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10

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Yuki bolted up in the futon, her breathing heavy as she practically gasped for air. She pushed her hair back from her face and looked at her companions to see that they were still asleep. Noriko shifted in her sleep and her breathing started to even out. She'd be the next one awake. Yuki got up from the futon and went to change out of her pyjamas. Once she was out of her black pyjamas and into a white dress with a black turtleneck under she came back out, throwing her rebels jacket on. She was freezing, and she couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like she was surrounded by spirits and it was the wrong time of year. Summer was rarely cold. Well, she couldn't say that for a certain that might very well be the case. She was folding up her futon when Noriko slowly sat up and stretched. She sent the teen a sleepy wave before getting v up and hobbling over to Ayami and shaking her awake. Ayami let out a soft mumble of protest before sitting up.

"Good morning, Yuki-Nee-Chan," Ayami sleepily greeted.

"Good morning, Ayami-Chan, Noriko-San," Yuki greeted back.

The other two got ready for the day and Ayami left the room first, Bones on her heels. The old dog was playing with the little girl to keep her mind occupied and away from the situation she found herself in. Noriko folded up her futon with Yuki's help and the two slowly walked to the kitchen.

"You handle children very well, I think you'd make a good mother one day," Noriko commented, and she hid a smile behind her hand as the teen grew incredibly flustered.

"I don't know if I'd ever get that far in life, but I'd like to have a family of my own one day," Yuki admitted.

"Eh? I thought you and Shibuya-San were a couple," Noriko commented in surprise.

Yuki sputtered for a few seconds as her face grew pink. It was such an uncharacteristic sight that Noriko felt the urge to take a picture and hide it. The teen scratched at her cheek in thought as she floundered for an answer, or even excuse.

"Ah…no, Naru is just my boss," Yuki explained, giving an airy chuckle that betrayed her nervousness at being asked such a question.

"I was teasing you, Yuki-Chan," Noriko said with a soft laugh, "I wouldn't worry about it, I won't tell anyone."

Ayami ran up to the woman and seemed excited, and impatient. Noriko sent the teen an apologetic smile before picking up her pace and following her niece into the kitchen. Yuki took the opportunity to calm down. She took a deep breath and looked out one of the front windows. Kana was rolling a suitcase behind her, and her expression was filled with guilt. Yuki opened the front door and the woman tensed up. The cold morning air seemed to drop a few degrees with how tense they were.

"Kana-San," Yuki said, fixing the woman a serious look, "Ayami-Chan needs you."

Kana was about to tell the teen to mind her own business when she noticed the expression on her face. It held pain, as though she somewhat knew what Ayami was going through. She looked to the side before sighing. A surprised look appeared on Yuki's face for a few seconds before it returned to its usual blank stare.

"I know, it's just so hard to stay in this house," Kana stated, her voice showing her frustration, "I feel as though I take two steps forward with Ayami-Chan and then ten back."

"She cares," Yuki softly said as she walked up to the older woman, "but with Minnie filling her head with awful things and threatening her away, it might take time to connect."

"Isn't it supposed to be the adult giving advice?" Kana wryly questioned.

"Sometimes age has nothing to do with anything," Yuki commented a dry smirk on her face, she reached up and gently placed a hand on Kana's shoulder, "once this case is over, why not take Ayami-Chan somewhere fun? Like Tokyo Disney?"

"I fear that she might've overheard that somehow," Kana lightly joked, somewhat feeling at ease by the teen, "I'll see what my husband thinks of that idea, we'll make a family day out of it."

"Sounds like fun," Yuki commented, "please, let's head back inside, we can say that you had packed a suitcase just in case you had to evacuate the building for a while."

"Why would we have to evacuate?" Kana questioned with a frown.

"If this spirit is after Ayami-Chan then there's a chance it might try to do more harm to her," Yuki explained, "you might have to leave for a while so that we can attempt to exorcise it without someone getting hurt."

"I see, you sound like the type to tap a stone bridge before crossing it," Kana commented, amusement lacing her tone.

"I don't know, I think that after a great difficulty that things get better," Yuki stated, playing the proverb game.

"I'll head back inside and apologise to Ayami, she's a smart girl and will have figured it out," Kana sighed, "you are the only person in that group of men to understand my predicament, thank you."

"My pleasure, I'll head in after a few minutes," Yuki said with a slight incline of her head.

Kana headed back inside, and Yuki turned her attention towards the overcast sky. Her dream had bothered her. She just hoped that it wasn't a premonition. Her hand began to rub at a spot of her wrist, and she sighed. Just what was happening with her mind? Premonition she understood, but what about the poltergeist activity she was creating? Didn't that mean she had other abilities other than that one? Maybe a wire had been misplaced in her head. That was the only explanation she could come up with. She was pulled from her thoughts by her mobile ringing. She pulled it out of the pocket of her jacket and flipped it open.

"Hello, this is Yoshida Yuki speaking," She said, watching her breath come out in little white clouds and she truly found it strange for July.

There was nothing but static on the other end. She pulled it away from her ear and frowned in thought before hanging up. She shook her head in thought before putting it into her pocket and heading back inside. She headed to the kitchen and noted that Lin and Naru were already awake and drinking tea. Yuki was prepared to take a seat next to her boss when Ayami sent her a pout. She inwardly sighed and sat down next to the eight-year-old.

"We're going to pick flowers today, Nee-Chan!" Ayami exclaimed and Yuki couldn't help but smile.

It felt nice to be wanted. She poured herself a cup of tea and quietly sipped from it as Kana walked into the kitchen to help Noriko out with breakfast. Yuki looked over at her boss and noticed that he seemed exhausted. She gave him a worried look, something that Lin saw. Naru simply shrugged off her worry and her expression turned annoyed. Lin smirked at the sight before returning his attention to his tea. Kana and Noriko severed breakfast, a cinnamon porridge. Yuki enjoyed it, finding the food comforting. It was an odd description but that's what she felt. Ayako walked in with a yawn and Takigawa shuffled right behind her. Yuki was amused that the older man seemed unable to function in the morning. He plopped down and tried to pour himself a cup of coffee. He missed the pot three times before grasping it and pouring himself a cup.

"Why don't we head outside, the weather is beautiful," Kana said to Ayami.

Ayami beamed at her stepmother and got up from her chair. She headed towards the backyard door, Bones padding behind her with her tail wagging. Yuki got up and helped Noriko with cleanup before they joined the eight-year-old and old dog. Noriko sat on the porch, her crutches against the wall. Yuki joined her and enjoyed the soft breeze. Kana sat down as well, a cup of coffee in her hands. Yuki was suddenly brought back to her dream and tried to shake the déjà vu she was feeling.

"Are all dogs this good with children?" Kana questioned.

"Most dogs are, but their personalities usually have a bit to do with how they're raised," Yuki answered as Bones gently butted her head against Ayami's stomach in play, "I know of someone that raises corgi's and they are always super sweet, they always run up to greet people when they visit and it's amusing to see them run with their tiny legs."

Kana smiled at that, and Noriko sighed in amusement. It was oddly comforting to hear such a childish thing from the serious teen. A sudden thought struck Yuki and her head tilted to the side. It was the real reason why they were outside.

"Naru is having Matsuzaki-San clean up the wall, so Ayami-Cham doesn't see it," Yuki informed them, the miko had been annoyed at the task given to her.

"That's good," Noriko sighed in relief, "I'm only glad that Ayami didn't see it."

"I'm sorry," Kana quietly informed Noriko, "I was close to leaving this morning due to how hard it's gotten to live in this house, but seeing Ayami happy is worth the fear of staying."

Yuki smiled at that before looking towards Ayami. The little girl ran up to her aunt and smiled up at her. Sometimes Yuki found the innocence of a child to be baffling. Even when she was upset and scared she could still smile. Yuki smoothed the front of her dress out and fiddled with the sleeves of her sweater.

"Aunt Nori, how's your ankle?" Ayami asked.

"It's gotten much better since you've started talking to me again," Noriko answered with a happy smile.

"I'll go pick some flowers for you, come on Nee-Chan!" Ayami exclaimed as she gently tugged on the skirt of the teen's dress.

"All right," Yuki said in amusement before standing up and letting herself be led by the little girl, "which ones should we pick?"

They came to a part of the garden with a multitude of flowers. Yuki looked at a few snapdragons and gently poked it with the tip of her finger. She paused as the feeling of déjà vu got stronger and stronger. This was becoming exactly like her dream, and the way that it ended had terrified her. She hoped that everything didn't happen. She didn't know what she would do if she found herself in the water.

"The prettiest one!" Ayami answered with a giggle.

"That's going to be difficult," Yuki said, looking at some of the daisies, "they're all pretty."

Ayami nodded her agreement at that and began to look through the flowers. She picked one and it found its way into Yuki's hair. Yuki had never been given a flower by anyone before, it was touching. She smiled at the little girl, and Ayami smiled back. The teen's genuine smiles were gentle, something that only one other person had talked about. Ayami seemed to find the perfect flower and she tensed the moment that her fingers touched it. Yuki tensed up as well and gave the little girl a worried look.

"Ayami-Chan?" She quietly asked, fearing the worst.

"My…my hands are stuck, Nee-chan!" Ayami exclaimed.

"I've got you," Yuki said as she grasped onto Ayami's wrists, "you've got to pull with me, Ayami-Chan."

Ayami gave a scared nod and they both pulled. It took a few tugs before Ayami was freed. She immediately started to run. Yuki looked at her with a surprised face. Noriko stood up and worriedly watched Ayami.

"Yuki-Chan, please go after her, there's a pond over there!" Noriko yelled. Yuki gave a curt nod and took off in a sprint.

Ayami had gotten a good head start and Yuki was impressed that she could run so fast. Bones started to bark, and Noriko sent it a scared look. Kana stood up and ran back inside, she needed to get one of the men that Yuki worked with. She felt as though something bad was going to happen.

"Minnie! I'm sorry!" Ayami yelled and Yuki sprinted faster upon hearing that.

She refused to let that little girl come to harm. Ayami reached a large tree and circled it, acting as though she was trying to stay out of reach of someone. The back of her summer dress was yanked, and she made a splash as she was pulled into the pond. Yuki didn't even hesitate. She jumped into the water, the first cold splash against her skin startled her but she swam forward to grab Ayami. She reached around blindly in the water until her hand grabbed onto a smaller one. She gave a few strong kicks after securing Ayami and brought them both to the surface. Ayami took a large gulp of air as Yuki took smaller ones. Ayami held out her hands to Noriko as they neared the edge of the pond. Noriko took the little girl into her arms and sent the teen a thankful look, getting a nod of understanding in return. Yuki went to get out of the pond when she froze.

It felt as though hands had grabbed her in several spots. Her thighs, calves, neck, arms, and wrists. She opened her mouth as though to say something when she was dragged back under the surface. She hadn't realized how deep the pond was until she was struggling to get back to the surface. She felt panic beginning to take hold of her as she was dragged deeper and deeper. Bubbles streamed out of her mouth as her lungs ached, needing air. She tried to take a breath but all she got was water. Tears began to well in her eyes, she was going to die. She was going to die in one of the worst ways possible. Dark spots filled her vision and the last thing she saw was the surface breaking as someone jumped into the pond.

ooooooO0Oooooooo

"Does Yuki have that interesting of a file?" Lin questioned as he sipped from a cup of tea, the monitors were on, and he had taken a break from writing up his reports.

"The child psychiatrist her guardian made her go to had some interesting things to say," Naru answered as he flipped through the information he had dug up on her

Thalassophobia, of all the fear she could have the fear of big bodies of water, wasn't one that he would've guessed. The psychiatrist also stated that she had issues with opening up to other people, barely even talking during their sessions. She didn't mention her parents and didn't react when they were talked about. They had even noted that she didn't even cry when they talked about their deaths. Just a child that had stopped herself from feeling anything. He brought a hand up to his mouth in thought before narrowing his eyes. Other reports from her teachers claimed she was a rather sharp and bright girl. Skipping a grade as a child. He was torn from those thoughts as a distressed Kana slammed the door open, her breathing laboured.

"What's wrong, Kana-San?" He asked, being patient with the woman.

"Ayami-Chan was running towards the pond and Yuki-Chan followed after her," Kana explained, "I think Yuki-Chan is in danger!"

Naru didn't know if his part-timer could swim. She was less inclined to go into the water to learn due to her fear. He got up from the couch and closed the file. Naru headed out of the base, believing his worker to be an able girl. Lin got up as well and followed just in case he was needed for CPR. They headed out to the backyard where Ayami was bawling her eyes out as Noriko tried to calm her down, sending the pond worried glances every so often.

"Where did she go down?" He asked, his tone tinged with urgency.

That got Lin's attention, Naru wasn't one to worry about someone. Noriko pointed towards the middle of the lake and Naru jumped in. Lin pinched the bridge of his nose as his charge went under. Hopefully, she was all right. Yuki was entertaining in the way that she wasn't afraid to sass people or tell them her honest thoughts.

Naru looked around the depths of the lake when a flash of orange and light bouncing off metal got his attention. Her jacket and charm bracelet, he was sure she never really took off the bracelet, had come in handy. He saw down and grabbed onto her wrist. He could feel a week pulse, but couldn't see any movement coming from her. Her face still had that fearful expression on it, but he ignored it to bring her back up to the surface. Lin pulled them from the water, and he checked to see if she was still breathing.

"She's breathing, but barely," Lin informed Naru as the teen removed his soaked blazer.

Naru nodded his understanding before motioning towards the house. Lin picked her up with ease and they brought her to the base. Bones followed, whining. They hadn't noticed that the dog was around, she pawed at Naru's leg, and he let out a sigh before scratching her behind the ears. It didn't do much to calm the dog down.

"We should make sure she's monitored so that if she needs first-aid we can help her instantly," Naru stated.

Kana brought them towels and helped to dry Yuki off. Ayako had entered the base and somehow outmatched Naru in a staring contest as he tried to study the bruising that was forming on the albino's pale skin. Her calves had small handprints all over them, and he gathered they went up to her thighs. Ayako muttered to herself as she dried the thick hair. She was laid down on the couch in the base, her glasses removed by the redhead as she was also covered by a thick blanket.

"She'll be out for a while, but other than that she should be fine," Ayako stated, listening in on the girls breathing with a stethoscope, "she got lucky she hadn't breathed in more water than she had."

"I'm sorry, I was trying to get away from Minnie," Ayami's voice said, and they all turned towards the upset child.

Naru sighed and decided to go the Yuki route and calm the child down. He wouldn't be as good as her. He doubted that Ayako could, and that woman practically screamed maternal figure. He knelt so that he'd be eye level with Ayami, which seemed to grab her attention.

"Ayami-Chan, Yuki would not blame you," Naru informed the child in a soft tone, "she would be glad that you weren't hurt, that's the kind of person she is."

"Your right, Nee-Chan is exactly like that," Ayami quietly agreed before running off with a thoughtful expression.

"What should we do, at this rate we'll have to sell the house," Kana stated, clearly reaching another breaking point.

"Some spirits will follow you even if you move," Naru said as he stood up, Ayako giving a huff.

"Then what should they do?" Ayako asked in annoyance, Yuki was the only person she knew that could translate Naru while keeping the same tone of his words.

"Please, calm down," Naru said as he opened his notebook, "I did some research on the house and its previous owners. Your family moved into this house ten months ago, and before you was the Watanabe family who lived here for three years and sold the house due to a job relocation."

Ayako made a face at the fact that he had done so much research. It felt as though he had written an essay and was trying to reach the word count by adding more information. It was impressive and slightly annoying. Yet, knowing the history of a haunted place usually helped with dealing with the spirit.

"The previous owners to the Watanabe family was the Nogi family, their nine-year-old daughter died of an illness while in the house, before the Nogi family was the Onuma family," Naru continued, "but their three children died in a matter of half a year. They were ten, eight, and seven years old. Two boys and one girl, they died of illness and accidents."

"Afterwards the Onumas decided to get rid of the house, before that was the Murakami family, they had a fifteen-year-old daughter, but she was fine. Before them the Taniguchi family, their three teenage children were all fine, but their ten-year-old cousin died while visiting."

It was starting to sound like he had swallowed a textbook on the history of the house, and everyone looked towards Yuki as she shifted in her sleep. Her eyes were moving around like crazy behind her eyelids, whatever she was dreaming about it seemed to cause her some distress. She did not look like a happy camper.

"Before the Taniguchi family it was the Ikeda family, they lost their youngest daughter who was only seven but that was after moving to another house," Naru continued as though there hadn't been an interruption, "and finally, the original builder of the house, the Tachibana family. Their eight-year-old daughter passed away as well. That's everyone."

"So that means it's dangerous for a young child to be here…" Noriko said, she placed her face in her hands, "What should I do?"

Naru looked towards his part-time. The spirits had gone after her because she was offering help to Ayami. The spirits were oddly possessive of their victim. He closed his notebook and went into thought. They should call John in to get him to exorcise the spirit from the doll. If they lost the second in command then the spirits would be easier to be taken care of.

"Let me call in an expert, if you're planning on moving at least wait until he comes," Naru said as he decided to call John.

He sent his part-timer another look, this one quick. Ayako and Lin caught it, and Lin knew that he had been being discreet so he wouldn't be caught. Lin hid his smirk and knew of someone that would adore learning about this. He would make sure Naru didn't learn about it. Naru used Yuki's cellphone and went through her contacts to find John. She was one of those people to use small emoticons next to names. While the office had a professional contact, John's had a smile next to it. He sighed in annoyance before ringing John's mobile.

"Hello? Yuki, how are you?" John's voice answered after a couple of rings.

He had answered in English. Naru found that his part-timer was tri-lingual. He hadn't known that only thinking that she was bi-lingual. It was something he filed away for later, he'd have to update her file.

"John, it's Kazuya," Naru said, and John was quiet for a few seconds before making a worried sound.

"What's wrong?" John asked, "Did something happen to Yuki?"

"The case we've been working on has some dark spirits," Naru answered, "they tried to drag her down under some water and succeeded, we think the one that dragged her down is using a doll to get around the house with ease."

"I'll need the address and I'll be there as soon as possible," John informed the teen.

Naru gave him the address and John wrote it down before hanging up. A strange friendship was starting to form between John and Yuki. Yuki would never admit it out loud. Nor would she even notice a budding friendship. Naru dialled a different number and waited as the phone rang. It rang a total of five times before it was picked up.

"Hello, who is this?" Masako Hara asked.

"Hara-San, it's Kazuya," Naru said, he respected the medium, but he had the oddest feeling that she knew who he was.

"What can I do for you, Naru?" Masako asked in a sweet voice.

"The case that my team has taken on needs a medium's ability," He stated, "we are unable to tell how many spirits are involved and we need to have them pass on."

"I will be there soon," Masako said after he gave her the address, "you didn't use one of your phones did you?"

"I borrowed Yuki's mobile," He answered, Masako gave a sound of understanding and slight annoyance before quietly hanging up.

He turned her phone off and placed it on the coffee table. It was just the three of them, he wasn't counting Yuki in that, and he welcomed the quiet. It had become hard to come by with the people that had decided to surround him. He heard a quiet muttering and noted that Yuki was grumbling in her sleep. She seemed annoyed by whatever she was dreaming about.

"Who the fuck is Tomiko," She grumbled in French, "why the hell are you throwing yourself down a well?"

Naru was slightly amused by her mutterings, placing a hand on her forehead. His heart skipped a beat when he was shown what she was dreaming. Gene was standing behind her in her dream as she watched a woman throw herself down a well. She was stressed and annoyed, she sent Gene a look as though wanting him to explain but she got a smile in response. Her annoyance increased at the sight of it. She turned back towards the scene and walked away, Gene laughing at her response. Naru blinked as he found himself staring at Yuki as she broke the contact with him by turning onto her side. He felt his hands shaking slightly and he took a deep breath. His brother was acting as a spirit guide for her. He couldn't bring up what he saw in casual conversation, and she couldn't say anything without being seen as crazy. The only thing about the situation that calmed him was that she most likely didn't know who he truly was.

"She's entertaining to listen to, do you think she's having a dream about one of the spirits?" Lin questioned, he narrowed his eyes at Naru when he noticed that the teen had paled, "You used your PK again didn't you?"

"Not intentionally," Naru sighed, "she was watching past events with Gene."

"Does she know?" Lin asked.

"No, she just thinks that he's Kazuya Shibuya's brother," Naru answered, "but I wouldn't put it past her to figure it out."

"He knows your pride," Lin muttered, "he wouldn't tell her where his body is."

There was a small muttering in French and Naru shook his head, sending Yuki a look. It was better when she sent him one back. Her expression was sad and filled with grief. She had witnessed her mother's death, and her father's. She had most likely started dreaming of it. He sat down and opened the files again. The door opened and Ayami came in, placing something on the table next to Yuki's glasses. The door opening allowed Bones in, and the dog climbed up to rest with her owner. Ayami smiled at the sight before scurrying away. She had brought Yuki a charm she made, a little bead with an A on it.

Yuki let out a soft groan after an hour and brought the blanket up to cover her head. She wasn't the biggest fan of bright lights. Bones sniffed and moved to rest her head on the teens. Yuki fidgeted a little bit and moved the blanket down and sent her dog a slight glare before wincing at the light again.

"Someone please turn off the sun," She quietly complained as she burrowed under the blankets again.

"It's nice to see that you can still joke around," Naru stated, his tone slightly sarcastic but there was something else there.

Yuki gave an amused snort. She brought the blanket down and glared at him, making him amused. Her glare turned into a squint as she tried to make out his form. Everything was blurry.

"I could say the same," Yuki said, slowly sitting up.

He crossed his arms across his chest and turned his attention to the monitors. Yuki wondered if she had made him upset, and found it oddly adorable. She squinted as she looked around for her glasses. She reached towards them, and her fingers brushed against the table before she found herself face-planting on the ground. She made a loud thump.

"I'm okay," Yuki said.

Lin gained an amused smile at that as she finally put her glasses on. She sat up and got a face full of worried dog. She gave Bones a soft smile as an apology and brought a hand up to scratch her behind the ears. She didn't mean to make her dog worry. Yet, she now had an answer. Her dreams were starting to become premonitions. Everything that had happened in her dream came true. That brought far too much into perspective. Gene's death, which was a mystery that she was unfolding through her dreams. She sighed as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. She ran her fingers through it and winced as she slowly detangled it. She couldn't help but be worried about what was going to happen next.