I'm on a roll guys! One more chapter to this case just to wrap things up like the nice little sushi roll this kid I babysit decided he wanted to be this morning lol. For some reason Fanfiction really doesn't want me to update my stories and it's getting annoying. If anyone can tell me if it's just Macs having issues that would be great. It's took me like an hour trying to figure out how to copy and paste this in a way for it to load properly. Enjoy!

Chapter 8-Puppets

January Day 6, 2:25 P.M.

Her head began to pound as she came around on the dirty floor. It was so dark that when she opened her eyes she saw the same as if she had kept them closed. She took a deep breath as she decided it was as good a time as any to sit up and try to figure out where she was.

Jeez, why do I always get myself into these situations? I thought I had been getting better, she told herself. Then she thought about it for a moment. Nope, I think I was just getting worse.

Slowly, fighting a dizzy feeling, she pushed herself to her knees. Where was she that it was so dark? She wondered, then a look of terror came over her. I'm not blind, am I?

She hated to admit it, but she wouldn't know for sure until someone found her. Now if I could just figure out where I am…

She gathered herself into a standing position. She was somewhere fairly open. When she lifted her arms in front and to the side of her she didn't bump into any walls or furniture. To be fair, she just might have not been close enough to a wall to feel it.

Guess I'll just have to feel my way around and take a guess at where I am, she decided. I wonder how long I was out? It couldn't have been too long, I don't feel any refreshed.

Masako couldn't believe it. She could see something! What she saw was not the scene of a monk in a lobby, but something else entirely. She saw herself on the roof of the building. She could feel the floor beneath her feet, as though she had taken off her shoes. She was still wearing a kimono, just not her own. She heard the giggling of a girl, but it was most certainly not her own. Yet it seemed to be coming from her mouth.

"That was beautiful!" Her mouth moved but the voice was not hers. She advanced towards a ledge with a platform. "Too bad for both of us…"

She climbed onto the ledge and looked down at the people below. "My marvelous audience! Too bad you never got to see it. Too bad you didn't get to play the role you stole."

She seemed to laugh as she turned herself around and closed her eyes. Masako felt herself falling backward to the sidewalk below.

The scream that erupted from the medium's mouth almost knocked the monk to the floor. He shook her shoulders trying to awaken her from the state she was in. "Masako! Masako, wake up!"

As quickly as the screaming started, it stopped. Masako opened her eyes to be met with the dark blur that had taken her vision for the last few days. "I saw! I saw! I saw!" she kept repeating. Her hands were shaking. She wasn't too sure if it were out of excitement or fear.

"Yes, Masako, you said that before," Monk said trying to calm the girl down. "Now take a deep breath and tell me exactly what you saw."

"I saw the roof! I was on it. I was going to jump!" the medium panted, her eyes darting around, trying to grab a glimpse of something. Anything. Too bad she wasn't lucky enough to have her sight return the moment she had a vision. She stood up, about to make a run for it. "I have to tell Naru!" She took two steps before Monk caught her arm.

"Hold it, Masako," he said. "You're going the wrong way."

Masako really hated being blind.

Naru had continued to review evidence. He had gone back to ignoring his tall assistant. They had never really spoken much to be honest, but recently, Naru had gotten tired of the conversations the Chinese man was bringing. Madoka was really starting to rub off on the man. Some days the young man wondered how the two adults became so involved. They were practically total opposites-

Naru was very glad that he had changed back his ringtone after Yasuhara's prank. He was determined to not let the device out of his grasp again. Not with the college student around, at least. Naru ceased the monotonous ringing when he answered with a, "Moshi, moshi."

"Hey, Big Boss!" The college researcher's voice was as excited as ever. Perhaps he actually had some interesting evidence. "I hope the investigation is proving fruitful on your end!"

Why does he talk like that? "We found some strange E.V.P.s, have you found anything useful in your interviews?"

"Unfortunately, what we found may not be a significant as we'd like." Yasuhara's voice became further away. He must have put the device on speaker. "Neither of the families we spoke with mentioned the deceased having any fascination with the blind or mute and no ties to the Wise Monkey's lore."

"Though, neither family noticed a change in the girls' behavior. Their suicides came as a big surprise. Kyou was very excited to be one of the leads and then Masuyo was upset about the passing of her friend but was excited to have such a role," Ayako had taken over the explanation.

"So, we have nothing?"

"Not quite," the college student replied. "We stopped to grab a bite but we're on our way back and we'll show you everything we found."

"Sounds good, I will see you soon-"

"Naru! Wait!" Ayako's voice sounded a little frantic. "One thing I think you should know is that Ueno Masuyo, the girl who had jumped, not only was her family completely surprised by her suicide, but she was also afraid of heights!"

Mai was still alone in the darkness. She wondered what time it was. You really lose all sense of time when you're blind, she thought to herself. I wonder if Masako has trouble sleeping?

Mai decided that she must be blind. Where could she be that was so utterly dark? She had to be blind. She had found a crate and sat on it. Not for the first time, she felt absolutely exhausted. But she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Not with the nightmares. Why were they getting worse? Why was she not able to sleep? Why the sudden insomnia? She couldn't wait for this case to be over and have her meeting with Hozumi. Maybe he would have some answers-

Mai's thought process stopped and her heart raced. Footsteps… But where were they coming from? Was she no longer alone? Where she was? She couldn't speak and unless whoever this was spoke, she might never know. "One more time!" a faint, but familiar voice came from the direction of the footsteps.

Wait, where is Fuyumi? Mai wondered. The steps started again and Mai was able to pinpoint them to right above her head. Am I in the basement?

"John, Ayako and Yasuhara are back," Monk told the priest backstage. "Naru wants us back in Base."

"Should we leave Hoshiko-san alone? We don't know if she'll be attacked again." John hesitated, looking up at the monk. Hoshiko came up behind him.

"Leave me alone for what?" Her presence startled the men. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"No, Hoshiko, you're fine," the priest smiled. "Our researchers just got back with information, I guess Kazuya wants to debrief us."

"Oh, go ahead," she said, smiling. Though, Monk knew that his sister was ignoring him. Not that he blamed her, especially after the argument they just had. "I have the charms that Ayako made, you said they haven't failed you yet!"

"Charms?" Both men looked to each other in confusion. Hoshiko tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah, Ayako gave me two charms." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded up papers. "I thought it was just one, but the paper must have been stuck together or something." She unfolded them and showed the boys. "I figured that out when you found one of them on the floor, John." Monk took the two charms from his sister. "One of them, I know is a protection charm, but the other is written in Sanskrit. I don't recognize the symbol, though."

"Yes, this is definitely one of Ayako's charms," Monk said after analyzing the papers. "But this other one is not. When did you notice this charm?"

"Yesterday, I think," the girl said, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, when I was doing one of my fittings, John found the Sanskrit one on the floor by me. I thought it just fell out of my pocket." She looked over at the charms. "Why? What is it?"

"Well, it's not a protection charm, that's for sure," Monk said, looking at the priest. They both share a look and a nod, turning back to the young actress. "Is it possible that this was hidden in your costume before we got here?"

"No way, Shion would have noticed!" Hoshiko said. John crossed his arms and looked between the siblings. Gears turned in his head.

"Not if she was the one who placed it in there," he replied. "She is the head of the costume department and we found the charm in the costume fitting room."

"I say we bring it to Naru and the others, so long as you keep the protection charm, you should be fine without us around," Monk decided, handing back the protection charm to his sister. "Get back to rehearsal. We'll make sure you get your opening night."

Hoshiko just nodded slowly as her brother ushered their priest friend back to their Base. "Thanks, Nii-san."

"So, what is that charm?" John asked, despite agreeing with the monk, he actually had no clue what exactly was written on the paper.

"It's not a charm," Monk replied as they reached Base. "It's a jinx."

"Where's Mai?" Came the ever asked question from the manager in the room. Monk and John entered to see everyone, minus said brunette, accounted for. The boys looked at each other confused. "Have either of you seen her?"

"Mai was in the lobby with me a little while ago, but ran off," Masako answered. "I assumed she ran here."

"We didn't pass her," John admitted, his face taking on a worried look. Naru stood up.

"Hara-san and Yasuhara-san, stay here, the rest of us will split up and search the building," he ordered, heading for the door. "Be careful when you call her name, since she can't speak, the spirit might try to lead us in the wrong direction."

"Understood!" Everyone split off into different directions.

Okay, so I'm in the basement. Mai told herself as she looked up to the ceiling. She could make out a couple of cracks in the flooring where light shown through. That's gotta be the trapdoor. I would try to climb up and get their attention, but I can't speak. That Ichika girl will probably call me Oiwa again.

I could try to find the light switch, but it probably won't work. I should probably try to find the door but it's probably locked. Damn, Mai, when did you become so cynical?

She found that when you sit in a dark and silent room, you not only lose all sense of time but direction. She could have sat there for three hours for all she knew. Her butt was starting to go numb, so she adjusted her position. If she were to even try to open one of the doors, which one should she end up at? The lobby? Or backstage?

Either would probably be better than sitting alone in the dark. I'm literally a sitting duck for whatever is here…she told herself and then a chill went down her spine. She jumped to her feet and listened to her surroundings carefully. Everything in here is completely still. Why bring me down here?

The basement was too quiet. She had been knocked out and placed in there for a reason. But what exactly was the reason?

"Monk went to the back courtyard, John is checking backstage, no clue where Naru went, then there's us," Ayako commented as she stood in the lobby with the tall Chinese assistant. "And she's not out here, do you think she might be up in the attic?"

The priestess had never seen Lin bolt out so fast. She ran after him up the stairs as he took them three at a time. Now she wasn't exactly short, but Ayako was regretting wearing her heeled boots to work. Out of breath she made it into the attic where the door was open. Yet something was missing.

"What the hell?" There wasn't much in the attic aside from their equipment. So where was the very tall and not easy to hide young man hiding? "Lin! Where did you go!"

"Out here!" Ayako then noticed the open window on the other end of the room. She climbed out with the assistance of the man already out there. She looked around at the scenery around them. The building was quite small compared to the skyscrapers around them in Tokyo. They were out on a balcony with a railing, but was obviously hidden from the ground.

"Why wouldn't there be a door?" The man next to her looked at her to continue. "You know? For workers to get out here for maintenance or something?" But he only shrugged. Well, as much of a shrug as Lin could manage. It was her turn to give him a look. "What made you run up here?" A look of terror passed over her face as she rushed over to the railing and looked over. Not that there was much to see. The balcony was hidden from the ground and the ground hidden from the balcony. "You don't think this spirit possessed Mai and tried to get her to kill herself do you?"

"It tried once, why wouldn't it try again?"

"Mai!" Mai's heart finally stopped racing as she heard the distinct voice of her employer. The flick of a switch could be heard and the basement was illuminated by the lights hanging above her. She raced to the set of stairs that Naru's footsteps came from.

As she stood at the bottom of the stairs, she looked up at Naru knowing exactly what he would ask. "What are you doing down here?" She put her hands up and shrugged her shoulders. "How did you get down here?" She repeated the action. "How long have you been down here?" Once again, she repeated the action. For once, Naru just wasn't taking a hint. "Well, get back up here, Yasuhara and Matsuzaki-san are back."

She raced back up the stairs, happy that she wasn't actually blind.

The moment Lin saw the surprised look on the priestess's face he regretted saying what he had said. "I take it she hasn't told you about it?" Ayako shook her head and Lin briefly explained that Naru had found her about to jump off the roof two nights before. "Seeing as she hasn't told anyone about the incident, I think she would appreciate it if you kept it quieter than I have."

Ayako nodded, then almost did a double take. Did Lin just make a joke? She was about to question it when her phone dinged in her pocket. "Naru found Mai," she said, softly smiling. "he seems to have a sixth sense about her."

Lin nodded and headed back into the attic. However, the priestess swore she heard him mumble something. "You're telling me…" She was too horrified to find the humor in the words.

Back in Base, safe and sound, everyone was eager to get their stories straightened out. "What did you find out?" Naru asked the two researchers. Yasuhara gathered his notes in his lap.

"Not much, honestly," he sighed. "Oshiro Kyou's cousin didn't tell us too much. They were really only close when they were children. She wasn't aware that Kyou was on any medications and had no clue that she was suicidal. She assumed Kyou had a falling out with her parents and decided to take her life as stated in her note. According to her, Kyou was never interested in the blind or mute and had no obvious fascination with the Wise Monkey lore."

"Ueno Masuyo, was a fairly similar case," Ayako continued. "Her brother was completely surprised that his sister jumped off the roof. She loved acting. She was excited to have the lead role but sad that Kyou died. She had no known obsession with blind or mute people or the folklore at all, but she had a terrible fear of heights." She looked over her notes as well. "The fact that she was even able to get out onto the roof surprised him. Let alone decide to end her life by jumping off it."

"So what do you make of it?" Naru asked. "You think her suicide was actually a murder?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know what exactly happened that night," the priestess admitted. "I also don't think Kyou killed herself, but I have no proof. Since both cases were closed by the police so long ago, there's nothing we can do but assume that their conclusion was accurate. But Masuyo's suicide seems a little sketchy to me."

Naru turned to the medium in the room. "Hara-san? You had a vision?" The girl nodded.

"Yes," she said and took a breath. She explained the vision, standing on the roof in a body not her own, hearing the thoughts of neither her own nor the body of whom she stood in. Hearing what the medium was saying, Ayako looked to Lin, hoping to see some sort of reaction. None. "After I felt myself fall, Monk awoke me from the vision."

"Did you find anything in the footage from yesterday?" Monk asked. Naru nodded and gestured Lin to play the audio that Mai had found. The nursery rhyme filled the room as everyone tried to make sense of the lyrics. There had to be a connection, right?

"We still haven't figured out what the connection is to the spirit present," Naru answered the unspoken question. He folded his arms and turned to the monk and priest in the room. "What have you two found?"

Monk held up the charm he had taken from his sister. "Star mentioned having multiple charms from Ayako." Said priestess's head tilted in confusion. "She showed me this. Ayako, is this a protection charm that you made?"

She shook her head. "No, on rare occasions I'll use a Sanskrit charm but I don't recognize that symbol," she replied.

"That would be because it's not a charm at all. It's a jinx." He watched as gears started turning in everyone's head. "If this was placed in Star's costume before we came here, it would explain why she was having so many attacks. The question is, how did it get there?"

Everyone began to eye each other one at a time. Well, everyone except Mai. Gears were turning in her head. At the very least she understood why her voice was taken and which spirit most likely did it. Masuyo was afraid of heights, deathly afraid. If she let that fear control her life and sensed Masako's fear, she could have taken her sight in order to force her to live her fear, just as she did. Mai told herself. Masako is afraid that no one would believe what she saw. By that logic, am I afraid that no one would believe what I say?

She shifted in her seat as the nursery rhyme's melody got stuck in her head. Mai, you're theory I amateur at best, Naru would say. The likelihood that you're right is slim to none, right? She sighed, thinking of the lyrics. Why that song? She wondered. In the night before dawn. A crane and a tortoise slipped. Could that possibly mean Masako and I? It was evening when we were both attacked and lost our sight and voice. Who is behind me? The jinx that Hoshiko was carrying? Maybe…wait!

When Mai stood up and bolted out of the room, needless to say, it startled everyone. "Mai! Wait!" But she ignored their calls. Why hadn't she noticed this before? She felt something was off when they had checked the experiment the day before. Why didn't she realize it then?

She ran into the spare costume room where the message had yet to be washed off. "Nice try, Ghost Hunter." It was the first time a spirit managed to realize not only were they dead, but that their group was in fact searching for ghosts. Something didn't add up. And now she knew why. She went behind the door and she saw it. Naru always made sure there was no way anything could be tampered with without him knowing. This experiment was no different. He even made it impossible for the spirit haunting the property to interfere with the experiment.

Behind the door was a charm Ayako made to keep deceased spirits out. If this was here the whole time, then why was the message written? She asked herself as her friends came into the room. "Mai! What the hell?" Monk exclaimed as they barged in.

But Mai just pointed at the charm on the door. Guys! Please tell me you see it too! She mentally screamed to them. "If Ayako's charm was here, then how did the words appear on the wall?" John asked. Thank you, John!

"Simple, we have multiple culprits," Naru answered, folding his arms. "There were no obvious signs of tampering from a living person, but I've taken other ideas into consideration to explain this."

That bastard! Mai cursed in her head. You wanted to throw that idea to the wind and now you're taking credit for it! She tried her best not to let her anger show and took a breath. C'mon, Mai, now you have confirmation that you were right. We are dealing with a poltergeist. Now who?

She thought about the case. "So, we're dealing with a poltergeist now? How is that possible?" Monk asked. "A poltergeist can't take away someone's sight or voice. There has to be some sort of strong spirit here."

"I never said there wasn't." Hoshiko has been the main target of this case. The jinx that she had would explain why she had all of the incidents, but who might have put it on her? "As I said, there are multiple culprits." Multiple culprits…

Too bad you never got to play the role you stole…That's what Masako said was in her vision. "So who is the cause of the poltergeist?" John asked. Kagome, Kagome, bird in the cage. When? Oh when will it come out?

Bird in the cage? Who is in a cage? Mai wondered, her brows knitting above her eyes. "Again, that's simple to explain. It's cause by the spirit." Who is behind me?

Finally understanding, Mai once again darted out the door. "Follow her!" She could hear Naru shout, but she didn't care. She knew exactly what was happening and hoped that she would be able to stop it. Someone's been just a puppet in this whole thing, she noted, racing up the stairs. Someone who held animosity to Hoshiko the entire time. Someone who had their role stolen from them. It all made sense when she ran into the open attic door.

"Ichika! Let go of me!" Hoshiko shouted as she struggled against the other actress's grip. Let her go, Kyou! Mai tried to shout. Only to remember she no longer had her voice.

"What was that? I'm sorry little psychic girl, but I can't quite hear what you have to say. Such a shame that you lost your voice. Now you're really just a pretty face," the actress scoffed, pulling the girl towards the window. "Your stupid boss should have let you jump. From what I saw in your mind it probably would have ended your suffering."

You're wrong. She heard footsteps behind her, just at Ichika had Hoshiko at the window. Ichika gave a swish of her wrist and the attic door slammed shut behind the psychic. Mai felt something force her forward as the actress beckoned her with her finger. She wants us to suffer the same fate she made Masuyo face.

"Mai! Open the door!" She could hear Monk and Naru bang and shout behind the wood. Jeez, you'd think they'd realize by now that I didn't shut it in the first place! She would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't forced to climb out the window.

"Nii-san! We're out here!" Hoshiko shouted only to double over in pain in the actress's arm.

"Quiet! You stupid bitch!" Hoshiko just whimpered as Ichika dragged her to the platform where Mai had almost jumped. "Masuyo was no where near as bad as you! How can some ungrateful, bratty teen land the lead role for this play and still be more annoying than the rest of the cast and the directors combined? Everyone will be so thankful when I get rid of you." She laid the younger actress on the platform and went over to the investigator. "And you, well, I'm sure you'll be just as grateful as your so-called friends when your life is over. It's not like anyone would miss a little orphan like you."

Ichika grabbed Mai's arms and threw her to the railing, which she managed to grab before she could topple over it and onto the unsuspecting pedestrians below. Not that there was any way to get their attention. The sun was setting and during this in-between time, the roof wasn't well illuminated. "The only question is, who do I take care of first?"

"Rin! Pyou! Tou! Shah! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!" Never in Mai's short career had she been so happy to see the priestess at the window behind the possessed actress. "Mai! Are you okay!"

Mai nodded as Ichika struggled against her invisible bounds. "How! How the hell did you get through the door!"

"John, separate the spirit from her, Monk exorcise it once the separation is complete!" Naru ordered as he rushed to Mai's aid, Lin went to help Hoshiko off the ledge.

"Ha! You think you can stop me? On my stomping grounds? What a pompous lard!" Ichika practically laughed as John readied his Bible. "What are you doing!" Monk climbed out of the window to grab the girl and carry her inside. Everyone climbed back in after them.

Ayako handed several charms to Mai. "Help me put these around the room, we need to seal the spirit in here to exorcise it," she explained. Mai nodded and together they sealed the room as John turned to the right page.

"In the beginning was the Word…" John read as Hoshiko clung close to Mai. I guess she's never witnessed an exorcism before, Mai considered, keeping her eyes on the exorcism before her. She's learned to not take her eyes off of the action, other wise she get attacked by said spirit or thrown into well. But why is she shaking so much?

Ichika's head flew back, her mouth agape and a mist flowing from it. Once it had been completely released, the girl's eyes rolled back and she fell into Lin's arms. "To think this adorable thing is a priest, guess there's a first for everything-" the mist was interrupted by chanting.

"Nau maku san man dabazara dan kan!" Monk continued his chant as the spirit screamed and writhed with each word. Mai felt the air around her grow heavy and the grip of her friend's sister grow tighter around her arm. Is she that afraid? Why doesn't she know more about this stuff from Monk? I would think that he might have taught her warding magic at some point, right?

"Masuyo! Come on out!" the mist shouted. "Kagome, Kagome!" The singsong voice changed with laughter as it continued the lyrics. "Who is behind me? Well? Who's behind you, Hoshiko-chan?"

"Leave them alone!" Hoshiko's voice had changed, Mai looked up at her as she challenged this spirit. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"John!" Naru ordered, the priest nodded in understanding. He opened his Bible again and recited the prayer he had done before. So Kyou attached herself to Ichika, while Masuyo attached herself to Hoshiko? Mai wondered as her friends battled with not just one, but two spirits. I guess that makes sense.

Suddenly, Mai felt Hoshiko's legs give way and had to support her. "It's over, Kyou, let's move on, together!" There were two different colored mists in the room. One Kyou and the other Masuyo. "It's time to go!"

"As if!" Kyou scoffed. "You think that after the last ten years of hiding here that I would just forgive you for killing me? You drove me to kill myself. You killed me and stole my role!"

"We had drinks with the rest of the casts and you took too many of your pills after we were done! I'm sorry that you blame me, but it's time to move on! C'mon, it's gotta be better than roaming the halls of this dump. I know you're sick of it too!" Mai couldn't believe it. Was a spirit attempting to cleanse another spirit? "It's gotta be tiring, hating people you've never met before."

"What do you know?" the other mist snapped. Monk had ceased his chanting and John had continued his prayer. "You stole my role and I had to pay. You're the last person that should be content, but then again, you got what you wanted when we were alive."

"I forgave you, Kyou, I thought we were friends, but I guess not." The mist seemed to sigh and float upward. "I'm moving on without you, have fun alone in this place." The mist glowed and faded away.

"You little bitch! Get back here!" Kyou cried out, but Masuyo had already crossed over. She was alone now. "Masuyo…"

Now, how are we going to cleanse this thing? Mai wondered. The room seemed to fill with a sort of sadness. Her chest grew heavy, like she wanted to cry but her mind wouldn't let her.

"Masuyo, you little bitch! You think I'll let you get away with this!" And it was then that the mist vanished. Had Kyou crossed over that easily?

A small tickle in the back of Mai's throat slowly became unbearable until she found herself coughing. Hacking to the point that she was reduced to her knees trying to catch her breath. "Mai!" Came the chorus of her friends gathering around her to help her.

Luckily, the attack wasn't as severe as it had been the day before. Within seconds she was able to catch her breath. "I'm…I'm fine guys…" she panted, then her eyes widened. She jumped up with more glee than she's felt the past month. "My voice! I can speak again!"

"I was starting to get used to the silent Mai, it was much less annoying," Ayako teased patting the girl on the head, earning a pout.

"Ayako! You're so mean!"

"Um, excuse me?" a meek voice startled the group. Everyone turned to see Ichika sitting on the floor next to Lin. "But who are you guys?"

Next chapter is a wrap-up-slash-post-case chapter to wrap up all the lose ends. I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope to update in a couple of weeks! :D Review please!