A/N: Hi guys! I meant to get this out over the weekend, but I had to finally stop procrastinating and do my taxes LMAO!

I had a little trouble with this chapter since the first case isn't all too interesting to me; however, I think the changes made were appropriate with the timeline. I also thought I could take advantage as the writer and change up some things to add more early relationship-building (esp. for a pair that doesn't get much of it until the end of the series)—really, it's just a smidgen.

Enjoy!

Case One—Part 2

Naru stepped into the room, eying both girls warily. His eyes flickered between the two before landing on Mai. She wasn't sure how long he'd been listening, but he seemed to be aware of the turbulence. She liked to think her scowl communicated enough.

"Kuroda was just wondering if we found anything yesterday," Mai answered, attempting to sound nonchalant.

He appeared to consider her words for a moment before glancing at Kuroda. The other girl's brows raised. She was surprised that Mai hadn't mentioned anything else that had transpired. "I heard that medium, Hara Masako, couldn't sense any spirits—but I know she's wrong. I was even attacked earlier."

Mai scrunched her brows. "You didn't mention that earlier," she mumbled.

"What happened?" Naru inquired.

According to Kuroda's—alleged—story, she had her hair pulled before being forced into a chokehold. The spirit had targeted her because of the strong psychic energy she possessed.

Mai would've given her the benefit of the doubt if it had not been for their previous exchange. For whatever reason, Kuroda was fixated on ensuring everyone knew she could detect spirits here. So then why did she sound so defensive when claiming Mai wasn't strong enough?

To assess her claim, Naru jumped right into reviewing the footage. The recording was normal up until "the attack." Conveniently, the recording was cut off to static briefly before returning thereafter. Since ghosts were notorious for messing with electronics, she couldn't necessarily disregard that the attack happened, but something still felt off about it.

Naru brought a hand to his chin in thought, mirroring the spirit in her dreams from last night.

Catching her staring at him, he raised a brow. Mai rolled her eyes. He probably thought she was enamored again. "Since Masako said there weren't spirits here, do you think there could have been some other interference with the cameras?" she asked.

"Yes, but it's also not abnormal for female mediums to have an off day," he said, directing his attention to Kuroda. "Or, perhaps, the spirit who attacked you may be on the specific wavelength you are."

Kuroda's face brightened instantly.

Lin came up soon after their discussion to tell Naru that Ayako's exorcism was beginning. She had adorned traditional miko clothing, making her look more the part. Confident as always, she sent their group—now joined by Bou-san, John, and Masako—a smirk as though she had already exorcised the spirits. Mai's principal and vice-principal joined in on the ritual and seemed thoroughly convinced by her confidence.

The ritual, while interesting, was uneventful. As there was seemingly nothing to exorcise, it was just for show. Although her mother did partake in basic Shinto practices, Mai had never seen a ritual for this purpose. Bou-san was surprisingly helpful in explaining the history of the specific prayer Ayako was using.

Noting her curiosity, Naru offhandedly made a comment telling her to pay closer attention to better her self-development. Mai responded promptly with an eye roll.

After Ayako was done reciting her prayer, the school officials offered their own prayer to the spirits before showering the miko with unadulterated praise.

Bou-san stretched and joked about going out for drinks to celebrate. If most of the group weren't underage, the idea had promise. Naru opted to remain skeptical, stating that he would stay overnight for good measure. As everyone began filtering out, Mai froze mid-walk. She blinked in place as her heart started pounding in her chest.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Bou-san as he noticed Mai's behavior. He went to reach out for her shoulder when the sound of shaking glass caught his attention. Before he even had time to process the noise, all the windows on the doors shattered. Everyone pulled their arms up to guard themselves, while Bou-san moved to block Mai, Naru, and Kuroda—who stood nearby—from the blast.

"Thanks," Mai smiled at Bou-san. He grinned in return, happy to help. He was much nicer than he made himself out to be.

"Is everyone okay?"

The school officials, who ended up with a few shallow grazes, made sure everyone was okay before getting spooked enough to run off.

Kuroda scoffed. "Guess you failed. Even the principal got injured because you couldn't eliminate them," she provoked Ayako. "Now the spirits are angry."

"I know I got rid of them," Ayako defended, her face turning red from embarrassment.

Masako made a point to mention that what had happened was just a fluke. There still weren't any spirits there.

Mai was unsure how to feel. She couldn't explain the glass shattering, yet she also couldn't say it was a spirit's doing either.

"If this was the spirits retaliating, more evidence would be caught on the cameras," Naru reminded everyone.

When they returned to base, Lin was already sitting at the computers monitoring the cameras. He immediately pointed out that a camera had detected some motion coming from one of the classrooms—that a chair was caught moving from the edge of the room to the middle all on its own. This led to a frenzy of theories once again. Ayako and Kuroda agreed for once, both trying to convince Masako that there were spirits there.

"I think you're being paranoid," Masako held her ground.

"Why won't you just admit there are evil spirits here?" challenged Kuroda, crossing her arms.

Ayako mirrored the same action without realizing it. "Just admit you made a mistake."

While everyone debated amongst themselves, Mai snuck out of the room to poke around. She located the classroom with the chair and stuck her head in. Finding no danger, she casually inched over to the chair, nudging it with her toe. She surveyed the room, noting nothing out of the ordinary. Even if she couldn't physically see the spirits, she could at least tell that they were around. Here, it was all radio static.

"What are you doing in here?"

Why she jumped as much as she did, she didn't know. Peering back to see Masako at the door, Mai sighed in relief. "It's just you."

The medium must not have left that much later than Mai. She was probably fed up dealing with the loud mouths of the group.

Masako covered her mouth with her sleeve before approaching. "Were you expecting someone, or something else?"

"No, not really. You just surprised me," Mai said, waving her hand for emphasis. She returned to looking around the room. "For a room that just had 'spirit activity,' it's not chilly at all. No cold spots either."

Masako nodded, looking around the room. "Did you come here to investigate on your own?"

"Kind of. With all the arguing, I wanted to see for myself," Mai said. "I'm on your side for this one. I don't think there's anything here."

Masako regarded her carefully. "Why? Everyone else seems convinced that there are spirits here. Except for maybe Shibuya-san." Her hand lightly brushed along the wall as she walked.

"If there were spirits here, wouldn't they want to be acknowledged? Especially to you since you're an actual medium." Mai followed the other girl's movements from the middle of the room. That is until she noticed a familiar white rabbit materializing out of nowhere. Usa-sama looked to be gesturing toward the floor, but she couldn't make out anything. Squinting her eyes, she found a growing crack in the floor.

Masako eyed her in question.

Suddenly, the classroom door slammed closed as a cracking sound grew in volume, warranting the two girls to look at each other in question.

"Masako, get away from there!" Mai lunged forward and yanked Masako away from the wall by her wrist. The crack on the floor where she had been standing traveled upwards toward the wall, causing pieces of rotted wood to break off. A minute later and Masako's weight would've fallen through had she leaned any more. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I would be better had you not yanked my arm so hard," Masako said, rubbing her forearm.

Mai's eye twitched. Sorry for preventing injury!

Seeing as she was fine, Mai instead diverted her attention back to the spirit rabbit. Usa-sama watched them silently for a moment longer before disappearing.

Mai, then, remembered that the door had been shut on them. She walked over and attempted to slide it open but was alarmed to find it was stuck shut. Even after a few uncouth kicks, as Bou-san had done earlier, the door wouldn't budge. "Lovely."

"Will it not open?" Masako stood at her side. After seeing Mai's futile display of physical abuse, she opted to not make her own attempt.

"Nope," Mai shook her head. "I wonder how it managed to clos-"

She was interrupted by a cry. It sounded like Kuroda's voice. Placing her ear against the door, she heard some fumbling before the sound of someone falling to the ground. "What's going on?! Are you okay?"

There was silence. A group of footsteps pattered through the hallway, stopping somewhere around the corner out of their view. From the sounds of it, Kuroda was attacked again. "Is everything okay out there?" Mai called out.

"Mai, where are you?" That sounded like Naru.

"We're stuck in the classroom with the moving chair around the corner!" Masako replied for her. Mai tried waving at them through the classroom windows.

While John and Ayako brought Kuroda back to base, Bou-san ended up jailbreaking them out with Naru in tow. "Are you two okay?" He asked to which they both nodded.

"What happened?" Naru was quick to ask.

The two girls shared a glance. Mai explained what had transpired before they had heard Kuroda's cry in the hallway. Unlike when Ayako had been trapped, Naru openly checked the doorframe for external intervention, which Bou-san questioned him about. When he stood up, he carried a large nail with him, much like the one she saw him finicking the other day.

"You think someone locked them in?" Bou-san said, inspecting the sill where the nail had been jammed into.

"Naru, didn't you find one last time too?"

Naru nodded and assumed his usual thinking pose. "It seems we have some human interference. Let's return to base."

When they entered the base, Kuroda was in the middle of recounting her story. Upon seeing Mai and Masako, her eyes narrowed briefly. Naru asked her to repeat herself now that they had all returned.

Apparently, after noticing Mai and Masako had been gone for a while, Kuroda went to search. Right before rounding the corner, she was yanked back by an unseen force. When she tried to free herself, she lost her footing and fell to the floor. "I think it was the same spirit as last time."

They would've liked to review the footage, but that specific camera—conveniently—had been offline. Whoever replaced the SD card earlier placed it incorrectly. This was surprising as Naru and Lin were scrupulous about each component of their investigations.

"Why would a spirit want to attack you?" Ayako snorted before diverting her attention to the other high school students. "And what happened to you two?"

Once again, Mai had to repeat their story. "A second longer and Masako would've fallen out of the building! I think the building's starting to fall apart."

"A cheap veneer must have been used during construction."

"It might be the same spirit as yesterday who trapped me in the classroom," Ayako noted.

Surprisingly, Bou-san cut in this time. "I'm not too sure about that anymore. It looks like this was planted to keep the door shut." He held up the nail for the group to see. "Another one was found when Ayako was stuck," he said, ignoring her glare for using her first name.

"You're saying someone purposely stuck them there?" asked John, concern laden on his face. "Why would anyone want to do that?"

No one said anything at that moment but many ideas that fell along the same lines were running through their heads.

"To create the illusion that there are spirits here when there are none," Masako broke the silence.

"But why go to such lengths?" questioned Mai.

"To prevent being discredited," Naru said, glancing briefly at Kuroda.

She sent a glare Naru's way. "I don't know what you're implying, but I know that there are many spirits here. I don't need to stoop to tricks to prove that. I wasn't even in that area." She glanced around the room at everyone, focusing mainly on Ayako, Masako, and then Mai. "It's unfortunate that this group of spiritualists are either fake, or too weak to sense them."

That struck a nerve with Mai. "How can you go on saying that?" Sick of Kuroda's vilification, she stepped forward. "Masako has been sensing spirits professionally for years. Sure, she has off days, but it's not fair for you to say she's fake. And everyone else here has at least been working as a professional up till now. You may have abilities, but what gives you the right to criticize others who do too?"

Kuroda didn't expect to be called out because her confident façade began to crack. Her fists tightened and untightened while a flush crept up her face. Rattling could be heard as the windows and doors began vibrating against the walls. The doors began to open and shut rapidly on their own. Banging was heard in all directions of the room. Before anyone could react, the windows exploded, showering everyone with glass.

A few pieces grazed Mai's arms and legs, while one piece lodged itself into her thigh. She gasped, reflexively covering the wound with her hand. She flinched back at how warm the fragment felt.

"What is all this?" Someone asked as the banging and sliding doors continued with the same fervor.

"Is it collapsing?"

Masako was one of the first to notice the blood running down Mai's leg. "Mai!" This garnered everyone's attention.

"We should get out of here. It's not safe anymore," Naru stated. "Mai, can you walk?"

The said girl nodded, determined to not hold them back. Masako lent her a hand, allowing Mai to lean on her while she limped outside. John wasn't too far behind, staying close to make sure they were both safe.

As they made their exit, Masako quietly mumbled, "Thank you for earlier."

Mai scrunched her brows. "What for?"

Masako didn't reply immediately. Instead, she took a few moments to push her pride aside. "For saving me earlier, and for defending my abilities," she admitted. However, she was still quick to add, "Although, I am perfectly capable of standing up for myself. I appreciate it nonetheless."

Ignoring the latter part, Mai grinned. "Not at all! You've worked too hard to be called a fake." In her glee, she unconsciously extended her injured leg and bore full weight into it. "Ow, ow, shouldn't have done that."

Her response was a chuckle at her side.

Once everyone was safely out, Mai sat on the van's trunk where Lin retrieved a first aid kit. Naru initially mentioned bringing her to the hospital or a clinic, but Mai was vehement about her decline.

She didn't need to mention that she has had a few visits in the past due to shenanigans she got herself into—ghost-related or not. Considering that she was a minor who lived alone, she didn't need her sense of agency threatened any more than it already was. She was grateful no one questioned her further, especially about telling her parents.

Ayako, who turned out to have some medical prowess, took over Mai's treatment instead.

"Careful, when I put my hand over the wound earlier, the glass was hot."

"Did you feel it burn the injury?"

Mai tilted her head. "I guess not enough to burn but enough to surprise me."

"You said the glass was hot?" Naru inquired, moving to stand closer to her.

She nodded. "I could feel the warmth before I even touched it." She flinched as Ayako took that moment while she was distracted to extract the shard. "Now that I think about it though, why would it be hot? Nothing exploded, I don't think?"

"That sounds like poltergeist activity," mentioned John.

Naru nodded. "For Mai's sake, I'll explain," he said, ignoring her glare. "Poltergeist activity requires significant energy. When a human is the cause, it's usually done unintentionally. Whenever this type of phenomenon occurs, the objects involved will emanate warmth due to the energy consumed. This activity is most common in teenagers and young adults, especially females."

"All this activity couldn't possibly be just poltergeist activity, right?" Ayako asked, simultaneously wrapping Mai's leg. "And who would it be?"

Naru crossed his arms. "I believe I have a picture of what's going on. However, there are still a few matters I want to approach before sharing my findings. I think we should call it a day. The building is unsafe for so many people to be inside."

Everyone agreed on that one. Something Mai noticed upon everyone leaving was that Kuroda was nowhere to be seen. She must have fled the scene, scared after that incident.

Mai received a few offers to help her get home, but she politely declined. She didn't want them to go out of their way for her when she could still make it home in one piece. Besides, it wasn't that late. She chose to stay and help Naru with his less intensive work for a bit longer.

He sent Lin to record measurements, pressure values, and other specifics, while he input the data into the computer. He had her help with organizing his research as well as gathering the graphs he developed. She had no clue what any of this was, and when she asked, he wrote her off.

"I'll explain tomorrow."

"Ah, so everyone can hear together."

"I just don't feel like explaining more than once."

"How efficient of you."

The two worked in silence for another 15 minutes until Mai broke the silence once again.

"Do you think the consensus has changed now? Everything we found today points toward human intervention. Except maybe those attacks that Kuroda claimed to have." She was talking to herself at this point since Naru's concentration on his work didn't even falter. "I'm not a professional or anything, but I don't believe there were ever any spirits here, even before the exorcism. The place always felt so stale."

He raised a brow, noting the certainty in her voice. "Why mention this now?"

"I didn't think my opinion mattered. I'm not a professional after all, so why consider what I say?"

"Regardless, it was imperative that you had told us your impression. We only have a few sensitives here—Hara-san, possibly Matsuzaki and Kuroda-san, and then you."

"You're counting me?!"

"Am I wrong?"

Mai looked away. "Well, no—but I hadn't done anything noteworthy for you to tell."

"As I said earlier, my brain works differently than yours," he said as if it was obvious. "In any case, tell me whenever you detect anything in the future."

"Okay…"

Apparently, Naru considered the case as good as solved as he and Lin started dissembling the shelves and bringing out the equipment from inside the building. They didn't openly forbid her from doing heavy manual work, but they did assign her to cord and wire duty instead. She remained outside for the most part, while the males did the lifting.

When it was just her and Naru working behind the van, her mind wandered off to Not-Naru.

Glancing briefly at him from the corner of her eye, she wondered if Naru was always this focused, or if maybe it was a result of his recent loss. She didn't necessarily want to spring the topic up on him right away—but maybe she could test the waters in the event he wanted to talk about it. Unlikely, but she'd shoot her shot.

"So… do you have any siblings?" She broke the silence. Maybe she could pose it as simple small talk.

The way he froze and the air became frigid told her immediately to abort the mission. He sent her a cold stare, making her flinch. Okay, too soon.

"O-oh, just thought I'd get to know you some. I'm an only child and thought you might be one too. Sorry, if that was too personal," she lamely covered.

His gaze remained on her for a few more seconds before his shoulders ultimately relaxed. Without answering her, he returned to his work.

Mai released the breath she'd been holding. Her heart was still pounding in her chest from the nerves. At least she learned two things from this—first, Not-Naru must be his brother, and two, Naru probably didn't like to talk about himself much.

The two continued to work silently, and eventually, their previous atmosphere was restored. If Lin noticed any tension when he returned from his trip into the building, he didn't say.

Mai returned home that night exhausted. She collapsed on her bed face first and sank into her pillow. She was still kicking herself for mentioning such a sore topic with Naru earlier—but what if he needed to relay a message to his loved one? Or the other way around? And wouldn't he be angry that she was in contact with his brother and didn't tell him?

But then again, she didn't know him well. Who was to say they would have any relations after this case was done? Maybe his brother will drift off to the next available sensitive nearby?

Her myriad of thoughts grew fainter as she worked herself to sleep.

Opening her eyes, she was greeted by the floating orbs she was growing accustomed to seeing. "Three days in a row now," she mumbled to herself. She lay there for what felt like half an hour, too lazy to get up.

"Welcome back, Mai," Not-Naru greeted her with a smile as he crouched down. A white rabbit was nestled in his arms receiving head scratches.

She blinked, her eyes shifting from his face to Usa-sama. "Since when did you two become friends?"

"When we came to a mutual understanding," he grinned. "This poor little guy is a forgotten deity. Since you have his possessed artifact now, he's kind of like your guardian—or a spirit guide and protector."

"And what about you?" She asked, sitting up.

"…I'm just here for the ride," he shrugged, handing Usa-sama over to Mai. She reluctantly took the spirit, appalled by Not-Naru's casual handling of the deity. She waited for him to continue speaking, but he remained silent, leaving her with no answers. Again.

"Could I at least get your name? I don't want to have to call you 'Not-Naru' forever."

He snorted. "You can call me Gene! Nice to officially make your acquaintance."

She returned the smile, finding his energy contagious. "Nice to meet you, Gene," she said, shifting Usa-sama in her arms. "Now seriously though, why are you here? I don't want to invade your privacy or anything, but you said you don't need help moving on. Spirits don't just pop up without needing something."

Gene pondered her question, carefully crafting his answer. "Let's just say there are a few things I want to see before I move on. You just happen to be the only one I can match wavelengths with."

"You can't even come in contact with Masako?"

"Nope. We're on two completely different planes. You're more open—concerningly so, by the way—so it's easier for me to find you."

Mai nodded, understanding a bit better. She absentmindedly started petting the rabbit in her arms. Speaking to Naru earlier wasn't a great plan, so what about speaking to Gene now?

Feeling resolve in her heart, she faced him. "Do you… need me to relay anything to your brother?"

A gentle but sad smile crossed his face. "No, not now. Not yet, anyway. Thank you though."

The clenching in her heart came back, much like when she first realized Gene was Naru's family. If she could be the anchor for Gene until he resolved whatever he needed to, then she would be more than willing. "Well, welcome to my dreams then. To your left, you'll find our resident deity. To the right, a whole bunch of nothing. And straight ahead are visions I have no business seeing," she cracked a smile, hoping to boost his spirits.

He chuckled. "He's going to have a lot of fun with you." He gestured to take Usa-sama from her. "Off with you now. Time to wake up!"

Mai opened her mouth to object, but he ignored her. He poked her forehead, sending her backward into a spiral. Before she knew it, she was waking up back in her bed with a flinch. Again.

At that exact moment, her alarm went off. Ah, that's right. Today was a school day.

She got herself ready quickly, tucking one side of her hair behind her ear as usual. She took a painkiller and changed the wrapping Ayako made yesterday to a less obvious bandage before leaving.

The school day was average, aside from telling Keiko and Michiru about what had transpired. One of their friends from Kuroda's class had mentioned during lunch that the said girl was currently gloating to everyone in her class about the events over the weekend—including how she was the only one who could detect the spirits.

Nearing the end of the school day, the principal called both Mai and Kuroda to the office. Inside revealed every member of the team already seated. Naru didn't waste any time, of course—without even explaining, he began his test. They were to stare at a red light as he gave several suggestions to them.

By the end of it, whether due to her forgetfulness or the test itself, Mai could swear she already forgot about every suggestion he made.

When the group met after, Ayako mumbled quietly to Mai, "Why is she here?" She gestured her head toward Kuroda.

"Naru told her to go back to class, but she wanted to see what that test was all about," Mai whispered back. To be frank, that was just her assumption. Kuroda didn't seem very interested in talking to her anymore.

"How's your leg, Jou-chan?" Bou-san inquired.

She smiled, happy that he cared enough to ask. "It's okay! Just a little sore when I'm running or going upstairs."

They were interrupted when Naru cleared his throat.

She rolled her eyes, All business!

Naru explained to them that many of the events that happened were due to land subsidence, something she would never have even considered. He provided the graphs and data that he had her organize yesterday. They provided visuals to indicate the sinking of the land the building sat on as well as the moisture levels and instability. After Mai had left yesterday, one of the ceilings collapsed. Luckily, neither Naru nor Lin was inside at the time. They had all but cleared out most of the equipment at that point. No one seemed to question these findings since he presented them with scientific support, except Kuroda.

"But what about all the knocking, door slamming, and the windows shattering? That can't just be land subsidence."

"Didn't we confirm yesterday that was poltergeist activity?" Ayako said.

"Human poltergeist activity," Bou-san clarified.

"I have a plan to either confirm or rule that out—however, I have complete trust in my assessment," Naru said. "Unless any of you would like to do manual work, I suggest you head home and return tomorrow for the results."

His suggestion easily chased away Ayako and Masako, and reluctantly, Kuroda since she wouldn't be getting her answers today anyway.

That left SPR, Mai, Bou-san, and John.

"I'm not interested in any manual work, but I'm curious about what you have planned." Bou-san crossed his arms, ready to hear about "the big plan."

In the end, Naru didn't explain anything and somehow roped John and Bou-san into boarding up the windows and door to the classroom for his test. Inside the classroom sat a chair in the middle of a chalk circle. He had set up not only an infrared camera and one of his regular cameras but also a radar. He then stapled sheets of paper to the boards after they were nailed. They were then told to write their names across the pages. As usual, he didn't explain anything when she asked about all of it, even when Bou-san made a few snide comments. When everything was finished without much trouble, they all called it a day and left.

When they reconvened the next day, the group met in front of the boarded classroom. Ayako had a few snarky comments regarding the boards, but Naru disregarded her and only addressed the three that wrote their signatures. "Do any of these sheets look tampered with? Including your signatures?"

"Nope."

Ayako was about to question the point of all of this but was quickly silenced when Naru pried the wood apart with a wrecking tool.

Satisfied with his work, he peered inside. A small smirk appeared when he entered the classroom. The chair that sat inside the chalk circle had been knocked over and dragged outside the circle. "As I thought."

"But how does this test confirm that the phenomenon is due to a poltergeist?" asked Bou-san, leaning on the teacher's desk as everyone crowded in.

Naru explained how his test from yesterday worked by providing a suggestion for them to follow. As the room was inaccessible without the boards showing signs of being tampered with, the culprit would have to be someone from this group.

"The other day, we discussed the motives of the person using the nails to simulate a haunting. The nails and this poltergeist activity are both related. As human poltergeists are usually caused by young females under mental stress, the likely candidates would be Hara-san, Mai, or Kuroda-san."

"Me?!" Mai questioned to no avail. Bou-san chuckled and patted her head.

Naru spared her a glance. "As Hara-san is known to be a medium that would rule her out. Mai does have psychic abilities, but they're of a different nature than those required to cause a poltergeist. Thus, the most likely answer would be Kuroda-san."

"Why me?" Kuroda's face was flushed with embarrassment.

Naru explained how her stories didn't coincide with the history of the building or Masako's findings. The activity had been poltergeist-like since the beginning. In this case, the manifestations arose from the simple will to garner attention. Naru had even spoken to Keiko and Michiru about Kuroda to reach his conclusion. He found that she was able to gain popularity in middle school because of her spiritual powers—she had more to lose if word got out that there weren't spirits here. Out of the strong desire to not be proven wrong, her wishes were embodied as poltergeists.

Hearing that, Mai would be lying if she said she didn't sympathize with Kuroda.

She got to be the center of attention, but not in the way she wanted.

"I… think it's a fine desire to have. Everyone wants to be accepted, but to also distinguish themselves from others. To have something special to only them," Mai smiled. She reached out to Kuroda, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kuroda looked down in shame, one from being the one perpetrating the activity, but also for her attitude, especially toward Mai. "I'm sorry."

"I opt to tell the principal that there were many war spirits, but we had successfully exorcised them."

"Why not tell the truth?" asked Masako.

"Kuroda-san feels bad enough. I don't think we need to make things harder for her."

To say she was surprised was an understatement. She didn't expect that from Naru. The same Naru who had been cold, rude, and calculating during this time she worked with him. Yet, it was also unfair to say that he hadn't shown some kindness. He didn't openly say it, but he didn't have her do any physical tasks after her injury the other day. And when he spoke about the poltergeists, he didn't openly call Kuroda out either.

He could be blunt, but he wasn't unkind.

"Who will we say did the exorcism then?" Ayako asked. She had been the only one to perform an exorcism, but everyone had worked on the case together.

"We accomplished it as a team. No one has a problem with that, right?" answered Naru without a moment's hesitation.

Mai smiled, happy for everyone.

"You're a good guy," said Ayako, her tone completely changed now. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

That was quick! Mai snorted.

"There's only enough room for me in the mirror," Naru smirked before walking away.

Mai and Bou-san glanced at each other and then fell into a fit of chuckles. Masako hid a smile behind her sleeve while John scratched his head in second-hand embarrassment.

Ignoring Ayako's pouting, Naru informed Lin that they will now be pulling out.

Mai wasn't sure what she was going to do now, so she stood and watched as everyone started to filter out. A sense of melancholy overwhelmed her at that moment. She had never been interested in actively pursuing spirits like this before and certainly hadn't been looking forward to working for Naru to pay her debt.

So then why was she sad that it was all over?

Her expenditures with spirits in the past weren't that different from this investigation—at the end of the day, it was to solve a problem or figure out what was happening. Maybe she liked the routine of coming here every day? Or, maybe she liked the company of other people who weren't unlike her? They didn't get to spend a lot of time together, and they could be infuriating at times. But they were still closer to her "realm" than any of the other people she'd met recently.

"Aren't you going to class?" Naru's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Um… I wasn't thinking of going today," she said, shrugging.

Naru stared blankly at her. "It would be in your best interest to try getting smarter."

Still rude to the very end.

"However, if you don't plan on going to class, care to help me pack?"

And help she did. They finished packing up the last bit of equipment needed for last night's experiment. When she expected him to shoo her away now that her usefulness ran out, he popped an unusual question.

"When did your abilities begin manifesting?"

She froze, taken aback by his sudden questioning. This wasn't a question she heard very much, if at all. "Oh, um, when I was really little, I guess. Maybe between four and six?"

"What do they entail?" he continued.

Why did she feel like she was being interviewed?

"Well, I have weird dreams about other people's memories. Sometimes, I just get a feeling I have to listen to. Sometimes I see spirits, but I usually sense them more than anything. And apparently, I've also been floating out of my body this whole time whenever I have these dreams." She couldn't tell what counted as an ability and what didn't at this point. For now, she didn't plan on invoking anything out of Naru by mentioning his recently deceased brother.

"How can you distinguish that you're having an out-of-body experience, rather than just a regular dream?"

For the first time, it felt like he was actually looking at her now—fully acknowledging her.

"Well, I still can't on my own, but recently- uh, I have a spirit guide, of sorts, that's been giving me pointers."

Naru put a hand to his chin in thought. "I see." He was silent after that as the two began walking out of the building. "In any case, now that we're done, you should head to class. Your intelligence will thank you."

Mai gawked, appalled by his complete lack of social awareness and skill with conversation. "Why thank you for your wisdom, Sensei. Don't mind if I do!" With that said, she huffed and stomped away to school.

The old schoolhouse collapsed soon after. She could only wonder if Naru and everyone else had left the scene before it happened. They would have been caught in that mess if they had stalled the investigation an extra day.

A few days passed with life moving forwards as usual. Mai couldn't help but wonder what Naru was up to now. She hadn't had any dreams since that final day. Usa-sama's presence was easier for her to notice now, but she didn't know if Gene was still around, or if he had floated off along with Naru. A part of her was relieved to return to her normal life—and yet, the other part missed being a "real ghost hunter" for a few days.

As if on cue, an announcement was made for her to report to the main office.

What now?!

She was told she had a phone call, but who could be calling her?

"Mai?"

Her jaw dropped. "Naru?!"

"You don't have to scream."

"Yeah, sorry, sorry. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"I have a check for you for the work that you did. As well as compensation for your injury. Where should I send it?"

She blinked, not expecting to be paid. The injury compensation was a nice gesture though, especially coming from him. She provided her address and expected him to just end the call, but once again, he surprised her.

"Does your school allow part-time jobs?"

"Yeah, that's no problem."

"Would you like to work for my office then? Someone left, so I have a secretarial position open." He then added, "I also believe it would be beneficial for you to hone your skills."

She hesitated, thinking over his offer. The half of her that yearned for a normal life was steering her one way. While her other more spiritual half gravitated toward Naru's offer.

Well—if she was going to help random spirits anyway, she might as well get paid for it.

"I'll accept your offer!"

A/N: SO EXCITED to be DONE with this case (and with my taxes lmao)! It's not my favorite by any means, but I enjoyed writing the Mai/Masako bits and the crumbs of Bousan and Mai. I think Mai and Masako's friendship is cute, and I plan to develop it earlier here. That's not to say they won't have their moments, though!

Because of this universe, I cut the case short. It didn't make sense to drag it the whole way when Mai has more insight this time around. Even though her own abilities didn't change much, her thought process and perspective lent a hand to the case being solved sooner. Don't worry, Bousan and John will have their moments to shine later.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!

Toodles~