So sorry for the lack of an update! But at least it wasn't six months this time!...no?...okay I get it. lol Obviously this year won't be my most active as far as chapter updates. (I still have to update The Haunt Continues but that's an update I hope is worth the wait for you guys!) Anyway, I won't take up your time at the end there's a bit of a personal update from me if you're interested in the goings on in my life lol. Enjoy and I really hope you do!

Chapter 2-Emotion

"Wow, this is beautiful!" Mai gasped as she gazed at the scene before her. They were standing on a grassy field before a lake, where the stars' reflection glittered and danced across it. The moon was full above them, lighting up the area in a peaceful glow. She turned a looked up at the young man who had brought her here. He bore a very strong resemblance to her boss, but she knew it wasn't him. They were two completely different people.

"This was a place I was fond of when I was alive," Jin explained, taking her hand and bringing her closer to the water before motioning her to sit. The grass was soft beneath her as she knelt down, it was so easy to get comfortable there. "It was a nice place to clear my head."

"Were you young when you died?" She wasn't sure where the question came from, but she knew she had to ask.

"Younger than most," he answered, sitting next to her. If Mai thought he was going to elaborate on his own, she was wrong.

"How did you die?" Her hand whipped around to cover her mouth at her bluntness. How could she go right out and ask that? What was wrong with her?

But Jin merely smiled and grasped her hand. "That's a story for another day." He looked out to the lake.

"Aren't you going to show me something?" Mai asked, not taking her eyes off of him. His smile remained as he kept his gaze on the scene before him.

"Tonight I have nothing to show you," he said simply. "Only a visit."

"Oh." Upon seeing his face turn to her, she realized what she must have made him think. "Oh, no! It's not that I'm not grateful. I really am, especially since I've seen you so often between cases when normally I wouldn't, it's just…"

"Now, that you have a case, things would go back to the way they were?" His eyes were kind in the glow of the moonlight.

"Yes. No. Maybe?" Tongue-tied as she was, she really wasn't sure what she had been hoping for. A vision? A friend? Normalcy?

The truth was, Mai was confused. She had gone a year and a half with a spirit guide whose soul purposed seemed to be to help guide her through visions. Then, thanks to events six months ago, she lost contact with Jin and for the most part lost her grasp of her visions. Now things were supposed to be, as Jin said, back to normal, but they weren't. Jin never visited her between cases. There were only a few times Jin showed up in her dreams during a case where he didn't intend on showing her a clue to their case. Jin was never so open about his life before now.

A lot had changed in a short amount of time for Mai and, honestly, it scared her a bit. Probably more than a bit. A wave of uneasiness wafted through her body as she sat there, trying to figure out what to say. For a long time she wanted things to go back to how they were before. Normal. But she knew deep down that things would never be exactly the same. So she was now starting to wonder, was this her new normal?

As though sensing her apprehension, Jin gave her hand a squeeze. "Unfortunately, I never seem to have anything to show you until just before you enter a dangerous situation. It seems that that part of our relationship hasn't changed," he explained, turning back to the lake. "However, since you locked me out several months ago, I've figured that with our connection repaired, I should visit you when you have your nightmares." His face became somber as he looked down. "I'm sorry you've been having so many of them. It's partially my fault."

"My nightmares are from my previous cases, not our connection being severed," Mai responded, perking up as she realized something. "In fact, I wasn't having a nightmare tonight. I wasn't dreaming at all. Jin, why did you bring me here? Is something going to happen? What's going on?"

"I simply thought you would enjoy the view," he said, giving her a smile she knew was forced.

"You're not telling me something, Jin, I don't like that."

At that, his grip on her hand became almost painful, making her gasp. "Promise me." His voice was a hoarse whisper.

"What?"

"Promise me!" For the first time, Mai saw her guide afraid. Afraid of what, she wasn't sure, but in that instant he never looked so different from the man he had been impersonating since she met him.

"I-I promise," she stammered, her heart racing.

"Promise you'll be careful…"

The grip on her hand was gone, forcing her to look down. Jin had let go of her, but before she could process this, she looked up and saw that he was gone entirely. "Jin?" A mere whisper. "Jin." A little louder.

She stood up on trembling limbs.

"Jin!"

"Jin!" Mai shot up in her bed drenched in sweat. Her heart raced a mile a minute as she gasped for breath.

April Day 2, 5:15 A.M.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

She quickly slammed the snooze button out of reflex as she tried to compose herself. What the hell was Jin trying to tell her? Does it have something to do with the vision I saw on the train the day before?

Dread filled her as she scrambled for her phone about to dial her friend who had made an appearance in the vision, only to realize the time. "I can't call him now," she resolved. "Even if he is awake he's probably doing school work or something."

Placing her phone back on the nightstand, Mai took a deep breath in a failed attempt to calm herself. She had never been so itchy to run off her stress before. She only hoped Tsubame was just as ready as she was.

Her dream that morning still had her shaking in the afternoon as she scrambled across the streets of Tokyo to make it to the greenhouse on time. Not that she really expected to get more than a "You're late," from Naru, he wasn't as uptight about tardiness as he had been in the past.

I wonder what he would have to say about my dream, she wondered as the crosswalk sign flashed that it was safe to cross. She shook her head as she matched the brisk pace of everyone else who had waited for the light to change. Not like I could ask him, she decided. He doesn't need to know that my guide disguises himself to look like him. She stopped, having come to the greenhouse. Wait, does he even know I have a guide?

She shrugged off the notion, figuring the man probably already assumed that she had a guide to help her through her visions. There was no need to elaborate on something he probably already knew. Yet there was still a nagging thought that tugged at her.

Buzz. Buzz.

On the step about to open the door, she paused and pulled out her phone from the side pocket of her schoolbag. "Yasuhara-san," she said absently and opened the text message.

I didn't forget about what you told me yesterday. I figured I would let you know that my car will be in the shop for another day. No white sedan as of yet. Keep you posted. :)

A shiver of unease ran down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she quickly whipped her head around to see if someone were watching her. Snap out of it, Mai, she scolded herself and opened the door. There are a ton of people running around now that schools have gotten out, if anything one of them saw you walking to this building and were confused. You are in your uniform and I doubt that many high schoolers are interested in a greenhouse that grows tea.

Shutting the door behind her she headed for Base. Or maybe it was whatever spirit is here that wants to let you know that it sees you, she concluded, sliding her schoolbag off of her shoulder as she walked into the room. Should I tell Naru about my vision with Yasuhara? Was it even a vision or just a hallucination?

"Mai?" Amidst her thoughts, she hadn't registered that she wasn't alone in the room. Blinking hard, she finally registered her black clad employer, silent coassistant, and brotherly monk. "Is everything okay?"

It was Monk who had spoken. He had been peering over the monitors with Naru while Lin typed on his computer. Mai simply shrugged and let her bag fall to the ground next to one of the folding chairs. "I just have a bad feeling," she answered truthfully.

"Did you have this feeling before you arrived to the property?" Naru asked, making Mai purse her lips in thought.

"No." It was only a half lie when she thought about it. She really didn't start having an uneasy feeling until she was almost at the greenhouse the day before. "I can't say what I'm feeling, but I know it doesn't feel good or right."

"Hara-san said something similar when she arrived," Naru said plainly, turning his attentions to the black notebook sitting in front of him. He scribbled a note and closed it. "She and John are walking through the greenhouse. I'd like you and Monk to do a temperature sweep."

"And what about when we get to the greenhouse?" Mai asked with a shrug. "Do you want us to take several readings from different parts of the building? Won't it be hard to get accurate readings in there?"

At that, Naru stood up and went to one of the boxes that had carried their equipment. He pulled out something and handed it to his short assistant. It was an oddly shaped camera sitting on a handle with a screen on the back end of it. Upon Mai's curious glance, Naru decided to elaborate.

"It's a hand held thermography camera," he said, reclaiming his seat in front of the monitors. "Feel free to use it in the main building but it should come in handy in the greenhouse."

"Cool," she said absently as she turned the device in her hands. He must have just gotten this, I don't remember it being in the inventory. "Ready to try this out, Monk?"

"Sure," the man replied grabbing the thermometer and clipboard. Mai began to follow him.

"And Mai?" She paused and turned back to her boss. "Be sure not to break this one, it's quite expensive."

"You should have gotten it insured!" she called back and stuck her tongue out at him, much to his amusement.

"You two seem to be getting along more," Monk commented, while Mai turned on the thermal camera.

"I blame the last case we were on and the fact that a six year old's cat landed on his head a few days ago," she answered nonchalantly as she pointed the camera at Monk. "Wow, this is so cool!"

On the screen she could see her friend's outline filled in with shades of red and yellows, indicating a heat signature. The wall behind him appeared blue in comparison. Mai handed the device to Monk so he could see. "Just point it at me and you'll see what I mean."

"You're right, this is pretty cool," he replied, pointing the camera at different areas of the hall. "I see what Naru meant about using it in the greenhouse. We'll be able to actually see the temperature change if there is one. But I wonder…" He walked up to the wall and pressed his hand against it. He pulled back and pointed the camera at the spot. "I thought so, we'll have to keep an eye out when we use this thing."

"Why?" Mai cocked her head to the side.

"Take a look," he said handing her back the device. She pointed it at the wall and noticed a heat signature on the wall. In the shape of a handprint. She looked back at the monk confused. "Now, point the camera at me." She did and watched through the screen as Monk pressed his hand against the wall again, pulling it away revealing another handprint. "We leave a heat trail, kind of like when you sit in a chair that someone just got out of and its warm."

"Hmm…" she hummed thoughtfully. "Do spirits leave heat signatures? I know they can cause cold spots and temperature drops."

"Naru would be the one to ask," Monk answered truthfully. "I've never used technology to document activity until the case at your school. But I mean, if a spirit can start a fire I don't see why they wouldn't have a heat signature."

"I wonder if Naru put a thermography camera in the greenhouse." She started to walk and talk, vaguely remembering what their actual task was. "Especially with the types of attacks that go on in there. I wonder if we could see an abnormality in the vines before or after they attacked someone."

They were on the stairs, figuring they should start at the top and work their way down, when Monk stopped and gave the high school girl a peculiar glance. Mai stopped and faced him, matching his look with one of slight confusion. "What?"

"Nothing," he said with a shake of his head and a smile. "You've just grown up a lot since we met. You're no longer trying to come up with theories based on past experiences; you're able to come up with new theories that make us all think."

"What? You mean my 'hot spot' theory?" She asked raising a brow.

"Well, I wouldn't have thought about it until we found something on the camera." Monk shrugged and started up the stairs once more. "Come on, let's get this done before we get yelled at."

"Okay," She shook her head and followed him up the stairs.

"Do you think the exorcism worked?" Masako asked as they wandered the aisles of plants. "For her, I mean."

John stopped and gave Masako a confused look as realization set it. She was still upset that she didn't sense the demon earlier. He gave a gentle smile and quickened his pace to match hers. "I spoke with her yesterday when I arrived and she said she's felt better than she has in months. Have you sensed anything around her so far?"

"No however, I'm not sure how much we can really rely on that." She looked back at the young man and realized her bitterness. With a shake of her head let out a breath. "I know, it's not my fault and I'm not the only one who didn't notice the added presence with her. I'm surprised Lin and Naru didn't notice it either, but I suppose we were all preoccupied with cases and among other things."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't blame myself a little for not seeing it either," the priest admitted, sheepishly giving his head a scratch. "At least we were both able to help her before it got too far."

"I didn't do much," Masako replied looking away.

"You were there to make sure that she wasn't possessed again. If you weren't there and it attached itself to her again I wouldn't have known and Mai might not have told me if she noticed it happening." Again he smiled, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sometimes it's not a matter of how much we do but what we do. You used your abilities to confirm that the exorcism was a success, you've done quite a bit, actually."

Masako smiled at the young priest. She was being ridiculous and she knew it. Glad that a friend was able to make her see reason, she said, "You're a good friend, John. Sometimes I wish that was a quality I possessed."

Slightly flustered, John scratched his head again and the two continued their walkthrough. Never once did it occur to them there were several cameras and audio devices in the greenhouse. Never figured that there just might be someone eavesdropping on their conversation from Base.

"So where is Ayako? I thought she was supposed to come in today?" Mai asked as she wrote down the temperature of the last office before they headed for the greenhouse. Meanwhile, Monk was having a little fun with the thermal camera.

"I asked Naru the same thing when I got here," he replied, reaching his arm up to place a handprint on the ceiling, he pointed the camera at it and grinned. "Apparently she wasn't able to get out of her shift at the hospital."

"She waited until last minute to switch shifts?" Mai asked tilting her head to the side as Monk leaned against the wall and then stepped back to admire what it did to the wall on the camera.

"Well, we did just hear about the case last minute-"

I don't want another pretty face, I don't want just anyone to hold.

"He's not even hear and he still managed to hack my phone!" Monk groaned as he pulled out the device from his pocket. He looked at the caller I.D. and silenced the phone before placing it back in his pocket.

"Who was that?" Mai asked with a raised brow.

"Just someone that I'll call back later." He headed for the door when Mai picked up the thermometer. "We just have to take care of the greenhouse right?"

"That's our last stop." Strolling through the door and the hallway, Mai cast a glance at the Monk behind her as his phone chirped. "You sure you don't want to give them a call back? I can wait for you by the greenhouse."

"You'd be the one to get locked in, remember?" the older man teased, earning a pout.

"That's why I said I'd wait by the greenhouse." She rolled her eyes in irritation. "Did I make that much of an impression of being an idiot since you guys met me?"

It was the monk's turn to roll his eyes. "No, Miss Self-deprecation." He held the back door open for her. "You've made enough of an impression that for whatever reason, spirits are attracted to you. Both the good and the bad."

"You got me there-wait…" Her eyes squinted in suspicion as she looked out to the greenhouse. "John and Masako should be done in there right?"

"Yeah, I thought I saw them just a minute ago, why?"

"Shouldn't the door be closed them?" Sure enough, the monk looked and saw the glass door was wide open.

"Maybe Takuya or one of the other workers are in there? It's not like this place is abandoned," he said with a shrug as the hesitant psychic followed him.

Day 1, 6:45 P.M.

"Mother? What are you doing here?" a certain priestess asked in confusion as she hung her stethoscope around her neck.

"Is it a crime to visit my only daughter at her job? I figured you would be getting off soon that maybe we could get dinner together."

Matsuzaki Reina was a rather attractive woman with a youthful appearance to the point of looking like her daughter's sister rather than her mother. At the age of fifty-five, Ayako truly hoped she would receive similar compliments. It would be a nice change from being referred to as an Old Hag from that Dirty Old Monk.

Why are you letting him come up? Ayako wondered to herself with a mental shake of her head. "No, however, it's a little suspicious considering you already came to visit me on Sunday. It's not like we work in the same hospital."

Reina tossed her dark brown shoulder length hair with her hand and gave a shrug. "I had been dropping by and saw that you were busy so I didn't offer to take you to lunch, but I figured we could make it up with dinner tonight. We haven't had some girl time in a long time."

That's the lamest excuse I've heard yet for her to berate me for not giving her grandchildren yet. The priestess gave a sigh, she really wasn't up for going out after work or really spending time with anyone. All she really wanted was to curl up in bed with a bowl of ice cream and watch whatever chick flick she could find without pulling out her DVDs.

"Any way we can reschedule?" She finally said rubbing her temple. "It's been a rough day and I'm too tired to really enjoy anyone's company tonight."

"Fine, I suppose quality time can wait another night," Reina relented, with a breath of disappointment. "Do you work tomorrow?"

"A friend of mine asked for my help in one of his cases, but I don't have to be there until the afternoon," Ayako said giving her mother a smile she hoped she bought. The priestess loved her mother dearly, but their relationship had been strained when the spirit of the old tree near the hospital her parents worked would tell her when patients were going to die. It didn't exactly improve when she decided to study the ways of a Miko.

Needless to say, Ayako was very happy the day she moved out and could spend limited time with her parents. That is, limit their time to only what was enjoyable. "I suppose we could do lunch, I'm come by your place tomorrow and we can decide where then. Bye, Sweetheart!" Reina said with a much too cheerful smile and left her daughter to watch in confusion.

"Weird enough your mother stops by twice in one week," Chikako said, popping up behind Ayako with her hands on her hips. "But even she was too cheerful." The nurse placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm gonna wish you luck with whatever it is she wants to talk to you about."

"I'm gonna need it," the priestess replied with a shake of her head and crossing her arms. "She's probably going to ask me when I'm going to settle down with someone and give her a few grandkid since I'm her only hope of that."

"Jeez, you're not even twenty-five yet!" Chikako rolled her eyes as they both walked back to the nurses station and continued their paperwork. "Usually that's when the family starts asking when are you going to get your life together, at least for me." She let out a sigh and threw her head back. "My mother is still begging me for grandchildren and I'm nowhere near thirty yet!"

"Didn't your brother just turn twenty-five?" Ayako asked with a smirk.

"Men are always on a different standard, they aren't usually asked when they're going to get their life together until they are between twenty-eight and thirty," the nurse explained before turning around and giving the other a look. "Or were you trying to get me to set you up?"

"No way!" It was the priestess's turn to roll her eyes as she stacked her papers with a little more forced than necessary. "Besides I don't think we're really each other's type."

"And you have that monk friend of yours too, I'm sure you could get him to help you out with getting your mom off of your back."

"Are you kidding me?" Ayako raised a brow. "Subject him to her? He will never have a moment's peace, especially if she thought we were dating, she'd be planning and putting down payments for a wedding before introductions are made."

Chikako snorted with laughter, earning another smirk out of the priestess. "You're just going to have to grin and bear it, I guess. You'll find someone, but at your own pace, and if your mom can't accept that then she'll just have to find a new hobby instead of planning her daughter's life."

"You're not wrong, Chikako," Ayako said with a smile, but it fell once she turned around. Something still doesn't feel right…

"Okay, Mai, I'll give you this one," Monk said after they walked into the greenhouse. "No one's here and its weird that the door was open."

"Either Masako and John forgot to close it or someone ran out of here without thinking to do it," Mai answered. They made their way through the tea plants and toward the haunted tomatoes. Mai observed the changes in heat on the thermal camera.

It was strange to say the least. The tea plants showed temperature fluctuations that decreased the further away from the base of the plant the leaves were. Which made sense because when she pointed the device at Monk, his fingers were cooler than his torso. Now when she made her way over to the tomatoes, the tips of the vines were just as hot as the base of the plant.

"I wonder…" she muttered to herself as she reached out and touched the plant. Just as she suspected, she could actually feel the heat coming off of the plant. I know my hands tend to get cold but this is-

She didn't finish her thought as she watched the vine start to curl around her fingers. Snatching her hand away with a squeak, she turned and saw Monk snap his head up from his phone. "Seriously?" she asked with a raised brow. "I thought you said the call could wait?"

"Sorry, she texted me," he said, sliding the phone in his pocket again. "What happened?"

She? Mai wondered but shook her head and pointed to the tomatoes. "The vine grabbed me."

"No way, are you sure about that?"

Why do I suddenly understand why Ayako always thumps him on the head? "Here, I can show you," she said rewinding the recording of the thermal camera.

"Is that who I think it is?" Michiru said squinting to see across the street. After having not gotten an immediate response she elbowed one of her best friends who had been lost in her donut from the coffee shop. "Kei, look, damn it!"

"What?" the pigtailed friend replied in annoyance. "It's Kuroda, she lives in Tokyo so she's allowed to hangout and maybe even go on a date. What's your problem?"

"I don't care that Kuroda might be out on a date," Michiru said rolling her eyes. "I care because who is that with her?"

Keiko swallowed and squinted across the street. "No way," she gasped letting her eyes grow wide. "I thought he was dating-"

"We have to call Mai!"

"She's working on a case, isn't she?"

"Well, shouldn't he?"

"Michi, don't-okay you're going to do it anyway."

Michiru already had Mai's number dialed.

Kono omoi wo keshite shimau ni wa, mada jinsei nagai deshou?

"Michiru…" Mai said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, that Keiko had discreetly sewn into her skirt a while back. Something about more pockets in girls' clothes, and looked at the caller ID. "Moshi, moshi."

"And you yelled at me for my phone-" Monk teased with crossed arms and an amused smirk.

"You were just so engrossed in your phone over a text, which we need to discuss later," Mai said with a roll of her eyes. "Sorry, Michi, can I call you back?"

"So you can get back to making out with your attractive boss?" Michiru teased through the phone, causing Mai to groan.

"You know I wouldn't do that-"

"You did sleep with him," she heard Keiko add.

"You guys are taking that out of context-" Mai took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "We'll argue this later, what's up? I'm in the middle of work and I don't want to get yelled at."

"Is Yasuhara-san working with you today?" Michiru asked leading Mai to raise a brow.

"No, I think he has some school commitment or something, why?"

"Isn't he dating that Kiko girl? The one that came to the Christmas party?" Keiko asked, confusing Mai even further.

"I honestly don't know," she answered with a shrug. "They are really good friends and I think they like each other but I don't know if they ever made it official. Although, there were some things that happened last case-"

"Mai, stop rambling." The sternness in Michiru's voice shut Mai up immediately. She wasn't used to her friend being so serious. "We're by Hachiko Square and we're pretty sure we see him."

"Okay, well, maybe's taking a walk to wind down after his work," Mai said with a shrug. "You're allowed to say 'hi' to him, you didn't have to call me to make sure it's okay. A text would have been-"

"He's with Kuroda."

That threw Mai through a loop. She must have physically reacted because Monk wore a confused and concerned face. Yasuhara was with Kuroda? How did they even know each other? "Okay, maybe she asked for directions or something-" She heard Keiko curse.

"Well, she thanked him with a kiss and he returned it," Michiru narrated with an amused yet monotone voice. "Mai, you still there?"

She was, but she was very confused. When they finished the resort case two weeks earlier, the Yasuhara and Kiko seemed to be doing better. Sure they had a disagreement, but they seemed to work it out, right? "Yeah, I'm still here. Look, I have to go, I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation-"

"Like they broke up?"

"I mean, I haven't talked to Kiko since our last case and I didn't ask Yasuhara about her when I talked to him yesterday." She took a deep breath. "Even if you did see him, it's not really our business is it?"

"I guess not, but-"

"I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." She hung up her phone and tried to figure out what she had just been told. Finally, she picked her head up and saw the look Monk gave her. "What?"

"We've got some things to discuss and maybe another clue." Monk pointed down and Mai looked to see that while she was talking to her friends, a vine had decided to latch on to her ankle.

With a deep breath, Mai looked back up and pursed her lips. "Please get it off of me…"

Day 2, 9:23 P.M.

Naru had sent everyone home a little while earlier. They had caught some interesting evidence, even if it did happen while his assistant was on the phone instead of working. However, that wasn't on his mind as he turned to his taller assistant.

No he was thinking about another conversation he overheard. He just couldn't bring it up until now when the office building was empty. Lin looked up from his computer having felt eyes on him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Did you know?" was all Naru said.

"Did I know, what?" Lin asked in a way that sounded like he was done with the dramatics of The Oliver Davis.

"That Mai was possessed."

And thus the staredown began.

Uh oh, Naru knows! Well, sort of...will he confront Mai about it? Let me know what you think and I know I kind of went out in left field in this chapter but trust me there's a reason.

I know you're expecting an update, basically the bad news is the kids I nanny are going into preschool so their mom doesn't need me as much anymore since she can get her work done while they are there and when they take their nap. So my hours there have been cut significantly. The good news is their mom let me know this was happening back in April and said it was okay if I looked for other opportunities. And I ended up getting a part time job at a bank meaning I can still watch the kids from time to time depending on when they need me. The good news is I'm writing a little more now, so hopefully this means my writer's block is subsiding at least a little bit. The bad news is school just started and juggling that and two jobs (technically 4 since there are two other families I regularly babysit for) my time for writing won't be as abundant as we all would like.

But last bit of good news, I'm reading again which happens to get my creative juices flowing so hopefully there won't be as much of a gap between my next update.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and thank you even more if you managed to read my rant above lol. Please leave a review and tell me what you think, any predictions, also brownie points for those who can tell me the names of the songs used as ringtones!

Bye :)