.o0o.

The look on Lin's face said it all. When Mai was done explaining, and it really was a rather short explanation, Lin stared at her for several seconds with nothing but a furrowed brow and pursed lips.

"I know it's a long shot," Mai said.

"It's not a good shot," replied Lin. His tone was clipped and full of exhaustion. When was the last time this man had a good night's sleep? "There are too many risks in opening up a case like this."

"Don't you think she deserves to know what happened to her father?"

"Undoubtably, but it should not come from us. Especially not in a way that could be tracked or overheard."

Mai stood halfway between the door and the bed, uncomprehending. It was too late at night to do any hard thinking.

"If the news about an international spy investigating crimes against humanity comes from us, what do you think will happen to us?" Lin prompted. "It's not our responsibility to do the governments' jobs when they make a mess."

Mai opened her mouth, and then she closed it. She considered asking if Lin knew how to even start the flow of information to the proper authorities, but then again, hadn't everything they been through—hadn't that been enough to constitute a proper investigation? And they were shoved out the door by the Eastern Village police like they were nothing. Perhaps they could take this to the downtown police, but—

"Don't make it your problem if it isn't already," said Lin.

Mai looked up from the floor. "I wasn't—"

Lin's knowing look kept her from protesting further. She shifted her weight, the silence becoming awkward.

"How was the call with your parents?" she finally asked.

Lin sighed. "Luella told them."

"Oh."

"She didn't have all the details, so she couldn't tell them everything. Personally, I believe that was worse."

"Because they had to worry."

Lin nodded.

Mai almost asked what he told them, but then she remembered how private the man usually was. Asking would be rude. "How are you doing, Lin?"

Lin blinked at her, like the question caught his brain off guard. He glanced back toward his laptop, as if that sufficed for an answer. "You don't have to be awake right now," he said.

"Neither do you," Mai countered. "You out of all of us should be getting some rest."

"I normally keep late hours."

"You normally don't…" lose your shiki. Get terrorized by the police. Become the subject of a decades-old crime against humanity. Get tortured. Mai bit her tongue. Lin wouldn't appreciate those words.

Lin exhaled. "My parents want me to return to China."

Mai's eyes widened. "Are you?"

"I'm considering it. Certainly not permanently."

"We would miss you," said Mai. "But if you want to go, you should."

Lin bobbed his head. "I have business to take care of here before I make any decisions. Even then, I am wary of trying to fly right now."

Mai frowned, cocking her head. "Because of…"

"Because of the spy who is a member of my extended family, yes."

"Do your parents know about…?"

"I asked them to investigate Weiguó in the first place. All the information we have about him is based on the evidence that my father gathered. It's difficult to know what pieces they have put together, but I am not about to discuss it unless we're face to face."

"Are we going to retrieve the rest of your shiki tomorrow?" Mai asked.

"We?" Lin echoed.

"Yes. We. I don't know about Naru, but I'm with you."

Lin hesitated. "I'm… I'm not going to the woods tomorrow."

"I don't blame you."

"I have a lot of work to catch up on. That's likely what I'm going to be doing tomorrow."

A thought began to blossom in Mai's mind. "Okay," she said. Her voice must have betrayed her wandering mind, as Lin gave her a quizzical glance. "Okay, have a good night. Get some sleep, please. For me."

Lin just nodded, still staring at her, trying to read her mind. Mai backed out of his room and pulled the door. She left it just ajar, to keep the ambiance quiet. She was glad when Lin didn't close the door behind her, for which she would have taken offense at this hour of night. She was glad he wasn't shutting her out entirely. Now, she had two options. One, go back to sleep and shoo away the two spirits that would love to bug her all night, or two, she could stay up and plot a full SPR team trip to the zoo.

A groggy Mai Taniyama woke the next morning, though technically she fell asleep after midnight, making it the same morning. Whatever. She was only slightly regretting her late night escapades, now that the daylight was prompting her to wake up and not go back to sleep. She pulled out her phone, deliberately ignoring anything having to do with the news or the Eastern Police Station. She began to send texts to everyone on the team, asking if they wanted to go to the zoo. Immediately, she got one back from Ayako: No, on doctor duty for the next month and a half. Nobody else replied. Monk was probably sleeping in. He was the type. Whether or not Yasu would be game was up in the air. It was Saturday, so no school.

The door to Naru's room opened. For the briefest of seconds, he stared at Mai with an alarmed expression on his face, like he had forgotten she stayed the night. He instantly regained his composure, but Mai still snickered anyway.

"Morning boss," she said. "We're going to the zoo today."

Naru scowled.

Mai raised a finger, keeping him from protesting. "Nope. I won't hear it. Zoo time. Eleven o' clock. I've invited everyone. Ayako can't come. She's on call at her hospital."

"This is absurd."

"I think we could use the decompression, you know, after the week we've had. We should be able to all hang out when we're not fighting for our lives and sanity."

By now, Lin had emerged from his room, looking as though he had gotten absolutely zero sleep. Mai wondered if that was indeed true. She decided not to ask.

"Why the zoo?" Lin managed to ask. Mai saw through his question. Both of them remembered the story Lin had told her about meeting the panda spirit at the zoo when he was little. Mai had been worried that he'd take offense, like she was trying to either insult him or recreate something that was personal to his history.

"Because I want animals."

"Why not the aquarium?" Naru countered.

"Fluffy animals," said Mai.

"They don't let you pet the animals at the zoo. That's how you lose a finger. If you want fluff, you can go to a petting zoo without us."

"You can't talk me out of this, Naru. You, me, Lin, and the rest of the team—" she shook her phone for emphasis, "—are going to the zoo today, and we're going to have a good time."

"Which one did you have in mind?" Lin asked, a bit of edge in his voice.

Mai turned to him, understanding in her eyes. "The little one. Yoyogi Park Zoo."

Lin gave a small nod in approval. That little local zoo was free admission, supported by donors and members, and despite the fact that it was significantly smaller than Ueno Zoo, it provided proper enclosures and care for all its animals. It even had an open-walk aviary full of coastline birds.

Mai looked between Lin and Naru. Lin appeared receptive to the idea, but he was not the ultimate decision-maker. He waited for Naru's say-so, keeping his body language neutral. Naru folded his arms.

"Come on, Naru," said Mai, all but begging.

"Fine." The boss had finally relented. "Get dressed. John will be here in an hour."

Mai blinked. "John?" She looked at her phone. She hadn't received a message from him.

"Did you forget? He's going to get rid of your freeloading leech."

"Oh." Mai lowered her gaze. That didn't seem right. She hadn't fulfilled her promise to him. She nearly brought that up to Naru, but she realized she'd just get snapped at, like Gene had all but done. "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Sunday. John will not be available."

"Monday then," Mai said.

Naru narrowed his eyes. "I don't know why you're so adamant about keeping something that's feeding on your life force, but I won't stand for it. If you want to go to the zoo with the team, you will allow John to perform this exorcism."

Mai turned to Lin. "So I'll be forced to break my promise."

"What promise?" Naru snapped.

Mai kept her mouth shut. When he couldn't get it out of her, Naru turned to Lin, as though he could pry the secret from him. Lin just glared in his direction, telling him to leave it be. Lin turned back to Mai.

"You will have to let this go. You cannot reunite these two souls. When he is gone, we will be the only ones who know about this. You will owe it to no one."

Naru, mind always working, pieced together what had happened. "You promised the spirit that you would contact someone for him. A descendant?" At Mai's nod, he continued. "That was stupid."

"But… I can't… I…"

"You're always lecturing me about my non-existent narcissism, but here you are with an ego that refuses to accept that you made a mistake. You made a promise you can't keep, and now you have to deal with it. If you want someone to blame, blame me, because I will not allow this spirit to siphon your energy any longer. This discussion is over."

Naru retreated to his room. It was anticlimactic, but there was really nowhere else to go. Mai couldn't help but begin to tear up. She hated it when Naru snapped at her. When anyone snapped at her. The day had started out so well, too.

"It's not fair," she said.

"No, it wasn't," said Lin, emphasizing the past tense.

"You could at least explain to him what's going to happen."

It took Lin a second to realize she was talking about Weiguó. He shook his head. "It's better if he doesn't see this coming. Please excuse me." Lin walked toward the kitchen, clearly dismissing her. There was a minute of silence, save for Lin working in the kitchen, before he came back out, holding a mug of warm milk and a small plate of cookies. He put it down on the small table for two near the door. Curiously, he did not make a move to eat or drink. He simply left it there and returned to his room. Mai didn't quite understand what that was about, but she knew it wasn't for her. The answer came to her soon enough, as the little brownie fairy emerged from behind a painting hanging on the wall. Mai couldn't help but blurt, "What the hell?"

The brownie made his way to the table and sat down on the chair. He was so short that his feet dangled over the edge of the seat. He began to sip from the mug and munch on the cookies.

"Did… did you sleep behind the painting?" Mai asked.

The brownie finally looked in her direction, but the only indication of that was a turn of the head and a twitch of his bushy eyebrow. "I'm a brownie, lass. The entire dwelling is mine, from the walls to the décor."

Mai couldn't help herself. She walked over to the painting and lifted it. To her surprise, all she found was solid wall. She looked back and forth between the space and the fairy. The brownie just shrugged and continued to enjoy his meal. Resigned that she wasn't going to get an answer, Mai returned to the couch.

"Where did you learn to speak Japanese?"

"I know every tongue my master knows, plus the tongue of my homeland." That was Gaelic, if memory served Mai right. "I'm not like his others, who were content to use him as their tether of understanding. I, for one, actually like books."

Now out of questions, Mai merely looked down.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, lass," said the brownie, though he still made no move to come any closer. "Ya' wanted to do a kind thing. That should never be shameful."

"So then why do they want to shut me down?"

The brownie shrugged. "Housefolk have always been a mystery to us. What is kind to them is unkind to us, and as I've learned, so goes it in reverse."

Mai nodded. "I know that fairy morality and human morality aren't always the same."

"They're rarely the same. You're lucky you're rooming with the Seelie and not the Unseelie."

"So… so all mythical creatures are real?"

"Nah. Bigfoot's not real."

Mai snorted. Then her eye caught the clock. It was eight-thirty. When was John coming? Her phone buzzed. Speak of the Devil. The text from John read, I think I can fit in a zoo visit. But I'll be over there in about half an hour to help exorcise the spirit in you.

Mai texted back, Is it going to be difficult?

John replied, I can't say until I actually try.

Mai checked on her other messages. By now, she had gotten a reply from Masako saying she didn't have the availability, as well as Yasu, who said he was all for it. Monk still hadn't replied. Weren't monks supposed to be awake at the crack of dawn? Then again, he wasn't really a traditional monk. Her stomach growled. It was breakfast time.

With nothing else to do, she knocked on Naru's door and entered. Naru was sitting at his desk, reading through a binder.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I was going to scramble some eggs. Want some?"

Naru looked up from his binder. For a second, he said nothing. Then he nodded. "Yes, thank you Mai."

Mai nodded. "Got it." She made to exit.

"You know this is for your own good, right?" Naru asked.

Mai stopped. "It's just not fair to him."

"Who said anything about fair?"

Not willing to hear anything more, she shut the door. She walked over to Lin's room, but the brownie had positioned himself with his sweeper right in front of the door.

"Uh, excuse me. Can you move?" she asked.

"I move for no one," said the brownie, passing the bristles of his broom over her feet. He took a swipe at her, and she jumped back.

"I just wanted to ask if he wants breakfast?"

"What do you think, lass?"

Mai shut her mouth. The brownie took one more swipe at her feet, and away she went to the kitchen to make eggs for three. By the time she was done, it was a quarter to nine. She called for Naru and Lin, but only Naru emerged. She served both herself and him, leaving the rest for Lin. The brownie was still hovering near the door like a guard. Mai and Naru ate in silence. Then Naru's phone buzzed. He took it out.

"John's here."

He took his plate and returned it to the kitchen sink before buzzing John into the building. He didn't even look in Mai's direction.

Lin's door opened at the same time that the condo door opened.

"Morning, everyone," John said. He was dressed out in his cassock, with the crucifix hanging around his neck. His expression was gentle as he looked at Mai. He couldn't see the spirit, but he knew it was there, and that was enough.

"Before you begin," Lin said, drawing the attention of the room. In his hand, he held up a hitogata, a substitute. Mai's eyes widened. John looked confused. Naru gritted his teeth. Were he a bovine, Mai was sure she'd hear an angry snort.

"Is something wrong?" John asked, catching onto the odd mixture of reactions.

"No. Go ahead. Enable her," Naru all but barked.

"Enable what, lad? Kindness?" the brownie snapped, making John jump. He was not expecting four residents.

"Stupid, egoic self-sacrifice," said Naru. "I don't think you even realize that the emotions you're feeling aren't even yours."

John shifted his gaze between Naru and Mai, as though he was watching a tennis match. Obviously, the poor priest was lost.

"We should be making this easier for her, not harder," Lin said. "I don't know what's the matter with you, but you need to clear your head and calm down." He walked up to Mai and handed her the hitogata. She took it, but when her eyes fell on the Chinese script on its body, she furrowed her brow. It took her a few seconds, but she soon realized this had to be a substitute for Weiguó's daughter. She looked up at Lin, mouth gaping. Lin met her gaze. "You can fulfil your promise in two halves, if you wish."

A sigh came from Naru's direction, but nobody looked his way.

Mai nodded. "Thank you, Lin."

Lin offered her a small sad smile.

"What do I do?" Mai asked.

"Just hold it."

Had Mai been sensitive to spirit bodies, she would have seen the way the hitogata transformed into a little girl no older than five. She would have seen the way Weiguó's spirit curled around it, touching foreheads with the girl, shedding tears that his body had long since forgotten. But that was not something she could do. She felt nothing. She felt a little silly, even, standing there with a wooden figure in her right hand.

Lin nodded to John. John stepped forward. He raised his right hand toward Mai's head. He held his bottle of holy water open with the left, splashing it gently across Mai's shoulders. He then splashed it on Mai's forehead, letting it drip down her face. He began to speak in English. His voice was calm and hypnotic, creating a lulling effect on her mind.

With a final word, John made the sign of the cross. Suddenly, everything was clear. It was like a fog had been lifted from the room, like a thin blanket had fallen from her shoulders. It had been there for so long that she didn't even register its presence—only its sudden absence. Her willingness to keep Weiguó close washed out of her like water from a hole in a bucket. One stunned blink later, she looked up at John, then Lin, and then Naru.

"Is he gone?" Naru asked.

"Yeah. Yes, he is," said Mai. She looked around the room again, in awe. She cupped her hands near her chest, holding the hitogata close. Oh, what a feeling to finally see clearly.

"Do you feel any need to honor Weiguó?" Naru asked.

Mai took in a deep breath. She exhaled slowly. "It would be nice if he could have been given a proper burial, but that's not possible anymore. And if by chance I ever run into Mei Lin, I think we should tell her. But for now, we can leave things the way they are."

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Mai," John said. "But… what was this about a zoo?"

Before they went on their zoo excursion, Naru insisted they return to the office and put away the equipment. They all piled into Lin's car and made their way back. Thankfully, it was all still there. Mai was reminded once again of Lin's physical state when he visibly winced when handling the heaviest pieces.

It took them a good hour to put everything away and make sure all items were accounted for. It was well worth it to get the work out of the way, as once they were finished, the rest of the available team met up at the office, and all of them, Mai, Naru, Lin, John, and Yasu made their way to the Yoyogi Park Zoo.

"Sea lions!" Mai exclaimed as they first walked in. The very first exhibit that greeted them was the watery enclosure for the sea lions. The keepers were actually in the middle of a small show, letting the animals do tricks and explaining how such contact tricks were necessary for routine checkups.

"You know, every time I see seals and sea lions, I think of the selkies," John said.

"The what?" Mai asked.

"Seal folk. Were-seals, essentially. Seals who can shed their skins and become human. If you steal a seal skin, you can claim a wife. It's… not the most friendly type of story, and it often ends with the seal woman escaping."

"Hey Lin, if brownies are real, do you think selkies are too?"

Lin didn't respond beyond a shrug. In fact, the man was hanging out in the back, behind Mai, John, and Yasu. Mai hoped that the tall man was enjoying this somewhat. She didn't want to say it, but she had suggested the zoo for him. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all. She shook her head and looked around for a distraction.

"Oh, there's the big cat house!" she exclaimed, pointing towards the large building with a lion statue carved on its roof.

"Is your attention span really so short?" Yasu teased.

Mai huffed his way. "Lemmie have my fun."

"Sorry, it's just without my dear Houshou, I default automatically to the one person here who can't get away with cold blooded revenge. Where is he, anyway?"

Mai shrugged. "He said something about rehearsal for his next concert."

"He chose that over me?" Yasu drew his hands to his chest dramatically.

While the two were bantering, Naru parted from the group. Lin, ever watchful over the boy, followed him. The rest of their party had failed to notice. Once out of earshot, without even looking at him, Naru said, "Where do you want to try first?"

Lin looked at him. Naru met his eyes, daring his guardian to challenge his intentions.

"Somewhere quiet," Lin finally said.

Fat chance of that. The zoo was full of cheerful children and their parents. Naru scanned the area. Mai, Yasu, and John were still by the sea lions, discussing something that he could not hear. Naru decided to keep moving. He had his phone, as did Mai. Besides, it wasn't like any of them needed an adult nearby to blame if they did something too stupid.

Naru wandered toward the bird house and open aviary. Lin followed. Both of them looked severely out of place in the zoo, with their muted attire and stern faces. Neither of them were even standing near the glass. As they walked by the enclosures, giving every single one no more than a glance, Naru asked quietly, "Would you prefer a panda?"

Lin shook his head. He didn't offer anything more.

They passed through the open walk aviary, where terns sailed over their heads back and forth inside the large habitat. They spent no more than a few minutes in the large room before Lin shook his head, and the two moved on.

It wasn't until the third to last enclosure that Lin stopped. Naru peered into the habitat. It was made to mimic deep forest. He could hardly see the animal that was supposed to be here. Looking over at the plaque next to it, he saw that inside there was a kiwi.

"This one?" he asked, keeping the disbelief out of his voice.

"Water can detect a lingering spirit here," Lin said.

Naru bit back a sigh at his guardian's choice of an adorable fluffball bird that didn't seem to be able to do much. It was one thing to mock the creature for what it was. But if Lin was really wanting to make an animal his familiar and soldier, couldn't he pick something that wasn't… this? Maybe a zebra, or a mongoose, or hell, even a cassowary, if he was so hellbent on a bird, but a kiwi?

Lin took in an even breath. Before he could do anything further, a child ran past, stopping next to Naru and smacking his hands into the glass. The kiwi inside remained hidden. The child blurted out, "Lame! It's empty!" before running off. His frantic mother ran after him, calling his name.

Once they were gone, Lin turned back to the enclosure. He tipped his head back just slightly and produced an eerie whistle.

A small flash was the only thing that alerted Naru to the presence of a spirit. It happened behind the glass, underneath a leafy shrub. Once the flash had passed, the enclosure appeared no different, save for the fact that a bird wandered out from under that very shrub.

To Naru's surprise, the bird was not a kiwi, but a large, green parrot with an owlish face. Its body did not move the leaves or leave any impressions on the ground whatsoever. Lin had successfully summoned the spirit. Even more impressive, he had given the spirit its original colors back. Normally, spirits' bodies were the same color as their emotions. Gold for happy, red for anger, purple for corruption, etc. The fact that the parrot spirit had its natural green plumage spoke to not only Lin's power, but his skill.

"Hello," Lin said, so softly that Naru had trouble hearing him. "You're very pretty. Do you live here?"

The parrot spirit inside boomed, soft and low. Naru didn't speak bird on a good day, and he was almost certain that Lin didn't either.

"Why have you not moved on?" Lin questioned.

In lieu of a response, the bird spirit turned its owlish face to the back of the enclosure. Lin knelt down and peered through the undergrowth. Naru copied him, squinting. He finally found the living kiwi, hiding all the way in the back, behind the tree trunk in its little habitat.

"Was that your friend?"

The bird turned back to him. Even though its expression hadn't changed, Naru figured that it was somehow sad. Lin was about to ask another question when a pair of footsteps echoed from his left. Both he and Naru turned. There came a zookeeper, dressed in her green uniform. She offered the two men a polite smile and was about to continue on her way when she saw into the kiwi enclosure.

"What the hell? Is that a kakapo!?" She did a double take, checking the plaque next to the enclosure. Sure enough, it read kiwi, not kakapo. "How on earth did that get there?"

"Has the Yoyogi Park Zoo ever had a kakapo exhibit?" Naru asked.

"Keeping those birds in captivity is illegal. They aren't allowed outside of New Zealand, due to heavy conservation efforts. Jesus H. Christ," the zookeeper muttered. In a flurry, she sped away from Naru and Lin, through the double doors down the hallway, frantically talking into her walkie talkie.

Lin and Naru exchanged shocked glances. "Was it trafficked?" Naru asked.

Lin shook his head, at a loss. He turned back to the parrot spirit. It wouldn't be long before the zookeeper came back, probably with her boss and law enforcement. Taking a breath to calm himself, Lin knelt again before the kiwi exhibit. "I'm not from around here. I take it you aren't either."

The kakapo spirit made a small grunting noise, which Naru took for affirmation.

"Did you maybe hitch a ride with your kiwi friend?" Lin asked. He held out his hand. The kakapo waddled forward and stepped onto his fingers. "Is that what you like to do? Hitch rides and travel the world?"

He raised his arm, holding the weightless spirit at his own eye level. The two stared at each other, and Lin asked the bird spirit, "Do you want to come with me? Serve as one of my familiars and experience the rest of the world?"

The kakapo sent one quick glance back toward the kiwi enclosure. Then it clambered over Lin's outstretched arm, toward his shoulder. Once it got there, it opened its beak and gripped onto Lin's hair, hoisting itself up until it was perched perfectly atop his head. Its beak was open, creating the most excited, puffy-cheeked look that a parrot could have. It was as though it was delighted to simply be up high.

"We should get out of here," Naru said.

Lin held out his hand, stopping Naru from interrupting. One last time, he exhaled his eerie whistle. A bright green tether formed, stemming from both of their chests and meeting in the middle. It disappeared as soon as it connected, just in time for the doors to the aviary to open again, this time with several zookeepers entering. The parrot was still on Lin's head.

"There!" said the keeper who had first come across Lin and Naru. She was pointing directly at them.

"You! How did you get that bird!" shouted another.

"It's a ghost," said Lin.

Naru turned to Lin, an incredulous look on his face. Was that really what Lin was going with?

"Don't bullshit me! Hand it over!" said a third keeper. This one was holding a towel. Lin bent down, keeping his head straight. The keeper approached Lin, keeping his body language quiet so as not to scare the bird. "C'mere, sweetheart," the keeper cooed. He raised his towel, and his hands passed right through the bird's body. Stunned, the keeper could only stare with a gaping mouth, passing his hand back and forth through the lifelike bird.

"It's… is it a…"

"It's a ghost," Naru repeated.

"Guys. Look."

All of the keepers turned to the second one, who had his phone out, pointed at Lin.

"Where's the bird?" asked one, staring at the screen.

"Ghosts don't show up on camera unless you have the proper equipment," said Naru. At this point, he didn't know what Lin's game plan had been, but now they just had to sell it. Then the kakapo on Lin's head disappeared, to the astonishment of everyone watching.

"We should have them arrested," came one whisper.

"For what, having a critically protected animal that just vanished before our very eyes? No one'll believe us."

"Whatever you're playing at, it's not funny," said the first keeper to Lin and Naru.

"Does it look like we're laughing?" Naru countered. He dug into his breast pocket and pulled out his business card. He showed it to everyone present. "We are from Shibuya Psychic Research. It's our job to handle matters of the supernatural. We're just doing our jobs. If you'll excuse us." He left them with the business card and began to leave. To his immense relief, nobody stopped them.

Lin and Naru exited the aviary and started to walk toward the big cat house. That was where the rest of their group had indicated they wanted to go. It was anyone's guess if they were still there, but that was the best place to find them. It was no use running, as Naru had plainly told the keepers who they were.

"Why did you do that?" Naru asked.

"Do what?" Lin returned.

"Tell them."

Lin tilted his head back, looking at the sky. It was slightly overcast, but not so much that it would rain. "Running would have made us look worse. It was better to prove to them that they had literally nothing. It was simply bad luck that the keeper came when she did."

Naru didn't buy Lin's explanation. He didn't believe his guardian was lying, but he had a suspicion that Lin wasn't telling him the whole truth. Deciding to table that topic for now, he asked, "And how did a kakapo of all birds end up in Japan?"

Lin turned slightly to the left, ear tipped toward his shoulder. Was the kakapo spirit sitting there? "He says he followed his taxidermized body as far as he could, but he got lost in a storm. He made his way here and recognized the kiwi as his avian neighbor."

Naru nodded. Live kakapos weren't allowed outside of New Zealand, but it was probable that some specimens were preserved for display in natural history museums and other research facilities.

"My Water shiki reports that the others are in the reptile house," Lin said.

So the two of them pivoted from the big cat house to the reptile house. Once inside, they were met by John's sudden exclamation of, "There you two are!" He must have spotted Lin's head over the crowd.

Mai and Yasu's expressions brightened as they turned to face the two men. "Hey guys, where were you?" Yasu asked as the groups rejoined.

"Aviary," said Naru. "We probably shouldn't stay much longer."

"Why? There's a lot left to see," said John.

"We caused a bit of a disturbance near the kiwi exhibit."

John, Yasu, and Mai stared at Naru and Lin with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Oh my," Yasu drawled, glasses flashing with mischief. Naru glared at him, but Yasu was not deterred.

"Did you do it?" Mai asked, looking straight at Lin. Lin nodded. Mai smiled. "Congratulations."

"What are you talking about, Mai?" Yasu asked, confusion replacing his suggestive teasing expression.

"Just some spirit business," Naru said.

Yasu paused a beat, head turning between Mai and Naru. Then he blurted, "Are you saying this trip was just a cover for a secret ghost case!?"

"Exactly," said Naru. "Now that we're done, we can leave."

He turned tail, leaving no room for argument. Lin stayed a few seconds longer, seeing if any of the others would follow. Predictably, Mai did follow. John and Yasu exchanged glances before chasing after the team. After all, they came to spend time with the SPR, not go to a zoo for its own sake. As John and Yasu had met up with the team on their own accord, after exchanging goodbyes, they parted ways outside of the park.

On the way back to the office, Mai, in the backseat of Lin's car, couldn't help but bombard the man with questions. "What kind of animal spirit did you find? Can I see it? Is it friendly?"

"It's a kakapo," Lin said.

Mai, predictably, had never heard of such an animal.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Look it up," Naru replied. Mai buried herself in her phone, leaving the two men with some peace and quiet. That was, until Mai began to read out loud basic kakapo facts. Naru couldn't help but let himself be goaded into teasing her for her big mouth and inability to tolerate silence. Lin filtered out the noise from the two children in the car with him, and instead he focused on the chatter between his Water shiki and his now newly acquired Wood shiki.

"Are they always like this?" asked the kakapo. He had a voice that suited his puffy body well. Slow, deep, and soft.

"You get used to it," replied Water. "Welcome to the team, by the way."

"What do we do?" asked the kakapo.

"We do what the boss asks us to do. And don't worry. He'll teach you, just like he taught me, and I'll help you, just like your predecessor helped me."

The kakapo sent an inquisitive boom Water's way. Water began to divulge into the story of how it first joined the team, back in Greece, back when the boss only had Fire, Earth, and the previous Wood to his name. Lin listened to them talk and tell stories. Things were slowly returning to a sense of right. It wasn't normal—Lin had no doubt that it would take a while for things to settle back to normal, if such a thing was even possible. But for now, he was on the road to recovering all five of his shiki. Perhaps, with a new Wood at his side, he'd be finally ready to tackle the woods. The only question remaining was whether to wait for tensions to cool over in Eastern Village, or if he ought to strike while the iron was hot.