had a camera to take a picture of her dog.

"I'll try to do so, are all of you psychics?" John questioned.

He was talking more to Yuki because she wasn't laughing at his dialect and was polite. Takigawa also thought that it helped that she was adorable in her looks. It helped but wasn't the real reason. John felt as though he had seen someone that had looked like Yuki before, and the woman had also been kind. A bit more open to showing emotion, but kind all the same.

"You might say that, and yourself?" Naru questioned.

"I'm an exorcist," John admitted with a smile.

"You dropped that on us with a smile as if that isn't impressive," Yuki informed him with a slight sigh, "a Vatican approved exorcist at your age is pretty impressive."

"You have to be ranked higher than a priest to become an exorcist, you're very young to even be a priest," Naru added, a bit surprised at Yuki knowing something like that.

"You two are very knowledgeable," John complimented, "I'm actually nineteen, I just look young for my age."

"I'm still going to call you John-Kun," Yuki told him, though there was warmth in her voice that normally wasn't there.

The two teenagers for Shibuya Psychic Research gave him a slight bow in respect and he did the same. Bones had joined and that seemed to have made everyone a bit happier. The moment that Yuki stood up straight she had camera's pressed into her arms. She could feel her muscles screaming at her from the day before, but she still followed behind Naru. Bones following her to make sure she didn't get hurt. John quickly made sure he was there in case she missteps, he didn't want anyone injured. She looked behind her and saw a flash of blonde hair, a little flattered by his actions. He was really reminding her of Bones, she was starting to believe that he truly was part golden retriever. She felt her heel caught on the stairs and quickly caught her balance.

"You have quite a collection of expensive gear," Ayako commented as they entered the base room, "how unfortunate that all your efforts will be in vain."

"I'm impressed, he's the president of a research centre and owns all this professional equipment," Takigawa said as he looked around, "he must know what he's doing."

"You two really have no tact, I swear," Yuki chided them as she placed the camera's down on a nearby table.

"Did you come here to play or to find a ghost?" Naru questioned them, backing up Yuki's displeasure at their behaviour.

"This is why I don't like kids!" Ayako stated with a huff before stomping off down the hallway.

Yuki gave a soft sigh at the woman's actions before turning to her boss. She raised a brow as he checked one of the cameras. She wasn't going to put a hand on him again, not after she got that strange sensation. She didn't want to feel like she was drowning again.

"What a way with the fairer sex, Naru," She informed him as she crossed her arms over her chest, which got an annoyed look out of him.

"Aren't we all here to work together?" John asked with a confused frown, he then settled on the two people that hadn't really laughed at him and were polite, "I'd feel a bit awkward standing around doing nothing, so I'd like to help out. Do you mind if I stay?"

"Please do," Naru answered.

"You really are a cinnamon roll, John-kun," Yuki stated, John flushed in embarrassment and seemed confused at the same time, "don't worry it's a compliment."

He nodded at that, and she turned to look at the monitors. She noticed something moving on one of them and blinked. It wasn't there anymore but on a different one. Someone was coming towards them. She moved closer to look at them to make sure she was seeing things correctly.

"Naru, a woman just entered the building, it seems like she's heading up this way," Yuki informed her.

Naru moved to look over her shoulder and she hated the fact that she was shorter than she had been in her previous life. He could easily look over that, and her head. He placed a hand on the table, and she looked towards the door as it opened. He missed whoever had been on the monitor, mentally noting places where there was a blind spot. He'd have to rectify that. A teenager Yuki's age was in the doorway wearing a pristine kimono. It was red with purple checkers, the obi a bright red with purple thread. Yuki wasn't surprised that the principal hired a celebrity. Oh, she knew who Hara Masao was, it was impossible not to. Masako looked over at her and covered her mouth with her hand, Yuki got the oddest feeling that she knew who she was.

"The principal must really want to demolish this building pretty badly if he invited you," Naru stated as he sent Masako a slight frown.

"You've either heard of her, or you know her," Yuki muttered, and he sent her an annoyed look, "just making a simple observation."

She felt her stomach give a sickening turn, and she felt stressed. It was similar to how she felt around Kuroda. She ignored those thoughts and looked up at the ceiling in thought. It was too quiet.

"Hasn't it been too-"

She was starting to get tired of being cut off by Ayako while speaking. Everyone jumped as her scream echoed through the building, Yuki's face was annoyed but she wouldn't treat her any differently. Something had startled Ayako, and it was obvious.

"That was Ayako!" John exclaimed.

They all went to find her, the last they knew she was up on the third floor. Naru and Takigawa moved to open the shut class doors, and Yuki was a bit amused when they couldn't. A fat lot of good they were. She sighed through her nose and handed John Bones's leash. He accepted it in confusion as she walked up to the doors.

"Move," Yuki quietly ordered and she waited as they did so, "move back from the door, Matsuzaki-San."

She waited until she had heard the wood floor creak enough before bringing up her bad leg and slamming her foot into the door at an angle. It popped off its hinges and fell to the ground. Takigawa seemed impressed as she gingerly placed her foot back down on the ground. Ayako looked at her before looking back towards the door.

"Since when did you learn how to kick down doors?" Takigawa questioned Yuki as she retrieved Bones from John.

"It was just a simple matter of knowing physics," Yuki stated, "enough force would bring them down, but only at a specific angle. The rusted tracks helped too."

Bones let out a soft whine and Yuki let her go to the redhead to help calm her down. It was highly amusing to see the miko be pushed around by a dog. They headed back to the base room where Yuki was forced to sit by John who had noticed her limping. He pressed on her knee, and she tensed up in pain. It just looked bad; it was only a bruised bone. She didn't need to be looked after in such a way. Ayako opened her purse and brought out a can that could only be alcohol. She explained to them what had happened.

"I was checking out the classroom when the doors slammed shut on their own," Ayako informed them, "I couldn't get them open."

"Are you sure you didn't close them yourself and forget?" Yuki asked as John basically wrapped her knee up to keep some pressure on it.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Ayako snapped, and Yuki held her hands up in defence, "There's definitely something here."

"I don't sense anything, there are no spirits in this building," Masako stated.

"Who do you think you are?" Ayako turned on Masako as John finished with Yuki's knee.

It was the second catfight of the day that Takigawa was witnessing, though he wondered if that little spat with Kuroda counted as one. He scratched the side of his head before leaning against a wall. He was going to stay out of it, and judging from the sigh from Yuki so was she. The kid seemed tired, and he wasn't just judging that observation on the dark circles under her eyes but the way she carried herself. Within ten years she had basically run herself ragged, and he was almost impressed by it.

"Are you making light of me being a psychic?" Masako questioned as she held the sleeve of her kimono to her mouth, "Aren't you even the slightest bit embarrassed by being scared by a door that wouldn't open?"

"Shut up you little jerk!" Ayako shouted and Yuki felt a migraine beginning to form from all the shouting she was being included in, "I'm a professional, unlike a fake psychic medium who got popular just because of her looks."

"Yoshida-San is only well-known because of her looks. I doubt that woman's a psychic she's most likely guessing, after all that's the only thing your mother could do." The voice of one of her elementary teachers echoed in Yuki's head.

Right, investigations that's what her mother did. Nothing more, nothing else. Yuki ignored that voice and brought a hand down to place on Bones's head, something she did when bothered.

"Thank you for the compliment on my good looks," Masako stated.

Ayako finished off her drink and quickly stood up. She seemed to have regained her composure and steam. Yuki didn't want to know what was going through her head. But she was going to if Ayako's previous behaviour and actions were anything to go by.

"I think what I just experienced was caused by a Chirei that lives on land," Ayako said.

"You mean Jibakurei?" Yuki questioned as she looked towards Takigawa who nodded at the right terminology, "If this is going to be anything, and I doubt that it is, then it would be a human spirit trapped here because there have been deaths. The land itself isn't anything special, and if it was a Chirei then things would've been happening before the building was built."

"What do you think, John?" Naru questioned as he made another mental note of that.

"I don't know, isn't the phenomenon of a haunted building usually caused by a spirit or ghost?" John questioned.

A bit of movement caught Yuki's eyes. Naru was tapping an old nail against his chin, and she wondered when she became the adult of the group. She pinched the bridge of her nose and fixed him a look.

"If you break your skin with that, I won't be the one to take you to the hospital for a tetanus shot," Yuki informed him, her voice showing what she thought of his actions, "so what next?"

"I just need to exorcise it, right?" Ayako questioned, "I'll take care of it tomorrow, I can't stand being involved with a crappy incident like this for much longer."

"What a waste," Masako muttered before speaking up, "as I said, there are no spirits here."

Naru looked between them when a quiet muttering got his attention. Yuki was tapping her chin in thought as she muttered in French. It seemed to be her go-to language for thinking. She frowned before looking towards Ayako, her frown deepened as she tried to think through something.

"Was the door closing sabotage? A reason why one shouldn't write checks they can't afford?" Yuki muttered, "then this would be a case of subsidence…how frustrating."

Ah, she was perceptive more so than he originally thought. He placed the nail down on the table and Yuki turned her attention towards Bones, having concluded that she won the right track with her thoughts. He needed more information on the girl working with him, more than just dead parents. It was who those parents might be that was giving him an idea of what she was capable of. She had decent intuition, and he was willing to hire her for real just to keep someone that could keep up with his thoughts. He just wanted more information before fulling committing.

"I've been meaning to ask you, have we met somewhere before?" Masako asked Naru, and Yuki blinked in surprise.

"No, I believe this is the first time," Naru stated, and Yuki was a bit taken aback by how cold his eyes were.

"Is that right?" Masako asked in a strange tone.

Yuki frowned at that as Bones gave a small warning bark. Everyone turned to look at her and she simply sat down and stuck her tongue out at them, her tail wagging madly. Bones had diffused the situation to bring some positivity into the room. Yuki looked out the window and noted the sky. It was the golden hour, one of the best times to take photographs. Bones went to sit next to her leg and Yuki noted that Takigawa and John had decided she was lonely and stood next to her. She gave the monk a strange look and wondered if she had imprinted herself on him like a baby duck. If not, then he knew of her annoyance and still chose to stand near her. She thought he was either brave or stupid.

"We need to put our equipment on the second-floor classroom in the far west corner of the building," Naru informed Yuki, "then we should leave."

"You're not staying the night?" Takigawa questioned.

"Not tonight," Naru answered before turning to Yuki, "Yuki, please be prepared to stay after school tomorrow."

"Of course," Yuki nodded.

They went to position the cameras and she made a face as Takigawa took over on carrying the cameras for her. She had a bruised bone, she wasn't invalid. That…that sounded horrible, and she immediately felt bad for thinking such a thing. She sighed as she hooked up the cameras with practised ease and waited for them to turn on before moving to the next one. It didn't take them long to get everything set up and she was sent home with Bones. She looked over at the dog and noticed how happy she seemed; a small smile appeared on her face as well.

"Must've been a good day," Yuki commented to Bones, a bark being the only response.