Ayako frowned as she stared out the window, watching the downpour as it grew heavier.

"They should be back by now, should they not?" She asked, glancing back.

"I'm sure they'll arrive any minute now." Bou-san reassured her with a smile, but he checked his phone for the fifth time in the last five minutes, his lips tugging downwards at the lack of phone call or text from Mai.

It was almost dinner and no word had arrived from the three who went up to the tunnel that morning. The silence was already concerning enough, but the sudden heavy rain and darkening sky left them with an ominous feeling.

The reason for Naru's extended stay in England plagued Bou-san's mind and like Ayako had read his thoughts, she turned back around with a dark expression.

"You don't think…"

Lin stood abruptly, looking disturbed as he snatched his phone from the table and dialed Naru's number. They waited, listening to the muffled ringing from the line when it stopped, followed by John's voice as he answered.

"John, why are you answe—the hospital?" Lin's face dropped, paling at his words. "Where? Give me the address."

John lowered Naru's cellphone from his ear. "Lin is on the way." He told them as he passed the device back to the boy sitting on the edge of the hospital bed. He glanced down at his hands, which were dirtied with dry mud and then cringed. "I'm going to go and see if there are any towels we can use to clean up."

Mai watched him leave the room, turning back to glance at Naru, where he remained unmoving since the doctor came and treated the cut on his head. Thankfully, he didn't need stitches or have a concussion. She was so sure that he would've had to get stitches, considering how much blood was pouring down the side of his face the whole time they walked back to the village.

"Are you alright?" Naru suddenly asked, turning to look at her.

Mai sat up straighter, trying to hide the look of surprise at his question. "I'm alright…" She nodded slowly, through her words trailed off in an awkward manner, which he raised an eyebrow at. "I just… about what we learned." About Izumi's death not being an accident. She couldn't stop thinking about it. "And Kimura-san. He must have known about it. Maybe even—"

"Do you honestly think he is capable of that?" Naru asked her, turning away so she was speaking to his back.

Mai thought about how the man had reacted when he pushed Naru. The look of guilt and panic in his eyes was clear as day. "No." She shook her head.

"He may not be a murderer, but he knows something." Naru let his words settle for a moment, like he was thinking of something to say. "Have you even tried to contact Gene?"

"I, uh, no... I haven't." Mai answered, stuttering over her words when his eyes were suddenly on her again, all observant and intent in that way that made her feel as if she was transparent.

"And is that because of your shiki or your lack of sleep?" He questioned bluntly, watching as her mouth parted and closed, looking caught. "You slept two hours at most last night, and yesterday I don't think you went to sleep at all."

"How do you—"

"I'm a very light sleeper." Naru cut her off, his tone firm as he watched her shrink into herself guiltily. If this was just a random bout of restlessness then she wouldn't put so much effort into seeming energetic, but her reaction now and Bou-san's previous comment about it let him know that this was not something new. "I don't remember you having sleeping problems before I left. In fact, you slept far more than was appropriate on the job. So, what brought this on?"

"Does it matter?" Mai snapped out defensively, feeling like he had caught her in a scandalous lie. So what if she had developed some issues sleeping peacefully after almost dying? She had dealt with it. Mostly. "I mean sleeping in a small room packed tight like sardines isn't exactly comfortable."

"Are full time hours too much?"

"No!"

Naru's eyebrow rose. "Then what, Mai?"

Mai let out an annoyed huff, glaring at him as she swung out her arms. "It's everything! A combination of everything—you coming back, Gene not passing, the freakin' drive over here! Can you really blame me for not being able to sleep peacefully when there is so much going on?"

Naru wasn't fooled for a moment. He had spent their whole time working together deciphering her body language because she was so quick to hide her intentions.

"Have you gone to see a doctor about it?" He asked.

Mai deflated, realizing it was null trying to hide from him. "Yes. I have a prescription."

"Why are you not taking it?"

"I don't like that it keeps me asleep." Mai saw his perplexed look. "Like... an earthquake could happen and I would remain in a deep sleep."

So she was scared something would happen to her while she was vulnerable. Naru nodded slowly as he considered her words. "You should ask your doctor about anti-depressants. They help with insomnia by easing anxiety."

Mai's eyes widened and she stared at him in shock, though he had turned away so she wasn't able to see his face. He was familiar with it. She wasn't sure what was more surprising, the fact that Naru dealt with sleeping problems or that he was willing to admit it to her so easily.

Just as she was about to ask him more on it, the door slid open and John returned with three hand towels. "Look who I ran into." He smiled and stepped into the room, Lin's tall figure following after him quickly.

"Are you okay?" He asked, rushing towards the hospital bed. As Naru reassured him that he was fine, Mai took the time to use one of the towels to wipe dry and soak up some of the moisture from her dripping hair. "How did this happen? Did you fall?"

Naru, Mai, and John each shared a look. One that made Lin pause as he glanced between the three.

"Not here." Was all Naru offered up to the older man and he nodded, realizing that whatever they had to say wasn't safe to say in the hospital.

Once Naru was discharged and clear to go, it didn't take them long to get back to the base, where everyone was waiting anxiously for their arrival. When they walked into the small house, looking soaked and exhausted, everyone jumped up.

"Are you guys okay?!" Ayako asked, frantically looking over the two of them for any injuries. "Who got hurt? And where? What happened—"

Bou-san placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let them settle in at least, jeez." He rolled his eyes and Ayako shrugged off his hand with an annoyed look. "They have all their limbs and they walked in on their own two feet. I'm sure it was nothing to be concerned about, right?" He turned to glance at them with a smile, only for it to drop when he saw the grim expression coating Mai's face. "What?"

"Sasabe Izumi was murdered." Naru bluntly declared and a moment of stunned silence followed.

Then, "WHAT?!"

Thankfully, Naru took the initiative in debriefing them on what occurred while they were up at the tunnel. From the exorcism, the vision he saw, and the whole incident with Genta. Everyone was floored when he finished, and Mai could feel her anxiety rising once more.

"You guys walked back?" Masako asked, her eyes wide. "All the way from up there?"

"Yep." Mai bit out as she relived the dreadful experience. "In the rain. No service. All the way back."

"Are you positive it wasn't an accident?" Ayako asked as she mulled over everything. "I mean... maybe she wrote her name on the wall before. Kid's go up to that tunnel all the time."

John shook his head. "Kimura-san knows the truth. And his reaction makes it obvious that his daughter was involved somehow." He glanced up at Mai, who was sitting off to the side quietly. "Izumi wasn't alone in your dream, right?"

Mai nodded. "There were three other girls with her."

It was all coming together slowly.

Izumi went up to the tunnel with Hibiki, Ko, and another girl. They write their names on the wall and then something must have happened between the four, causing Izumi's death. The council members couldn't be trusted, since Genta was one of them. The autopsy conducted by Morino couldn't be trusted either, considering he was Hibiki's father. Though, Mai was positive that Izumi did actually drown from what she experienced in her dream.

Now it was just a matter of who drowned her.

"I know we're already dealing with a lot on our plate, but I have something." Yasu's voice drew everyone's attention to him. Mai finally realized that he was hugging a thick folder to his chest like it was something precious, and he had a familiar gleam in his eye.

Naru blinked, like he suddenly remembered that Yasu was even part of the investigation. "What is it?"

"Something very interesting." The boy's lips curved upwards.

Bou-san raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "More interesting than a murder coverup?"

"Well, if you would consider a village that no longer exists more interesting, then I guess?" Yasu commented and whipped open the file, fingering one of the many tabs in it and searching through the page. "Did you guys ever wonder why there is a tunnel just sitting in the middle of the mountains? Just going nowhere?"

Mai sat up straighter. Now that he mentioned it, she didn't even question it.

Seeing that he had his audience hooked, Yasu grinned. "You see, Inunaki Tunnel was once on a road leading to Inunaki Village." According to Yasu, Inunaki Village was deeper into the mountains, and it was situated at the bottom of a low point. Due to its location, it was prone to flooding and landslides and so a lot of information about the village was lost in the damage. "During the Meiji era, they were hit hard by the Great Sanriku Tsunami so anything before that is up to our imagination. Though, everything after that is just bits and pieces since the village was completely destroyed by landslides caused by the Sanriku Earthquake in 1933. Any remaining villagers from Inunaki migrated to the closest village, which is where we are now, Oguni Village."

Naru frowned at him. "And why is any of this relevant?"

Yasu shook his finger at his boss, looking disappointed. "You don't think I'd bring you some useless information would you? You wound me—"

"Yasuhara-san, get to the point."

"Moving on!" Yasu suddenly turned to look at Mai. "You see, what is most interesting about this village is that there is one name that continuously pops up in the archives. The very same name that Mai heard in her vision. What was it, again? This is..."

"This is my job, as a Nakamura." Mai finished for him. She could feel her heartbeat suddenly pick up pace. That was the one part of her dream she couldn't quite understand. "Did you find out who it is?"

"Nakamura, was the name of a shaman in Inunaki Village. Apparently, he was sort of like a leader that the villagers looked to and his name is everywhere in the village history. He was a very popular guy since the Inunaki villagers seemed to be quite religious."

Mai suddenly remembered Arima's words from earlier in the day. He mentioned that his grandmother was very superstitious about the weather.

"She thought rain meant the Gods were angry at them."

At that moment, a boom of thunder shook the small house causing the lights to flicker.

Mai shuddered, feeling uneasy.

The last time they dealt with a God on a case, Naru almost died.

Trying to distract herself from the ominous thoughts, she spoke up. "So what's the connection between what's happening in the tunnel and the shaman Nakamura?"

"I was able to track Nakamura's family line to present day." Yasu paused for a dramatic flair. "And apparently, on her mother's side, Kimura Ko is his last living descendant."

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed his words before the questions started pouring out, filling the small living room with frantic voices as everyone speculated. Unable to even contribute to the conversation from exhaustion, Mai let out a long sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Jesus, this case just gets more complicated with every piece of information they learn.

"We still don't know if that has anything to do with Izumi? I mean, it could just be a coincidence." Ayako commented with a frown. "And what are we going to do about the murder coverup?"

"Go to the police?" Masako suggested, though even she seemed weary of that option. If the council members and the coroner were in on it, they could only assume that no one was innocent. "Naru?" She looked up and everyone turned to wait for the guidance from their boss.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the damp napkin that Hibiki had written her number on for him. "We have this."

"You want to talk to Hibiki before going to the police?"

Naru shrugged. "She's our best option. We don't know much about Kimura-san's daughter and Arima-san is probably just as clueless as we are about this case."

"So do you want to talk to her?" Bou-san asked. "Or should another girl do it? She might be more willing to open up to Mai."

Mai jumped at the suggestion, startled by the thought of having to talk with a possible murderer on her own. "H-hold on—"

"We'll continue this tomorrow." Naru's voice suddenly cut through the noise, quieting everyone instantly. "A lot happened today so let's take some time to find our footing before we jump back in. We're going to need to rest if we're going to deal with all of this."

Mai couldn't say for sure, but the way his eyes lingered on her for a moment longer than anyone else had her suspecting that he had said that for her sake. She probably looked like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown in her sleep deprived state.

Just as she was standing, preparing to get changed into dry clothes, he called her name. "Yeah?"

Naru's eyes met hers as she turned. "Try to make contact with Gene tonight."

"Huh?" Mai's mouth fell open in surprise. She wasn't expecting that. "Gene?"

"If he's going to linger even after death, the least he can do is help us with this case." Was all he said in reply, turning his back and heading into the bathroom, leaving the brown haired girl staring after him with a floored look.

Naru truly was the only person so tactless he could leave her speechless.

Mai tried. She really did, but it was no use. Trying to fall asleep when you have a murder coverup, a forgotten village, and a shaman on your mind was just impossible.

A loud snore to her left caused her to glance. There was that too. Sleeping next to Bou-san while he snored like that wasn't helping either.

Pushing herself to stand, Mai quietly tip toed over the bodies of everyone in the room, stepping in between their legs as she made her way to the door. She happened to glance over at the far wall where Naru's futon was and paused, noticing that it was flat and devoid of his figure.

Did he even come to bed?

Cautiously, she slowly slid open the door and peaked into the living room, gaining an answer to her question. He was sitting at the coffee table in the dark, the light from his laptop illuminating his pale face.

Naru didn't even glance up. "Go to bed."

"What are you doing?" Mai ignored his order, closing the door behind her and walking to where he was sitting. "Working on the case?"

"No."

"Then what?" He remained silent, steadily ignoring her and Mai huffed. "You know, acting like that is only going to make me want to stay up to spite you."

His hands paused and he finally turned to her, looking completely unimpressed. "Do you really want to argue right now?"

An offended look crossed her face. "Who said anything about arguing?!"

"You." Naru snapped back at her irritatingly. "Your tone."

"My tone?" Mai pointed at herself incredulously. "You're the one who immediately snapped at me the moment I opened the door. Like what, I'm supposed to just turn around and go back to bed like a dog following orders?"

He let out a sigh, running his hand over his face in resignation. "Mai, what are you doing awake?"

"I needed to pee."

He glanced up at her as he let his hand fall away. "Seriously."

Mai swallowed and averted her gaze, unable to keep up with the defensive wall when he was being so calm. She couldn't bait him into an argument for some late night entertainment if he wasn't being a willing participant.

"If it helps, I did actually try to sleep." Mai admitted, smiling at him sheepishly. "It's just..."

Naru watched as her smile slowly fell. "What?"

When she looked up, he could see a glimpse of unease and fear in the brown orbs. "You don't think Kimura-san would try anything... right? I mean, he covered up a murder for his daughter so he must be someone to be cautious about."

"He is someone to be cautious about." Naru replied, but his voice was soothing in an odd way. "But he'd be an idiot to try anything when we have a Tai Chi master who can be up on his feet in a second."

Mai felt her lips curl upwards as she looked at him. "Well, you're very confident."

"I was talking about Lin but I guess it could apply to me as well." Amusement coated his words and Mai's smile widened. "Not to mention Bou-san is fairly intimidating when he's not talking."

Mai chuckled, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her arm. "When did Lin start teaching you Tai Chi?"

"When I was about twelve years old."

She yawned. "And?"

"And what?"

"And are you any good at it?" Her eyes felt heavy.

"I learned it for Qigong but I suppose if I wanted to, I could use it as a martial art..."

Whatever Naru said next was lost to her, because she felt her body relax fully and she fell into the steady rhythm of sleep.