Chapter 50! I feel so accomplished! Thank you everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, and viewed! I would never have gotten this far without you! Happy early fourth anniversary Dangerous Souls! Hopefully I'll be able to update again before the actual date but if not, I wanted to make that announcement!

Anyway what better way to celebrate the 50th chapter than with a new case! Enjoy!

Chapter 1-Static

January Day Before Case, 4:33 P.M.

It was just a cold and humid day, with each step Mai made her gloveless hands lose a little more feeling. Needless to day, when she walked into the office she welcomed the dry heat of the furnace, not caring if her boss would ream her for being a few minutes late.

"Mai, tea, we have a client here as well," Naru called once Mai had closed the door. She hung up her jacket and rubbed her hands together to gain some feeling in them.

Quickly, she went into the kitchen and set the kettle to boil, and got the pot ready with tea. A few minutes later, she came out with four steaming cups. "Thank you for taking the time to see me, Shibuya-san," the client said, she had bobbed curly black hair framing her round face.

"Akiyama-san, what type of phenomena have you been experiencing?" Naru asked as Mai handed out the cups and took a seat next to him.

"Thank you," the girl said, accepting the cup. "Also, you may call me by my given name, Fuyumi. I am the assistant director for a play that will be premiering in a few weeks at the _ Theater. When we began production, the cast had been experiencing footsteps, hearing voices, feeling touches, that sort of thing that could easily be dismissed. However, when our lead girl was pushed off of the stage in front of everyone by an unseen force, the director, Inoue-san, took measures to call in a medium to take a look."

"She was pushed off the stage?" Naru repeated. "You're sure she didn't just fall?"

"She actually claims she's just clumsy and fell off of the stage on accident, I was watching as she fell, something didn't look right," Fuyumi explained, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?"

"She is a little clumsy, don't get me wrong, but she wasn't even near the edge of the stage, she took one step, supposedly a trip, and landed on the ground on her knee." She pulled out her phone. "If you look at the bruise here, you will see that it took a lot of force to create such a bruise. She's still having issues with her knee and this happened a couple weeks ago." She handed the device to the lead investigator. "It just didn't look right, and with the incident sending the other actors into a panic, Inoue-san hired a medium to cleanse the spirits and it seemed to work."

"Seemed?" Mai piped up. Fuyumi nodded.

"The medium finished just before Christmas, and everything was going just fine, no incidents or anything paranormal," the petite girl continued, pushing up the rim of her glasses. "Then a couple days ago, we were rehearsing and I had sent our lead girl to our costume department. One of our light fixtures fell and nearly crushed her. Another actor was there and pulled her out of the way, he claims to have seen someone on the bridge, and the rope was partially cut. When the entire crew investigated, we found no one in the building that could have done it. We called the police, they couldn't do anything and one officer did give the actress who was nearly killed, your business card, Kazuya-san. Resolving to call it a day, I had everyone go home and when I was leaving, the two actors who had nearly been hit by the light were leaving as well."

"I take it that's where something paranormal actually occurred?" Naru asked.

"I'd greatly appreciate it if you would let me finish my story, Kazuya-san." For a little thing, she wasn't about to be overlooked. "As we were leaving, the lights started flickering, we heard rapping sounds, the front door flew open and a voice shouted at us to get out. So we did."

"Is that the end of your claim?" Naru asked, half annoyed. Mai had to fight the urge to roll her eyes and check her cell phone that buzzed in her pocket.

"Yes it is," she smiled, leaning back. "Look, I'm not a skeptic or believer really, I just want to be able to work in peace and get this show underway. We've had to suspend rehearsal for over a almost two weeks because of the medium and the incident a couple days ago. If we continue to delay it, the show will most likely be shut down and a lot of people out of a job, not to mention the director's reputation would be in jeopardy."

"If your actor really saw someone on the bridge, and the police didn't find anyone, there is still a chance that there really was someone there. The police would still be more help than we would," Naru decided, not shocking Mai in the slightest.

Mai, for once understood where he was coming from, it's no secret than if even the smallest unexplained thing happened, people would cry ghost. He also didn't want to have to make up for the incompetence of the police officers, like the case at the cemetery. However, looking at the assistant director before them, she knew that Fuyumi was not going down without a fight.

"At least visit the theater, you can see for yourself," she challenged, crossing her arms. She sighed. "I only came here to ask for help, because one of the officers gave my star your card. At least come take a look."

"I'm afraid-" Naru began as the bell attached to the door dinged.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," the short blonde apologized as he walked in with a girl about an inch or so taller than him. "I wanted to discuss a possible case-"

"Fuyumi?" the taller girl asked, seeing the familiar bobbed haired girl.

"Hoshiko?" The director stood up. "Hoshiko, maybe you can help me convince him."

"So, your director decided to come as well?" John asked. Mai just continued to stare at the tall girl.

There was something very familiar about the girl, the face, the eyes. Mai just couldn't place her. They must not have been before, otherwise the girl would staring back at her, right? Naru just closed his eyes and sighed.

"You may as well sit down, obviously I don't have the whole story," Naru decided, Mai could have sworn that he rolled his eyes behind their closed lids. "Father Brown?"

"This is Hoshiko, she's a friend of mine who helps out at the church from time to time," he explained, taking a seat on the couch.

"She had the lead role in our play as well," Fuyumi added, sitting down as well. "She's been attacked not just once but twice and the only one to have been targeted. Which is why I'm more concerned."

"I told you before, I tripped and fell off of the stage and landed on my knee," Hoshiko shook her head as she sat between her director and priest friend. "Shibuya-san, please understand that I am very skeptical about ghosts and that sort of thing. Me falling off of the stage? That can be explained as me being very clumsy and other actors and crew buying into the story of the curse of this play-"

"What play are you performing?" Mai decided to chime in.

"Yotsuya Kaidan," the actress and director replied in unison.

"Mai-" Naru half warned, but let her continue anyway.

"It's arguably the most famous ghost story in Japan of all time, Keiko is obsessed with it," Mai continued. "Apparently, at least the main cast members must visit Oiwa's grave to receive her blessing for the play or movie adaptation. Otherwise, her spirit is said to curse the play and be cause of several deaths in the past. The curse is similar to The Scottish Play-"

"Macbeth." Naru finished for her. "Excellent research, Mai." He motioned for Lin to resume typing. "According to tradition, the main cast has to visit Oiwa's grave and ask for her blessing, especially the actor who is playing her. Did you visit the gravesite?"

The two girls nodded. "I'm not superstitious in the slightest, but I'm not going to mess around with something like that. Of course, I went to her grave for her blessing, so did Fuyumi, Inoue-san and most of the cast," Hoshiko answered.

"Yet you are still being affected by the curse?" Naru inquired, he turned to John. "You feel this case needs our attention?"

"Yes," John nodded. "Hoshiko has mentioned the goings on at the theater for a little while, but after an incident a couple of days ago, she was no longer a skeptic."

"Kazuya-san, we only have a few days before we really must start the dress rehearsals," Fuyumi urged. "We've already set the opening night to be in two weeks and we can't delay the show any longer, we've already started to sell tickets. I refuse to allow an angry Casper to ruin this show. Too much work has already been put into it!" She let out a breath. "So will you take this case? Or will I have to find someone else?"

January Day 1, 1:13 P.M.

Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz.

Mai knew better than to check her phone. Despite the fact that this was the fifth time it went off in the last ten minutes. However, she was in class and she could answer her boyfriend later. Now, she needed to do her schoolwork. Her phone could wait, she couldn't afford to have it taken away during class. Not now that she had a case once she was finished class for the day.

Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz.

Now this was getting ridiculous! Closing her eyes before she rolled them, much like she suspected her employer did the night before. As quickly, and with as little disruption as she could possibly do, she excused herself from class to use the restroom. With her phone tucked discreetly in her jacket pocket, she headed for the restroom.

Luckily, no one was in there, but just to be sure, she made her way into one of the very last stalls. Knowing she was in the clear, she pulled her phone out. Just as expected, four texts from Shouta, and the last two, each from a number not saved in her phone. She read Shouta's texts first.

Hey babe! Any way you can get me out of this class? Lol jk jk.

My professor mentioned paranormal research! Thought of you!

How's class going?

Are we still on for Friday?

Just as she suspected, they were all texts that could wait. Now the other two.

Mai, meet at the office and I'll walk you to the theater.

That was probably Lin, she determined. She wasn't sure if she put his number in her phone, but she knew for sure she had Naru's. They were probably at the theater getting everything set up the equipment, or at least planning what needs to be put where. That left the final number.

Mai, what's the address for the theater?

Who could that be? She gave a puzzled look at the phone. She mentally went through the people she knew had her number and that she had the number for. The only one she wasn't sure of was Lin and that was obviously the other person that was texting her. Plus Lin wouldn't text her for the address of the theater, if anything she would text him for that information.

Who is this? She texted back. Not even a moment later her phone buzzed again.

Real funny, Mai! I won't be at the theater today, but Naru wants me to do some research, as usual. I need the address!

Yasuhara? She responded.

Wow, Mai! I can't believe you would delete my number! I understand Monk doing this, since we are in a rough patch. But you? I feel betrayed!

Definitely Yasuhara.

Sorry, my phone must not have saved your number for some reason. She answered, realizing she should probably head back to class soon.

We will discuss your negligence later young lady! I demand to know the address!

Sorry, I don't know it off the top of my head. Ask Naru.

Fine! I'll see you later! Back to class!

And back to class she went.

January Day 1, 4:00 P.M.

For once, Taniyama Mai was on time as she walked up the street to the office building, where on a normal day she would be about to get ready to make tea. She didn't see Lin standing outside or the van, so she walked up to the office. "Lin! Are you here!" she exclaimed as she walked in.

She didn't hear typing, but seeing at the door was open, someone was there. She walked in and noticed that Naru's office door was opened. Strange, Naru doesn't normally leave his door open, even when he's here, she commented to herself.

"Hello?" she asked aloud, walking into the office. She heard a thump and a curse in English. "Naru?"

"Good, you're on time," he replied, rubbing his head and standing up with a notebook he must have been looking for behind his desk. "Lin and John are interviewing the actors and crew, Ayako is doing temperature readings, Yasuhara will be in either tomorrow or Thursday, and Monk should be arriving later tonight."

He walked out of the office to grab his coat. Thankful for the update but still a little confused, Mai followed her boss into the main office. He tucked the notebook into the inside pocket of his coat and stopped by the kitchenette. He grabbed two to-go mugs and handed one to her. "Let's go, the theater isn't that far, but we should get there before it gets dark."

"Thanks," she replied, taking a sip as she was rushed out the door.

Mai sometimes forgot how quickly the sun set, even now that the days were slowly getting longer. She walked quickly next to him, having to take an extra step to compensate for the height difference. "I thought Lin was meeting me at the office," she wondered aloud.

"What made you think that?" Naru replied. "Originally, we were planning on having you walk to the theater yourself, but with your track record of getting lost and I realized I forgot my notebook. So I texted you earlier to meet me at the office."

"Jeez, I get lost a couple of times and you won't let me forget it," Mai sighed and shook her head. "Did you get a new number at all?"

Naru shook his head. "Why?" he asked, as they waited for the crosswalk sign to change.

"Your number for some reason wasn't saved in my phone," she replied, pulling out her phone, trying to find his number.

She was going through her contacts and didn't realize the light had changed. She felt her arm being tugged forward. "You can fiddle around with your phone later, I don't need my assistant getting hit by a car because of it."

Obeying, she put her phone back in her pocket and quickly crossed the street. "It happened to Yasuhara, too," she muttered, still perplexed.

"Just re-save the numbers and if it happens again, take it in to get looked at," Naru determined.

"Gee, thanks, Naru. Great idea, never would have come up with that plan on my own," she muttered, rolling her eyes and still being pulled down the sidewalk by him.

"That's why you're my assistant," he commented.

"So, you can make fun of my stupidity?"

He turned around and smiled that same smile from the case a year before. "You're getting smarter and smarter everyday," he said, letting go of her arm and walking forward.

"Naru! You jerk!" she exclaimed, running after him. "I don't know why I deal with you if that's the reason you hired me!"

"I'll let you interpret that as you wish," he replied.

"Naru!"

At the theater, Lin and John had finished the interviews and determined where the most activity had been reported before the medium they had hired, as well as the activity since the medium had finished. Ayako had done her own walkthrough and taken temperature readings and with Naru and Mai back, it was time to set up all the equipment.

"Please tell me these guys will do a better job!" Inoue, the real director, exclaimed to his assistant as Mai and Naru settled themselves in Base. It just so happened to be one of the costume changing rooms back stage. "Their leader is rather young, after that little medium, I don't think-"

"Inoue-san, you might want to quiet your voice when you talk crap about the people who are supposed to help you," Fuyumi chided, scribbling on a clipboard. "And age should be the last thing you consider in this situation, you have a seventeen year old playing a married woman with a child, and the man playing her husband is twenty-eight." She looked back to her boss, a good twenty years her senior, and noticed his hat was off kilter. She walked over and had to stand on tiptoes, despite her heels, to fix it for him. "They have a very high success rate, a diverse group of exorcists and specialist, Hoshiko knows one of them, and they seem pretty legit, look at all the equipment they brought. If anything, they might find a logical explanation to the haunting here."

"This is why I made you my assistant, you know how to rationalize the situation," he sighed.

"There are many reasons why I'm your assistant," she replied, looking behind her to find Yuito and Ichika sucking face by the edge of the curtain. "Oh for the love of-hey lovebirds! You guys can play tonsil-hockey on your time! C'mon! Break it up! Ichika, you better have your big scene perfected!"

"That's another reason," he commented as his assistant ran off to scold the actors.

"What do we have to go on?" Naru asked Lin, who had finished setting up the monitors.

"For the most part, just what Akiyama-san told us yesterday," he replied, going through his noted. "The main areas of activity are the stage, where Hoshiko was attacked, the bridge, the basement, and the foyer. I think one camera and one microphone in each area except the stage should suffice."

"With how big the stage and behind the stage is, we are going to need several angles and microphones in those areas, right?" Mai offered.

"Precisely," Naru answered, looking over Lin's notes.

"Well, look at you, has your boyfriend been having study sessions with you?" Ayako implied, crossing her arms.

"Very funny, Ayako," she retorted, pulling out her phone. "I haven't had a study session, considering our classes are entirely different, but he is blowing up my phone."

"You can text him later, you're here to work," Naru scolded.

"Yes, your majesty," Mai mocked, putting her phone away and grabbing a camera and tripod. "John and I will set up the camera and microphone in the foyer, would you like us to put a thermal imager in that area as well?"

"Yes I would, but John will stay here, Matsuzaki-san will go with you," Naru ordered, grabbing some gear himself. "He'll stay here so we can make sure the angles are in order."

"Works for me," Mai shrugged in agreement.

"You still haven't told your brother?" John asked, watching the monitor as Naru moved one of the cameras back stage. "Looks good, Kazuya."

"No sense in worrying him, besides, I'm sure you and your team can handle this, I don't know if my brother would be able to keep a level head in all of this," Hoshiko replied, sitting down at the table where the interviews were conducted. "If I call him now and tell him everything that's happened, I would just get an earful on the phone. Then have him barge in here and drag me home to focus on schoolwork or something."

"You really think he disapproves of your dreams that much?" John asked, then held up the walkie-talkie. "Mai, a little more to the left."

"How's that?" her voice appeared over the line.

"Perfect."

"Honestly, I don't know if he even knows I left home," she replied with a shrug. "I would assume he knows if he called home recently, but he's been doing his own thing, I haven't seen much of him the last couple of years."

"And you're sure the director won't accidentally call him to help out with this haunting? I mean Fuyumi was the one who went to talk to Kazuya."

"Nah, he's the one who called the medium and her T.V. crew, I'm sure he decided to leave this to Fuyumi, she's the one that's kept this whole show together," Hoshiko shrugged. "Not that Inoue is a bad director, he's not, its just, everyone seems a little at ease when they have an assistant."

John looked up and saw Mai and Naru coming back into Base to grab more equipment "We're going to need to get a camera up there," Naru commented, looking up towards the bridge.

"I can do that," Mai offered, making her boss snap his head toward her.

"Mai, are you sure?"

"Yeah, there isn't a lot of room, so it'll be easier for me to do it, than have you or Lin or even John go up and set up the camera," she assured him, grabbing a microphone and a camera. "You and Lin still getting the stage?"

"It's a lot of ground to cover, where are you heading to? The basement?" Naru asked, grabbing some equipment himself.

"Yeah, Ayako wants to get it done and over with, apparently it's creepy down there," she replied.

"When you're done, let's get the bridge situated."

"Sure thing," she agreed as they both left Base.

"John?" Hoshiko asked, waking the boy from his reverie.

"Sorry, I think I understand what you mean about having an assistant," John smiled.

"Be sure to tie everything down," Naru ordered, handing her the bag of equipment. "And-"

"'Mai, don't fall over the railing.' I know, I know," she mocked, starting to regret not bringing an extra change of clothes. Climbing a rickety stage ladder in her school uniform, probably wasn't her best idea.

"Be careful, you know your track record," he sighed, stepping back as his assistant ascended the ladder.

"He is not letting her do that, is he?" Mai swore she heard Ayako complain to John.

It's not like the bridge was that dangerous of a place, it was just very narrow and movement was very limited. It also just so happened to be about suspended about twenty feet in the air. Luckily after the light incident, the bridge was off limits until the case was solved, so they didn't have to worry about anyone messing up the camera angles or having to maneuver around it during the investigation.

She turned on the camera and adjusted her headset. "Well, Lin? Do we have visual?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Make sure it's pointing down the bridge towards the ladder. Then set up the other camera facing the opposite direction."

"Got it!" she replied, setting the cameras on the tripods and made sure everything was secured. She stepped aside so Lin could see the angles better. "How's this?"

"That will do," he replied then paused. "What did you say, Mai? You spoke over me so I couldn't hear you."

"What? I didn't say anything," she replied. She felt the metal beneath her creak just a little. "Lin?"

"Matsuzaki, can you hear what she's trying to say, I can't make it out," she heard him say. Then Ayako's voice cut in along with static.

"Guys? There's some interference, do you still have visual on the cameras?" she asked.

"Mai! What's going on!" Naru called from below. Fed up with the static in her ear, she just took the headset off and put it in the bag. She pulled out the microphone and started to tie it down as well.

"Naru, there's some interference with the radio, go find out if the cameras are still feeding into the monitors," Mai explained, not daring to lean over the railing. "I'm almost done setting up the mic, let me know if you are getting the feed from that too."

"Mai-"

"It will only take a minute, no rush," she shrugged, fairly certain that everything was just fine and it was just a malfunction in the headset. She finished and against her better judgment, looked over the railing. "Naru! How's the feed?"

Looking down, she didn't see her black clad employer, then again everything back there was painted black so he could have just blended in. No one was back there, actually, she noted. None of the actors or crew were working back there, she couldn't hear them working at all. She thought John was down there, but he had wandered off too.

"Naru! Is everything okay!" she called. No answer. "Hey, Lin! Is Naru with you!" No answer. "Ayako! John!" Nothing. "The heck?" She pulled out the headset from her bag. "Hey, guys, is the feed good? Can I come down yet?" Nothing.

That was the weird part. The whole area was silent and so was the other end of the line. Not even a trace of static. "Damn," she cursed, throwing the headset back in the bag and slowly made her way for the ladder.

"Geez, Mai, you just had to offer to do this, didn't you?" she muttered to herself. She had seen this scene before, plenty of times, this was the part where some ghost tried to attack her by choking her or pushing her off the railing and making it look like a freak accident. All she had to do was get to the ladder, climb down slowly, and pray that the ladder wouldn't break under her. Unlike Yuasa high school, Naru wasn't around to grab her arm in the nick of time.

"Mai!" She internally thanked whatever greater being put the odds in her favor. "You can come down now! Everything looks good!"

And with that, all the tension that had gathered in her shoulders and stomach loosened as she took a deep breath. Slowly she descended the ladder, for once, the way down seemed longer than the way up. Relieved that she was finally on solid ground, she handed the bag to Naru. "You okay? You're shaking," he asked, she looked down and sure enough they were.

She felt a chill go up her spine, and shook her hands because of it. "I'm fine, I was just psyching myself out," she assured him. "Why didn't you answer when I called you?"

Naru gave a confused glance. "I could ask you the same question, I tried calling over the radio."

"I called over the railing for you too, you didn't hear me?" she asked, noticing she could hear rehearsal going on, on the other side of the curtain.

"No-"

"Mai, what the hell were you saying up there?" Ayako ran out, looking the girl over for a minute. "And why did you stop responding?"

"Ayako, I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, removing the woman's hands from her face. "And I'm fine, I didn't fall off or anything. If I did, I'm sure you would have heard me scream or something."

"Not if we couldn't hear you calling us when we were just a room away," Naru argued. "Now what happened?"

Mai relayed what happened, which didn't take too long at all, and then she found herself sitting in Base, while Naru and Lin took a look at the headset. "Okay, I held up my end, what happened in here?"

"We lost touch with you, it sounded like you were muttering something, but none of us could figure out what you going on about," Ayako explained.

"But I wasn't saying anything, then the static got on my nerves and I just stopped using the headset and when I put it back on to call you guys, because I guess you couldn't hear me, I wasn't even getting static-"

"Well, we know why now," Lin commented, holding the headset. "The wires are cut."

"How is that possible?" Mai wondered.

"You're sure the headset was working perfectly when you went up?" Naru asked her.

"One hundred percent!"

"She's right," Lin confirmed. "I didn't have issues until just after she finished setting up the second camera."

"Okay, so what does this all mean?" Ayako asked, crossing her arms.

Naru just sighed. "It's just an odd occurrence, we have no proof of the voice heard over the headset. Nor do we have an explanation of the cut wires. We can't use any of it as evidence at the moment."

"So, what now?" Mai shrugged, then looked around. "Where's John and Hoshiko?"

"Hoshiko is rehearsing, and John is meeting Takigawa out front," Lin answered.

"When were you planning to tell me you ran away from home!" All heads turned toward the sound of a familiar voice.

"Oh dear," John's voice could be heard as well.

"What the hell are you doing here!" This wasn't going to end well.

Curious, the four investigators actually stood and followed the voices. Lo and behold, a sweatdropped John, a pissed off monk, and an equally pissed off actress stood backstage.

"I could ask you the same question," Monk said, crossing his arms. "Do Mom and Dad know you're doing this?"

"Nii-san, yes, they know-"

"Really? When I talked to them over the weekend and they told me you ran away, they never mentioned that you were in Tokyo-"

"Because I told them not to tell you!"

"Why the hell would you do that!"

"Because I knew how you would react!"

"Well-"

"Okay! That's enough!" Ayako and Fuyumi shouted, forcing the two to cease the argument.

"You are making a scene!" Ayako hissed at the two.

"Okay guys! Rehearse on your own, we'll resume in about twenty minutes!" Fuyumi ordered, the group of actors and crew just stared. "That wasn't a suggestion! Chop chop! Unless you have your part perfected, you will not be standing around chit chatting." The group dispersed. She turned to the squabbling siblings. "That outburst was absolutely unacceptable! I want this show to go on as planned, but now I'm not sure if that will happen after seeing that." She turned to the lead investigator. "Are you sure your team can remain impartial enough to solve this case?"

"Takigawa's expertise is very valuable to this team, I expect him to treat this case as he would any other, despite any personal involvement," he replied, more so to the tall monk, than the petite director.

"Good, and Star, you cannot afford to get into another scene like that! You're the youngest one here and arguably one of the best we have! The acting world isn't kind, if needed Inoue will find a replacement! Do you understand?" Fuyumi scolded as the actress just looked down.

"Understood…" a defeated Hoshiko replied.

"Come with me," she replied, her face softening. She took the girl's arm. "I think there's a few things we need to talk about."

"Okay."

The two turned to leave as Naru turned to the blonde priest. "Father Brown, keep an eye on her," he requested, earning a nod from him.

"Of course," he replied and followed the two girls.

"Matsuzaki-san, you and Mai do another walkthrough of the building, take down the temperatures as you go. We'll compare them to what was recorded earlier," Naru ordered.

"Sure thing," the girls replied, quickly grabbing what they needed from Base.

"Lin, get is touch with Hara-san, I'd like to get her opinion on this case," Naru continued, then turned to Monk. "A word?"

Monk just nodded and followed him into Base. Naru had the door closed behind them, leaving the girls to stare in wonder. "Poor Monk," Mai said, shaking her head. "I never knew he had a sister."

"Neither did I, but now I know why Hoshiko looked so familiar. You can definitely see the family resemblance," Ayako commented, then shook her head. "C'mon, let's get this overwith."

"Alright," Mai agreed, looking back at the closed door.

Inside Base, Monk was running his hands through his hair while Naru leaned against the door with his arms crossed. The older of the two hadn't even taken his coat off yet, when he did, he just turned and let out a breath. "Go ahead, say it."

"Will you be able to work this case?" was all he asked.

"What do you mean by that? Of course I can still exorcise spirits-"

"I mean with your sister involved," Naru interrupted. "Our last case brought up some painful subjects with you in particular, I just want to make sure you will be fine to work on this case."

"Yes, of course, I just would have liked to know that she was involved," Monk assured him.

"She never gave me her full name so I couldn't forward the information to you, but even so, she's a client, I wouldn't be able to disclose any information until you arrived here anyway."

"What do you mean? How involved is she?"

Naru walked over to grab his notes, as Monk sat down. "It seems your sister and my assistant have a few things in common."

Well, there you have it! the beginning of a new case I hope to update soon! Until then, please leave a review! Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed!