I'm having a blast writing this. This is one of those chapters where the characters decide to do something that the author hasn't quite planned, and it turns out great. Sometimes, the story really does get away from you.

In this chapter, the team finally goes on the offensive, but not before Naru makes a questionable decision and is handed a clue packaged in terror and a pink bow.

.o0o.

Naru hadn't stayed with the team for lunch. He grabbed something for himself and Lin and returned to base. He had some research to do. Their plan of attack was hasty, sure, but even then he wouldn't let his team go in blind. Anything he could find out about the woods across from Amnity Park, he would, and there was no time to lose.

He all but barged into base, dropping off a salad for Lin and taking his own to the table. He opened his laptop and began to search. Most of what he found was unhelpful. Lots of general geographical information, what kind of animals could be found, and tips for hiking and camping. No thank you.

"Lin, get your car ready. We're going back to the woods."

Lin didn't so much stop typing as he did freeze in place. He whipped around to face Naru. "What?"

"Are you deaf as well as dumb now?"

"Don't talk to me like that," Lin snapped as he crossed the room. "What's gotten into you? Your emotions are putting you on a shorter fuse than usual."

Naru sighed. He shouldn't have insulted Lin like that. He knew better. "Sorry," he said flatly. Lin was still staring at him, waiting for an answer. "This is a normal case. We shouldn't treat it like anything else."

That wasn't what he wanted to say, but it's what came out. Lin stared at him with uncomprehending eyes. He shook his head and turned back to his computer. Naru thought the man would just go back to typing, but he actually shut down the computer and stood up. He made a sharp let's go motion with his arm. Naru exited with Lin following behind.

Lin drove them around the park, to the highway where the trees stood. Naru quietly observed how Lin's fingers tightened around the wheel when the trees came into view. There was no place to pull over, so they had to continue driving. It was looking like John's theory was right. Only Lin could sense whatever it was he was sensing. Naru had considered that Lin was just afraid, for reasons of his own, but he trusted his assistant to know the difference between fear and spiritual malice.

Fortunately for them (maybe not for Lin), there was an exit off of the busy road that flanked the woods from the side. It wasn't like a country road, with no signs for miles. There were still telephone wires and street lights every now and then. There were very few cars. There was one in the distance, and one way behind them, but so far away that he could only make out the general shape and color of the model.

"Drive around the perimeter," Naru ordered. "We need to know how big this area is."

Lin didn't respond, but he did turn right again at some point, still flanking the trees. Naru wasn't the best at distance estimates, but he was sure this patch of woods was several square kilometers in area. It was almost hard to reconcile that this area was so close to a residential suburban neighborhood. That thought reminded him that, when it came to spooky forests and other haunts, the locals had the most useful knowledge. Naru cringed silently at the thought of pulling over random people and asking about the forest, but what else could be done?

"We could find a government building and ask there," Lin suggested, reading his mind. Naru didn't miss the slight waver in his voice, still fighting fear.

"What are you afraid of?" Naru asked.

Lin opened his mouth and closed it, shaking his head. He put on the hazard lights and pulled over. Naru was now starting to feel anxious. This was very un-Lin-like.

"I don't have anything concrete to report," he said.

"Just tell me," Naru ordered.

"I feel as though I'm being both warned and threatened. My body is in fight or flight mode. If I don't keep myself centered, I will panic."

"I should drive," Naru said. In all reality, he should have driven from the get-go. Why he hadn't prepared for something like this, he didn't know. It was just habit. Lin drove; Naru rode. Lin didn't object. He undid his seatbelt and opened the door. Naru followed suit. Lin made it two steps toward the hood of the car before he suddenly collapsed onto the road.

"Lin!" Naru shouted. He ran around the car and dropped down next to his assistant. Thankfully, there was no traffic, so there was no risk of getting run over. When Naru got to Lin's side, Lin was already awake and trying to sit up. His breathing was light and fast. He had one hand pressed to the right side of his face, covering his bad eye.

"I'm sorry. I just felt a wave of terror, and I lost my balance."

Lost his balance? More like his body just gave out. Naru didn't say anything to that effect. "Do you still feel it?" he asked.

Lin shook his head. "I'm lightheaded is all."

Naru inspected Lin's head. "Did you hit anything on the way down?"

"I might have. I can't tell just yet."

A police siren sounded from behind their car. On most occasions, hearing that would be cause for alarm, but in this case, Naru found it grounding. The car doors opened, and out stepped two officers, one of which was much older than the other.

"Is everything all right?" asked the one on the right, the younger one.

"My friend just got a little carsick," Naru said.

"Do you need an ambulance?" asked the one on the left.

Naru was about to refuse when he looked in the man's eyes. They were cold and cruel, just like the two John Does from the previous morning. Out of the corner of his eye, Naru saw that Lin had his stare fixed on the older officer as well.

The younger officer furrowed his brow. "Are you two all right? You're behaving kind of strange. You're not drunk, are you?"

Naru shook his head, looking away from the older officer. "Neither of us drink."

The older officer let out a bark of a laugh. It sent shivers down Naru's spine. It was like the old man had forgotten what laughter felt like, let alone how it was supposed to sound. "All kids these days drink."

Naru stood up, and Lin stood up with him. Humorously, Lin towered over the two policemen. It did nothing to curb the bad feeling Naru had about the older cop.

"I'll be taking my friend home," Naru said.

"If you need a ride," offered the first officer.

Naru narrowed his eyes. No. Not in a million years. "That won't be necessary. But if I may ask, do you know anything about this stand of trees here?" He nodded toward the trees they had been patrolling. The older officer barely glanced behind himself, but his cold eyes grew even colder. Perhaps Naru shouldn't have asked.

The younger officer shrugged. "Eh, they've been here a while."

"It's private property," said the older officer. The sound of grinding rocks together would be less coarse than his voice.

"Why do you ask?" said the younger.

"It seems strange that there's this much forest in a suburban area," Naru said. He hoped the lie was believable.

"It used to be a lot larger, but development pushed it back," said the younger officer, a quizzical look on his face.

"He's a city kid," Lin supplied. Once again, the old man's eyes were fixed back on them. The extra frigid bite in them was now gone, but they were still cold and cruel. The younger officer looked satisfied with Lin's explanation.

Naru spoke again. "What are your names?"

"Ah, I'm Officer Hattori, and this is my training officer, Fusei."

"Thank you for checking on us, but we're fine. If there's nothing else you need, we will be on our way."

The younger officer looked to his TO, who nodded. "Be on your way," the gruff man said. Naru and Lin needed no further prompting. Naru slipped into the driver's seat, and Lin made his way to the passenger seat. Before Naru could close his door, the younger officer grabbed it. Naru looked up at him.

"Kid, how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen," Naru said. "I'm legal."

"I hope you don't mind if I verify that?" said the officer.

Reluctantly, Naru handed the officer his learners permit. The officer read it and handed it back to him. "Thank you, Mr. Shibuya. Sorry, but my T.O. would have my hide if I wasn't being thorough. I assume you, sir, are his licensed teacher? I'll need to see yours as well."

Lin passed his license toward Naru, who passed it to the officer. The officer scanned it over.

"Koujo Lin. You're Chinese?"

"The license is Japanese," Lin said.

"Yes, I can see that. I was just surprised, though that's probably unprofessional of me. My apologies for being rude, sir. Here—"

The older officer plucked the plastic card out of his student's hand.

"Sir?"

The old man scrutinized the card. He ran his eyes over it the way an exterminator would scan behind a kitchen sink for bugs. He was not subtle about it at all. Naru's skin was crawling; he was sure whatever Lin was feeling was ten times worse. Slowly and meticulously, the officer stepped around the back of the car. His boots thunked on the pavement. Why did it feel like they were waiting for an execution? Finally, the officer came around to the passenger side of the car. With a flip of his hand, he twirled the card like a professional cardsharp, and offered it wordlessly back to Lin. Lin took it and put it back in his pocket. He was so tense that Naru could have just said the word "Boo" and he would jump.

With a cruel glare, Officer Fusei spoke to Lin. "Mark my words. One wrong move, and I will put you in irons myself."

What the hell? What was Lin supposed to say to that? This felt like a trap. A racist trap with sharp teeth, ready to latch onto an ankle and never let go. All Lin could do was nod. Even the younger officer looked uncomfortable.

"Noted," Naru said, doing his best to keep from outrage. "Can we go now?"

The older officer didn't respond. He brought his index finger to his own forehead, and then lowered it toward Lin. Lin was frozen to the spot, eyes wide as the officer pointed directly at his throat.

"Yes, you can go," said officer Hattori, much to Naru's relief. Gently, so as not to run anyone over, Naru pushed on the gas. The car gracefully slid away from the two officers and drove down the road. Naru watched as their forms became smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror. The cops got into their car and resumed driving. Naru turned the next corner, bringing them to a road that would lead back to the highway. He watched meticulously in the rear-view mirror, only breathing a sigh of relief when the cop car passed the intersection behind them. They had not followed. Naru didn't want to linger, so he drove the car back to the highway and then back to the park.

It wasn't until they were halfway between the hospital and the woods that Naru pulled over again. It was getting close to dark, and they had to be back for the ghost hunt, but first, Naru had to check on Lin. His assistant was seated rigid next to him, staring straight ahead. It was clear that he was trying to fight off the urge to completely lose it, as evidenced by the fact that his hands were trembling. Naru would have bet that if he were to take Lin's pulse, the man's heart would be going twice as fast as normal.

"You're shaking," Naru said quietly. Again, not what he wanted to say, but he and comfort did not exactly go together. Even Lin was better at that than him.

Lin turned his head like a bird, swift and sharp. It was as if he had forgotten that Naru was there. He then looked down at his hands, which were shaking ever so slightly. He folded them in his lap and took a deep breath, finally leaning back in the seat.

"Are you okay?" Naru asked. Stupid question. Of course not.

"I will be," Lin said.

"You should stay and watch the base tonight."

Again, Lin looked torn. "Without me, there is no experimental variable," he said. Naru blinked, realizing his assistant was now talking in science jargon. "The others would be a control with no dependent. I need a minute to recenter myself. Then I will be fine."

Unfortunately for Naru, it was true. It was all too possible that the rest of the gang would go the entire night without picking up an inkling of a clue. Lin was their fastest and best bet to get a result.

"This is a normal case, right? We should treat it like one."

And there went Lin, throwing his words back in his face. It would be much harder for him to do that if Naru could just be better at filtering from his brain to his mouth.

"How long do you need?" Naru asked.

"How long do we have?" Lin countered.

Naru looked at the clock in the car. It was 6:30. "An hour," he replied.

Lin nodded. Naru drove back to the hospital.

When they got back, the rest of the team was waiting at base.

"There you are," Monk said. "We were getting worried."

Mai, remarkably, did not make a flying leap for Lin's torso. Naru wondered if this time, Lin would have actually appreciated a hug from the brunette. He mentally shook his head. Nah, even when completely terrified, Lin was not a hugger.

"We had some research to do," Naru said.

"There's something you should know," said Lin. Naru looked up at his assistant. Was Lin really about to tell them? It was his choice, and yet, both of them knew that keeping this from the team considering their next mission was a bad idea.

"What is it?" Mai prompted.

"Naru and I drove around the woods this afternoon."

"The woods we're about to—"

"Yes," Naru interrupted the monk. "It was important for us to get a sense of scale."

Ayako nodded. "That makes sense. It's better to have more information than less."

"The perimeter appeared to be at most, three kilometers in length on one side."

The team reacted with varying amounts of surprise. Monk so-astutely said, "That's big."

"Did you still get that sense of unease?" John asked.

Lin nodded. "It got worse as we progressed." Lin didn't tell Naru that earlier. "I don't think it was based on any specific location, just rather how close we were to it, and how long we were there."

"We weren't that much farther when we were in the park," John said. "We were just across the highway."

"There's a smaller road that goes around the stand of trees," Naru explained.

"I found it difficult to concentrate on driving, so I pulled over," Lin continued. "As I got out of the car to switch places, I was hit with a wave of terror. It knocked me unconscious for about three seconds." The team gasped at this, but Lin continued to recount, deliberately ignoring their reactions. "When I came to, a police car had pulled over to assist us. One of them had the same eyes as Nakamura and Saito."

Mai whimpered, putting her hands to her mouth. Takigawa and John exchanged confused looks. Ayako's eyes narrowed. Naru quickly explained the incident of the two phony men who came into the office yesterday morning. Takigawa and John were soon nodding in understanding.

"There's something else," Mai said. All eyes turned to her. "I didn't say anything because I thought I was just going crazy with worry. When I first saw their eyes, I had a vision of them tackling Lin to the floor and breaking his arm."

The room was stunned silent. Only a breathless, "My God," from John could be heard. Naru's mind was racing from thought to thought. The loudest of his thoughts were, "How could you keep this from us, Mai?"

"I'm sorry!" Mai shouted.

Ayako grabbed Mai in a hug. "Calm down," she said. "Let's let Lin finish, and then we can deal with this."

Naru sighed. Lin continued. "We were forced into a position that required us to show our licenses."

"Both of you?" Mai asked.

"I only have a learner's permit," Naru said.

"So a licensed driver would have had to be with him," explained Monk, looking straight at Lin.

"The moment the older officer found out I was Chinese, everything about his attitude toward me changed. He stared at my license for a long time. He walked around the back of the car to my window. And when he handed it back to me, he said, 'Mark my words. One wrong move, and I will put you in irons myself.' Then he did this at me." Lin mimicked the motion the officer had made, slowly taking his index finger from his head to pointing straight.

"He threatened you?" Monk exclaimed, face outraged.

Naru folded his arms. "I don't know how else you'd interpret that."

"What about the other cop? I mean, he was deliberately trying to terrorize you! Why didn't his partner do anything?"

"It was training officer and student," Lin said. "I doubt the student could have done much, considering how his teacher behaved."

"Lin, are you all right?" Ayako asked, her voice gentle.

Lin turned to her. "I will be."

"Maybe you should sit this one out," Takigawa suggested, echoing Naru's thoughts.

Lin shook his head. "I am the only one who can sense the forest. You'll need me as your metaphorical canary in the coal mine."

"That's not okay," Mai said darkly. Everyone turned to her, surprised at the fierceness of her voice. "You're not some laboratory animal that can be used and discarded as needed. I've had to endure two whole days of watching visions of you get beaten and torn to shreds for reasons I don't understand. I will not watch you torture yourself in the waking world!"

"Ultimately, the decision is Lin's," Naru reminded her, none too gently.

"Then tell me this, Naru," Mai challenged. "Why am I being held back at base tonight? I've got my own problems to deal with, and yet you're sending the man who was just terrorized by the police to go back to the place where it happened."

"I have another task for you," Naru said.

"What's more important than this?"

"You're the only one of us who can astral project."

And now the cat was out of the bag.

As usual, Monk spoke first. "When were you going to tell us this part of the plan, Naru?"

"I was going to give us a debrief on the plan of attack tonight, and that would have been disclosed then."

"Yeah, just in time for none of us to object," Ayako said, folding her arms.

"I need you to be our eyes from the spiritual plane," Naru said to Mai. "In that form, you'll be able to see what the rest of the team could only hope to sense."

"So… I'll be watching over you?" Mai asked.

"My shiki should be able to sense your spirit body," Lin said. "If you need to say something, they can translate."

Mai nodded. "I can do that. But still, Lin…"

"It will be all right."

Strangely, outside of base was quieter than the inside. Hallways between inpatient wings didn't get as much activity as the actual inpatient hallways. There might be a single janitor, or a doctor traveling from wing to wing, but otherwise, it was not often trafficked. So that was where Lin sat to meditate for a while.

The rest of the team got themselves ready. Ayako made a few charms, in case they had to make a hasty retreat. Takigawa naturally had his tokkosho with him, and John had his holy water. They were readying up for battle, but all of them knew they were more or less flying blind. It was a hope for the best, prepare for the worst kind of thing.

At 7:30, Naru summoned Lin back into base, and the rest of the team congregated around the two of them.

"Everyone knows what they're supposed to do?" Naru said.

"Honestly, not really," Takigawa said. "What do we do when we see the spirit? Exorcise it?"

Naru shook his head. "Only if it becomes dangerous. Your mission is to track it back to where it came from. From its behavior last night, I can reasonably infer that it will try to run unless it is cornered."

"So don't corner it, okay."

"We'll follow it as best we can," surmised John. "What if it goes somewhere we have trouble following?"

Naru sighed. "That's where Mai comes in. If it comes to that, or if the spirit goes into the woods, I want Mai and two of Lin's shiki to follow. Everyone else retreats."

"Two of them?" Mai asked. "But Lin only has three."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Naru began, facing Lin. "The way your shiki are paired, they can cover each other's weaknesses, right?"

Lin nodded. "That's correct."

Mai sent him a curious look. "How does that work?"

Naru grabbed hold of that question before it turned into a lecture. "We don't have time for that. When you get back, you can ask Lin about it." That is, if she was still interested.

"And what does Mai do when she finds something?" Takigawa asked.

"She reports back."

"Why have Mai go at all? Can't Lin's shiki—"

"They aren't human spirits. Mai provides human perspective."

"And Lin can't just translate later?"

"It's easier if no translation is needed at all. Now if we're done arguing, you all should get going. You should be in position when the spirit shows up."

"If the spirit shows up."

Yes, if. If this were to fail, the next plan of attack would be to investigate the forest directly. They would have done that anyway, but just during the light of day when they could indeed see. "The objective of our mission is simple. We must confirm that the spirit is coming from the woods, and if possible, track it back to its exact origin point."

Nods of agreement came from everyone.

"Get to it," Naru ordered. And so it began. The room cleared, save for him and Mai.

"I haven't done this much before," Mai said as she sat on the small, rock-hard couch.

"I'll coach you," Naru said, following her. "You can do this sitting or lying down."

Mai attempted to lay down, but the couch was too small, even for her. Her head crammed up against the arm-rest, and her ankles hung suspended over the other one. She sat right back up again.

"It's important that you be in a position that won't move," Naru said. "That will give you the least turbulent transition to and from your body."

Mai stopped wiggling once she found a good spot. She folded her hands in her lap and closed her eyes. There was no headrest behind her, so she had to jerk her head forward as it fell back. Seeing that this wasn't going to work very well, Naru sat down beside Mai and let her lean against his frame.

"Naru?" she asked, groggy as she transitioned.

"Relax. Imagine yourself stepping away from your body. Don't worry. I'll keep you stable."

Naru pretended he didn't feel Mai nuzzle into his shoulder. At this rate, the girl was going to fall asleep instead of projecting her spirit. He felt her gently push on his frame in the opposite direction, and then she went limp. A cool breeze passed by Naru, like the wake of a boat. Mai was projecting, good. Her body jostled slightly, thanks to her odd method of launching. Naru guessed his words about keeping her body still fell on deaf ears. Whatever. If she got a hangover from a rocky re-entry, that was on her. Especially since Naru couldn't reasonably be expected to hold it if nature called. In other words, it was in her best interest that this go smoothly and quickly.

A buzz on the radio alerted him. Thankfully, he was thoughtful enough to bring the radio over where he could reach it.

"Naru." It was Takigawa. "We're in place."

"Good," Naru said. "Any activity?"

There was a pause. "Not yet. It's still ten minutes before eight."

"Mai is projecting now. She should be getting close to you soon."

Another pause. "Lin's shiki spotted her. She's coming our way."

"All right. Be careful, everyone. Stay safe, and don't be reckless."

"Pot, meet kettle," said Takigawa. Naru ended the transmission.

Out on the border of the hospital campus, the team had all gathered by the big tree that the spirit had gone to last time. Ayako confirmed that this tree was one of the many she had used to purify the area.

"Maybe we should hide," Takigawa suggested, but it sounded more like a question.

"If the ghost is shy, then yeah, that sounds good," John said.

"Hide where?" Ayako asked, gesturing around to nothing but the grass and a few tiny bushes nearby.

Lin checked his watch. It was two minutes to eight.

"At the very least, we should be quiet," John said. The group hushed down. They looked around for anything weird. So far, there was nothing.

"Does anyone feel like we could be mistaken for drug dealers?" Takigawa asked, half joking and probably half not.

"Please no," Ayako groaned. "Let's not get arrested."

Nobody noticed Lin pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Mai's with us now, right?" John asked.

Everyone turned to Lin, who looked to the side, inquiring his shiki.

"See anything?" Takigawa said.

Another pause. "She's floating up to get a bird's eye view," Lin reported.

"I wish I could fly," the monk muttered.

Lin suddenly held his hand up for silence. The group instantly quieted. "Mai reports that there's a spirit behind that tree." He pointed in the distance, where a large oak stood. The group shifted sideways, spotting the two glowing eyes peering out from behind the tree trunk. Predictably, it turned tail and vanished. Lin whistled, and his three shiki flew from him toward the tree. The rest of the group began to give chase on foot, trusting that Mai was following in the air.

Lin, led by his shiki, took the group across the park, toward the highway. Once the metal guard rail was in view, the group stopped. The ghost was standing behind the barrier, staring at them with its starry eyes. Cars flew past, right and left. If they tried to cross, it was more than likely that someone would get flattened.

"It's just standing there," Takigawa observed.

"What does it want?" John asked.

"It's playing chicken," Ayako said. "Just waiting for one of us to try."

Lin's shiki made themselves visible again, flying in jagged circles above the highway, awaiting more orders.

"We aren't supposed to follow it into the woods," Takigawa reminded them.

"Just because it goes into the woods doesn't mean that's where it came from," Ayako said with a snort. Leave it to her to make the most astute inference of them all.

"So it could be baiting us," John mused.

"Do we call its bluff?" Takigawa asked.

"We follow Naru's instructions," said Lin. Everyone turned to him. "We don't follow into the woods. Mai and my shiki do."

Ayako glanced down at Lin's hands. They were trembling again, subtly. It wasn't cold, so it had to be from fear. She looked back at the woods, at the creature. It didn't seem to be reacting at all to their predicament. It was simply staring at them. And whatever fear Lin was feeling, clearly only he felt it. Nevertheless, he nodded. Two of his shiki peeled off from the group, floating cautiously toward the woods. The phantom turned around and vanished again. Its demeanor was distinctly calmer than before. Rather than a sudden and panicked dash for cover, it now appeared to be walking away, as though it was calmly escorting its three guests.

"Lin?" Ayako asked.

Lin let out a stiff breath and turned to her.

"Are you okay?"

Lin nodded. "My shiki will protect her."

He meant Mai.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine," Lin said curtly. He was clearly tired of people asking. He stared out into the woods, watching his shiki disappear into the distance. He had given them a second order, to let one of them trail behind slightly, as he would not lose these two like he lost the others. However if it came to it, they were ordered to protect Mai with their lives.

"We should retreat," Ayako gently reminded him.

"How far though?" asked Takigawa.

"I thought back to base," Ayako said.

"It makes more sense to go to the park," John reasoned. "That way, we're still in the field if we're needed. What do you think, Lin?"

Lin nodded absently. The group made their way to a pair of benches. Ayako and Takigawa sat together on one, leaving him and John on the other. Nobody made much conversation. They waited anxiously for any report back from the spirit team. It was now down to Mai and Lin's shiki. Hopefully this journey wouldn't be for naught.

By the way, in case anyone wants a general visual of how I'm imagining the spirits, brace yourselves and google the husks from the indie game, Close Your Eyes. Then imagine them in complete silhouette, save for their eyes and mouths.