I apologize for the delay! Happy New Year! The last couple of months were ridiculous, due to being short staffed my usual 50 hour work week turned into 70 for over a month. My assistant quit and I found out he was talking shit about me to other clubs and my staff. It was a mess, but luckily my boss who I was surprised wasn't upset by his departure, basically said that my assistant tried to undermine me because he didn't like working for someone so young. So new year new goals new appreciation for everything that I'm working for.

Chapter 2-Dirty Work

January Day 2, 3:45 P.M.

Mai managed to get out of class early, she had no clue how, but it happened. Which is why she found herself making her way through the busy streets of Tokyo without rushing like she normally did. It was a nice change. The sun was out providing a small glow of heat on this chilly winter day. It was a welcomed relief compared to the chilly last couple of days. She was also thankful that she remembered to bring an extra change of clothes in case she had to go up that rickety ladder again.

Mai walked into the theater, the lobby was quiet, save for some muffled voices of what she assumed was rehearsal. She needed to get back stage and find Naru, but she neded to figure out how to get back stage without disrupting the actors. Ayako showed her yesterday while they were setting up equipment, but she wasn't quite sure. She also needed to find somewhere she could change her clothes.

Rounding a corner, she found a not so happy Monk, walking away from the theater doors. He was shaking his head, lost in thought as Mai approached him. "Monk? Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Oh, hey Mai, yes I'm fine," he replied, shaking his head again. A distraught monk. A haunted theater. Work to be done? Mai decided her best course of action was to follow the man.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, trying to match his steps.

"Nothing's on my mind-"

"Then why are you in such a hurry to get as far away from your sister as possible?"

"She's making out with someone older than me, she's seventeen!" He stopped himself and started walking in a different direction.

"I mean she is an actress," Mai defended. "Are you really mad at that or are you just mad that she didn't tell you she was in Tokyo?"

She must have touched a nerve, because Monk just shook his head and walked in the opposite direction. When his footsteps faded, she let out a breath and shook her own head. "Great going, Mai, you just made this case even longer in one sentence…" she chided herself. Her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. "Damn it, what now?"

She pulled it out her phone, sure enough her suspicions on the texter were correct.

Hey babe! You didn't answer yesterday. Everything okay? You mad?

She sighed and began typing back.

Sorry! No I'm not mad we just-

"Mai." The familiar voice broke her concentration and she looked up. "You're early."

"Uh yeah," she responded, shoving her phone in her pocket. "I managed to get out of class early, what would you like me to get started one?"

"This way," he said, heading down the hall and nodding for her to follow.

Whichever way Naru was leading her, it was not the way Ayako had showed her the day before. They turned a few corners and he opened a door that led to a set of stairs. She knew exactly where they led to and she didn't quite like the cool breeze that swept her skirt slightly. Nevertheless, Naru flipped a switch and a few hanging bulbs sparked to life. He started down, reminding her to shut the door behind her.

She followed him down into the cool dank basement, a clamminess built up on her hands as they walked through. The walk felt like it would take forever, passing several boxes, their equipment that had been set up the day before they finally came to the door on the other end. A set of stairs led up to it. Naru climbed up and twisted the doorknob. Mai, behind him, swore she heard an almost confused noise come from her boss. Wow, he apparently knows English, or at least curse words, now he was showing slight emotion? Boy, Mai was starting to see a new side to him.

"Is it locked?" she asked.

"It shouldn't be, I just came from here," he responded, trying the door one more time. Of course, it was at that moment the lights in the basement went out. Another English swear could be heard.

Mai couldn't see anything, well, anything but the sliver of light that came through the crack between the door and the floor.

Banging could be heard. "Someone! Open the door! Lin! Monk! John! Akiyama-san!" At least she knew the banging was coming from the taller man in front of her. An uneasy feeling filled the pit of the girl's stomach.

It's just like yesterday, she noted. "I think I saw a trap door to the stage," she offered, pointing down the stairs, though there was no point. She couldn't see her own hand.

"In that case, we may as well just go out the way we came and interrupt their rehearsal," Naru replied dryly, pulling out his phone. "I have no service, do you?"

Mai pulled out her phone as well. "Uh-uh," she shook her head.

"Looks like we'll have to go back around," he determined, putting his phone away and pulling out a flashlight. "Carefully, go back down and we'll try the other door."

He turned the flashlight on and pointed it to the stairs. Mai, of course, was half expecting the floor to be covered in blood and corpses to be crawling around. Luckily, that idea was only her imagination.

If he really did come from this way and the door was unlocked, there's no way for it to have locked itself, Mai reasoned. Unless one of the actors locked it, but what reason would they have? And if that door is locked, what about the one we came from?

They made it up the stairs of where they came from and sure enough. "Damn," Naru exhaled.

"Locked?" Naru didn't respond for a second.

"Where did you say that trap door was?"

Suppressing a chuckle, Mai took the flashlight her boss offered her and descended the stairs. The atmosphere was similar to when she was up on the bridge, but since she wasn't alone, the feeling wasn't as bad. Soon she had the light pointed to the ceiling. "That should be it, we'll need a box or something to get to it," she said.

Staying where she was, she pointed the light to where some boxes they had passed were. Naru pushed a fairly large one over to her. "This one is the only one that can hold both of us," he explained.

The box itself wasn't huge. Maybe up to Mai's knees. When Naru stood up on it, it was enough for him to try to pry the door open. "You've got to be kidding me," Naru grunted as he banged on the door.

"Really? So we're trapped?" Mai asked. Now, had she been the same girl she was almost a year and a half before she would have sounded terrified. Today, she sounded more intrigued than anything. She really was becoming desensitized with this job.

"Mai, this isn't Yuasa high school, we are not down a manhole. We are in a basement, with the doors locked and the lights out. We have a camera over there that I'm sure Lin has at least looked at so he-"

Then it hit both of them. There should be at least one person in Base right now. They should have noticed the lights go out. Or that the camera had switched to night vision. Or that she and Naru were climbing a box and trying to get into a trap door on the stage. Or if the feed to Base went dead, someone should have checked up on it.

"Someone! Open this door!" Naru shouted, banging on the door until it must have looked like in a cartoon, warping to meet each hit.

"What the hell?" a muffled voice could be heard. Relief flew through the petite brunette. She hadn't realized out tense she had been.

"What are you doing! Don't open it! It could be Oiwa!" one girl could be heard screeching.

"Really? Oiwa, Ichika?" Mai was pretty sure that was Hoshiko. "It was obviously a guy's voice."

"Hoshiko! It's Mai! Naru and I got locked in!" Mai shouted.

"See?"

"Hoshiko! You are so gullible! Oiwa is just trying to trick us! No wonder she decided to haunt you! You fall for anything! Kuniharu! Don't tell me you're falling for it too!"

"Oh for the love of!" That was definitely a fed up Fuyumi. "Move aside, Ichika. Kuniharu, open the door."

Seconds later the door was unlocked and the lights of the stage blinded the two investigators for a moment. Naru helped pulling Mai up onto the box, but she couldn't quite get a good grip on the frame. "Here, grab my hands, I'll pull you out," Kuniharu offered, reaching down.

Mai grabbed his hands, but the awkward position made it difficult. Naru put his hands together and squatted. "Mai," was all he said and she understood immediately. She set her foot in his hand and stepped up. She was pulled out almost instantly.

Naru, on the other hand didn't need much help at all. He grabbed the frame and jumped, pulling himself out with his arms. Kuniharu only offered a hand when the black clad teen needed a little extra support. I think, Mai thought to herself, tomorrow I'll change at school and be a few minutes late…

"Whoa, what happened out here?" Ayako asked, walking on stage with the blonde priest.

"Somehow, we got locked in the basement and the lights went out," Mai explained.

"We just came from Base, the camera down there was fine," John replied. Well, suspicions were confirmed right there, though Mai wasn't too sure exactly what she was suspecting.

Naru simply nodded to the trap door. "Look if you don't believe us," he said, and headed for Base.

"Uh, Kazuya?" John called as he and Ayako looked down into the door. The actors crowded around and gasps of surprise could be heard. Mai pushed through the small crowd and looked down. Her hand came up, not to cover her mouth in shock, but to scratch her head in bewilderment.

Naru came back and looked down. His eyes widened a fraction and he muttered something that Mai couldn't distinguish because it was said so low. However the look on John's face told her that he knew more than just curses in English.

Of course, she put that note to the back of her mind. After all, the lights in the basement had come back on and the box she and Naru had stood on was no longer there. Instead, the camera that had ben put down there was in its place, pointed right at the startled group.

After that incident, Naru had John and Ayako keep their eyes on the camera. There were not to look away until he had Mai come back and tell them it was okay. In Base, the camera that was placed the day before was still showing an empty basement. Rewinding the footage revealed nothing, it didn't show Mai or Naru walking around. "Reset the feed," Naru ordered, Lin did as he said.

Once the footage was reset, you could see the trap door open and Ayako and John staring at the camera. Even Lin made a surprised sound. Their camera was replaying a recording of prior to Mai's arrival. "Is it possible that there is someone in the building?" Mai asked. "You know, someone who might be living in the basement and wants to freak us out?"

"It would be plausible, but no one heard the box being moved or the camera. It's strange to say the least," Naru commented, crossing his arms. "You can go tell them to move now. We should close that door as well."

"Aye aye captain!" Mai mocked and ran off.

Once she did as she was told, Mai found herself wandering about the theater. Normally, someone would see her alone by now and reprimand her for being on her own. Oddly enough, Monk didn't seem to notice anything wrong with it when they passes each other. Neither did Ayako and John. So Mai wandered around and did her own thing, like Masako did sometimes.

She wasn't sure just how Masako did it, but it was starting to become second nature. Feeling the energy of the building, was that what mediums did? Yuina, back at the nursing home, had said Mai was a medium as well. But was she right? Can someone just develop the ability to see spirits? Well, it would make sense if she had had a near death experience, as in she was clinically dead and came back and could suddenly see the dead. But that never happened to her. Not at all. Unless you count almost falling into the pit of Hell.

She hated the memory. The heat of the flames, the smell of rotting flesh, the taloned hand that threatened to drag her down, it still haunted her sleep. It was that case that really started her PTSD, she realized. Granted, the stress of everything was accumulating over the last two years, but it was after that case that she started to realize something was wrong.

At some point, Mai had gone up some stairs and was staring at a door. She really needed to stop daydreaming, it could land her in trouble. And has landed her in trouble. "This is the door to the attic," she commented, hand extended to turn the knob.

Stop, Mai, she told herself. There are no cameras up here. No one knows where you are. You were just given some freedom and trust, are you really going to throw it away?

Mai shook her head and descended the stairs. Good talk, Mai.

Buzz. Buzz.

She never texted him back earlier. Pulling out her phone she saw his text. Hey! Just checking in! You are alive right? Haha

She may as well finish the text she had been typing earlier.

Sorry! No I'm not mad we just have a new case. As for Friday as of right now we are on but that could change if this case doesn't end by then. It's very slow.

She hit send. Less than a minute later a reply came. Whoo! I thought I lost you! Lol let me know about Friday. What's going on with the case?

It's just weird things are happening. Last night I had to set up the camera on the bridge because I could fit up there and my radio went out. When I came down the wires had been cut.

Naru making you do his dirty work. Sounds like him. I wouldn't expect him to get up on a bridge backstage.

Sigh It's not his "dirty work" I offered.

Yeah but he let you do it. He probably mentioned it because he knew you would jump on a chance to be of help.

I'm a danger magnet he hates it when I do things like that. He tried to talk me out of it.

Obviously he didn't try that hard.

At this point Mai had made it back to Base. She was fuming. Was she mad at Shouta for accusing her boss of such things? Or was she mad that he had a point and her boss really was that kind of person?

Buzz. Buzz.

Mai looked at her phone, opened the message and exhaled with a shake of her head. She closed out the message and shoved the phone in her bag of clothes she never changed into.

I just hate how he treats you! You don't deserve that, especially after the shit he's put you through!

"Hey, Boss, what's with the long face?" a familiar voice broke the girl from her reverie.

"Yasuhara!" Her face lit up as she looked up at her friend. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

"Yeah, with my internship it takes me a little longer to get to investigations like this. Luckily this was a local case," he answered, placing a folder on the table.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

"Would that be Shouta?" The college boy inquired, taking his coat off.

"Most likely." Mai answered with a shrug.

"Uh oh, are you going through a rough patch as well? Monk and I are going through one, but I believe I told you about that yesterday when you deleted my number-"

"No, we are not going through a rough patch. He just wants to confirm our plans for Friday. No, I did not delete your number, it's some glitch with my phone that needs to get looked at. Naru's and Michiru's numbers were also gone, but everyone else's was there. And you might not want to do your whole 'Monk is my one true love!' bit during this case."

"Oh? And why is that?" He beckoned, taking a seat. That was when Mai realized they were the only ones in Base. Lin must have gone to the bathroom or something.

Quickly, she closed the door and took a seat as well. "Our clients are the directors of this production, but the main victim is their lead actress Takigawa Hoshiko," she explained slowly, she was still trying to process the information herself.

"Hoshiko, huh? So that's who Star is," the college boy wondered aloud, completely unfazed that their beloved Monk had a sister.

"You know about her?" Mai cocked her head to the side.

"Not really," he answered truthfully, shrugging. "I was getting coffee Sunday morning and I ran into Monk. He was on the phone and was asking to speak to Star and she had apparently run away. When he hung up and I asked him about it and joked about Star being a pet or something and that's why we currently have a rough patch."

"No wonder he's pissed, you inavertedly called his sister a bitch," Mai teased.

"That was not my intention!"

"If you two are quite finished goofing off…" Mai could be at a rave and still here this condescending voice break through the crowd.

"Sure thing, Boss, what'd you need?" Yasuhara immediately answered.

"The research you did would do," he replied, taking a seat in the only swivel chair. He must have brought it to every case.

"Of course," he chuckled, opening the folder. "I found quite a bit on the building, which is great, but at the same time it's not much at all."

"Elaborate."

"This theater opened about sixty years ago, originally as a traditional Kabuki theater. Then about forty-five years ago, it was renovated to be the much more modern theater we have today. During that time, thousands of actors, directors, stagehands, and audiences have walked through these halls. So as it can be assumed, there were many cases of suicide among those associated with the building. Only a handful of them actually occurred here," Yasuhara explained.

"Let's start there, what do we have to go on?"

"Kato Itsuki, he was the first suicide. Jumped off the roof of the building after a series of failed auditions. It was believed that he was blacklisted due to being unreasonable to work with and that's what led him to jump. That happened only two years after the opening of the Kabuki theater," he explained, turning a page. "Tsukuda Hayate was found hanging in the basement about twenty-five years ago. Oshiro Kyou was a little more recent, about ten years ago she overdosed on her prescription and was found dead on one of the couches that had been stored in the basement. A few weeks later Ueno Masuyo also jumped off the roof of the building, she had just completed the opening night of the show to which she took over Kyou's role."

"That's everything?" Naru asked, once the college student closed his folder. Mai noticed it was much thinner than any of the files he had brought on any other case.

"Unfortunately, it is," he answered, placing the file on the table and crossing his arms. "I did do a little research on the play itself, but because it's so widely known, everything is really just common knowledge. This theater has had this production many times throughout the years, all Kabuki themed."

"Is it possible that this being a Western style version might have angered a spirit in the building?" Naru wondered aloud.

"There's been so many versions," Mai answered. "This, I'm sure isn't the first time a Western version of the play has been performed. Maybe at this theater, but there had to be others. And there have been so many movies, TV shows, and anime that either are base off of this play or pay homage to it. I highly doubt it's the curse to blame here if they did go and visit Oiwa's grave."

"I have to agree with Mai, Naru," Yasuhara decided.

Naru assumed his thinking pose and sat still for a moment. "When Hara-san arrives tomorrow we'll just have to visit Oiwa's grave," he determined, causing brows to be raised.

"Well, that would probably answer whether or not the curse is real," Mai sighed in agreement, but crossed her arms. "If it were that simple, I wonder why it hasn't been done before."

"Despite our experience, the belief of mediums and psychic abilities is still a fairly new concept," Yasuhara answered. "Not very many people would believe a medium for saying whether or not the curse is valid. Not only that, but what if it isn't real? Would anyone really go to see the performances?"

"Never let the facts interfere with a good story," Naru added, turning to check on the cameras.

"You don't believe in the curse?" Mai teased.

"I'm not an actor, nor do I plan to ever have any part in theatre aside from investigating one."

"You didn't answer my question," she pressed.

"I have no opinion on the subject, if I must dumb it down."

Mai rolled her eyes at his jab. His insulting her intelligence no longer had the same effect on her. Perhaps she was getting used to it. Either way, it was time for her to leave. She stopped at the door. "Do we have any more cameras that we could use? We don't have any in the attic."

"You feel we should have one up there?" he inquired, Yasuhara just sat there and watched with amusement.

"We have one everywhere else, besides sometimes the area with the least amount of activity is where the entity resides," she shrugged, turning back. "If you have one and a mic I'll go and set it up."

Naru turned back to the monitors. "I'll have Lin run by the office and grab one," he replied. Mai nodded and left the room.

"She still isn't quite herself," the college intern commented. "She's doing better, but she doesn't have the same responses to your teasing anymore."

"Who said I was teasing?"

"Brrrr that was cold!" he teased, faking a shiver. "C'mon, I know you've sensed a difference in her attitude."

"How is Kiko doing?" Naru returned.

"Damn it, you too?"

Naru turned around and raised a brow. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, seeing the college student with a cell phone that definitely wasn't his.

"Calm down, I'm not reading her messages, her phone's just been blowing up and I want to have a little fun," he assured him. Naru watched suspiciously as he finally heard the beginning of a peppy song he knew he heard somewhere before. Yasuhara gave a satisfied smile and put the phone back in her bag.

"What was the point of that?"

"Mai is practically a little sister to me, probably the closest I've had. It would be against my nature to not pull a few pranks," he determined with a cheesy grin and left the room.

"What made you want to be an actress?" Mai found herself asking.

After learning the history of the theater and Lin had brought back a camera, Mai was setting it when the young actress had followed her. Mai was setting the camera up to capture most of the room, Hoshiko was setting up the stand for the microphone.

"That is, if you don't mind me asking. Thanks for helping me set up by the way," Mai finished as she hit the record button once all of the wires were in place.

"I don't mind, is this good?" Hoshiko asked, Mai checked everything.

"Looks good," she affirmed, turning on her radio. "How is it?"

"Everything is good, Mai." Lin's voice could be heard over the headset.

"Awesome! We'll be right down." She turned off her radio and turned to the young actress. "Let's head back."

"Sure thing," she replied and they started down the stairs. "I don't know what exactly sparked my interest in theater. I was always getting cousins and other kids by the Mount to participate in my little plays for family events and just for fun. Then I was in almost every school play. Finally, I heard about this theater thanks to a friend of Fuyumi, and that's how I ended up here."

"So you quit school to become an actress?" Mai inquired as they walked through the foyer.

Hoshiko sighed and crossed her arms. She walked to the door and opened it. "I need a little fresh air, wanna join me?"

Mai nodded and together they stood at the top of the stairs of the theater taking in the night air. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know your brother isn't exactly thrilled-"

"I didn't drop out of school, actually," she interrupted, nervously putting her hair in a ponytail.

"Then why is-"

"Why is my brother so angry I left home? Because he's not home enough to really know what's been going on," Hoshiko sighed and dusted the snow off of the stone ledge of the porch. She took a seat. "I graduated early. My parents had put me into school at a younger age than the rest of my classmates and I was really good when it came to schoolwork. Instead of taking a summer recess I continued my studies and earned enough credit to graduate back in October. So I did."

"Does Monk know this? I mean, Houshou?" Mai asked, sitting next to her.

She sighed. "My brother can be hot headed, yet he scolds me when I am, my parents probably did try to tell him, but he wouldn't listen." She looked up to the sky, the bright lights of the city and the clouds blocked any view of the stars. "I know, I should talk to him, try to settle this out. But I can't do it over here, not with this play, not with the cast and crew watching. The best thing for me to do right now is avoid my brother until you guys fix this mess."

"I don't think that will be too hard, I think he's avoiding you too," Mai joked with a chuckle.

"Probably because your boss berated him last night," Hoshiko chuckled back. "He seems rather…intense."

Mai couldn't help but laugh at that. That was probably the most accurate yet inaccurate term to describe the teenaged employer. "You could definitely say that," she laughed, shaking her head.

January Day 2, 8:43 P.M.

Mai was heading home, making a couple of errand stops on the way. The rest of the night at the theater was a bit of a bore. Nothing major happened. Just weird instances like the basement incident with Naru. It was such a slow start than what she was used to.

Remember, Mai, usually spirits are shy to strangers, perhaps you aren't dealing with a strong spirit. Maybe the medium they hired did help a little and now there's just one spirit that lingered or something. She tried to convince herself. Maybe-

Kiss Kiss Fall In Love!

The sudden lyric and music startled the high school student as she looked to her pocket where the sound seemed to be coming from. Sure enough it was her phone. "Damn it, Yasuhara!"

She picked up the call. "Moshi moshi."

"Mai! Thank goodness! I thought you were mad about our conversation earlier!" It was Shouta.

Mai sighed, remembering the texts. "How could I be mad? It made sense," she replied.

"What are you up to?"

"I'm on my way home, I'm about a few blocks away from my apartment-"

"That bastard did even offer you a ride home? What a dick!"

"I normally walk-"

"You should have called me! I would have gone and picked you up. He can't make you walk out in this! It's freezing out!"

"Shouta, please…"

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing, it's just getting difficult since I know you don't like Naru. Now I'm not saying you're wrong to not like him, I'm just saying that he is my boss and if you could be civil even just when talking to me-"

"But, Mai, he treats you like a tea slave! He criticizes your intelligence! He has refused to take your ideas into consideration!"

"He's actually teaching me now! He's been giving me more responsibility and I feel like I'm more than just an assistant now!'

"That's because everyone's gotten on his case about it! He's tired of you just making tea and wants you to start pulling his weight! It's abuse, Mai! You shouldn't have to deal with it!"

He finally said the words out loud. Words that she had thought numerous times about the way Naru had treated her. Words she never dared utter aloud. "So what do you want me to do? Quit my job? I can't exactly do that Shouta!"

They were both silent for a moment. "Mai…" Shouta's voice seemed to echo as Mai had stayed at the same intersection. The crosswalk sign had changed three times already. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone that far."

"No, you shouldn't have…" she replied, suddenly feeling small. "I went a little too far too."

"You don't need to quit your job, but please, Mai…" She knew exactly what was coming next. She had thought of it as well. In fact Hozumi even mentioned it. "At least keep your eye out for a better opportunity. I'd hate to see that bastard break you further than he already has."

Mai blinked back a tear and exhaled. "Fine, I'll keep my eye out…"

"Good, will I see you Friday? Or at all this weekend?"

"Depends on this case. I'll let you know."

"Okay," he answered and paused. Mai could almost see the sad smile he wore as he spoke again. "Remember, Mai, I love you."

"Love you too…" Beep.

For the sixth time the crossing sign changed. Mai decided it was time she crossed.

So yes, a rather boring chapter. I have a lot planned for this case but that won't start to kick off until the next chapter. I really needed this boring one to get over my writer's block (now I have a base to branch out from). Instead of hearing from the cast I'm going to respond to some of the wonderful reviews you have left! I tend to message you but with my schedule that in of itself is difficult. SO here goes!

Ghost loves japan 77: So glad you're liking the twists! I hope you enjoy what's to come!

Su No Yo: I certainly hope I haven't disappointed you yet with Shouta's change of pace! I hope you continue to keep up on this fic!

Kit Raven: Certainly creepy huh?

bewitchedquill: No this case really isn't interesting yet, but I do have big plans to start in the next Chapter. The relationship between Mai and Shouta is certainly accelerating. How it will end can really go either way right now, right? lol

AmyNChan: perhaps not as ominous as you may have originally thought? That will be elaborated later on though stay tuned!

SSTrans: This will be a fun case! And yes Shouta never really stood a chance, but it did add some depth no? This relationship will be short lived but it's affects will force Mai to grow up just a little more.

Guest: I'm so glad you like my Mai! I find in a lot of fics she's too much the same as the anime or manga, or just a complete and utter ditz. I really tried to show how much she's grown with this job and how she's still growing. They all are.

2000indigo: Haha, I understand, you really want the canon couple to become canon! They will! But just as their creator said, they are to be canon and will end up together, give it some time. We'll get there soon.

Sincerelyreeny: I certainly did didn't I? lol

It's the busy season at my job so I'll try to update this month but no promises! Review!