Previously on Ghost Hunt:

"Hey, Little Lady! Where are you going?!" Housho called out to Mai. This is bad! This is really bad! Mai thought to herself. She ran as fast as she could, urging herself to move faster to warn him about the danger. She knew she was close enough when she started to hear his voice.

"...gave he the power to become the sons of God. Which were born, not of blood..." Mai urged herself to move even faster. She ran up to the classroom and was relieved to see that he was still unharmed but it didn't mean he was out of danger.

"John!" She called out his name. John looked up in confusion and looked at the entrance to see Mai standing there, practically out of breath.

"Mai-san?" He said in confusion.

"Hurry! The ceiling is coming down!" She warned him. John gasped and looked up at the ceiling but it was too late, the ceiling had started to break and fall down.

"John! John!!"

✛幽霊∞✛∞シリーズ✛

"What a disaster. How can this be?" Housho questioned himself, looking at the once undamaged room.

"If Mai-san hadn't called out, I would have been in real danger," John added in. Mai, fortunately, had been able to take John out of the room quick enough before the ceiling could collapse on him. Mei-Lin and Kazuya were currently in the room, searching for anything out of place with a flashlight in the dark room. Everyone else was standing outside of the room, watching the two work, so they wouldn't be in the way or accidentally ruin evidence if there was any.

"Maybe it's best if we pulled out of here for tonight," Kazuya spoke up, staring at the hole in the ceilings. "Mai, you can go home."

"Really?" Mai perked up, hearing that she was finally released from her duties today. After today's constant scares, she needed it.

"Yeah."

"Right, I'll be going, too," Ayako said. "While there's life, there's hope."

"Just be honest and say you're scared." Housho teased the Miko with a small smirk. Ayako glared at him, unamused by his comment. Instead of retorting back, she turned her back on him with a small hmph and walked away. Housho's smirk grew as he followed her out, heading back home.

"I will follow your advice as well, and call it a day," John announced to the two. After almost losing his life, it was enough to call it a day for that night.

"What about you and Mei, Naru?" Mai asked the two, as Kazuya continued inspecting the ceiling while Mei-Lin was taking a look at the scattered pieces of wood, being careful with the sharp edges.

"There's still something I want to investigate," Kazuya answered her.

"But what if the ceiling comes down again?" Instead of answering, Kazuya inspected a piece of debris brought to him by Mei-Lin. Mai watched the two for a bit before deciding to take Kazuya's advice and head home. Kuroda watched the two interact for a bit, her eyes narrowing at how calm Mei-Lin was. With a small huff, she eventually left as well, leaving Mei-Lin and Kazuya alone in the building. Mei-Lin glanced around at the surrounding debris and damage done to the room. All she could do was let out a silent sigh and continue working, doing whatever it was Kazuya needed her to do. It was going to be a long night...

✛幽霊∞✛∞シリーズ✛

Sunday

✛幽霊∞✛∞シリーズ✛

The next day was bright and cheerful, different from the dark and ominous night from yesterday. Mai had woken up early and quickly made her way to the abandoned school buildings. She barely was able to get sleep last night from constant thoughts and concerns about last night. As much as she trusted the two to be careful her mind couldn't help but think what would happen if the ceiling caved in again or worse. "Naru!" Mai shouted into the base, expecting to find the narcissist and his assistant working there early, like usual, but there was no sight of either of them and the room had less equipment than there originally was. What's happening!? What's going on here?

"Naru! Mei! Are you there!?" Her worst fears felt as though they were being confirmed. If they aren't in the base, then the only other place they could be in is the van! Mai ran out of the building and headed for the van, hoping that the two were okay and uninjured. She slowed her pace when she saw the trunk of the van was wide open and a familiar figure dressed in all black was sitting inside of it. What are they doing out here?

Kazuya had fallen asleep inside of the van with a black blanket covering him and Mei-Lin, who was fast asleep with her head on his chest. Mai couldn't help but feel a bit irked and felt a small pang in her chest seeing the two so close and intimate with each other even though they were asleep. "Naru! You slept out here!? You're going to catch a cold!"

Mai's shouting had awoken Kazuya, as he let out a small sigh, and opened his eyes. "Is that you, Mai? What do you want, this early in the morning?" Kazuya asked the girl, his voice deep from sleep, looking at her with eyes that showed he was still half asleep, pushing his bangs slightly out of the way. Mai blushed hard seeing this side of Kazuya but grew more irked. D-Damn it all, he really does have a handsome face! Kazuya looked away from Mai and looked down at the small pressure he felt on his chest.

Mei-Lin was still fast asleep on his chest, snuggling more against him for warmth. A ghost of a smile could be seen on Kazuya's lips as he tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear, making sure to not wake her. The pang in Mai's chest grew as she gripped her shirt. Damn it, even when she is asleep she is beautiful. Mai couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that even asleep, Mei-Lin looked as beautiful as she is when she's awake. It's not fair that both of them could casually fall asleep in the back of a van and wake up still looking good. Watching the two together was like looking at a painting. If I was as beautiful as Mei-Lin or if I was her would he treat me like that?

"M-Morning? It's already past 11 o'clock." Mai told Kazuya. "Ah, would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." Mai went back to the base and came back with a small cup of coffee for him.

"Did you find out anything last night?"

"Yeah." Mai stared at Kazuya for a moment as he sipped his coffee.

"Really?!" She was gone for only less than a day and they managed to find something among all the debris.

"Hey there!" Housho called out to them. Kazuya and Mai looked back and saw Housho along with Ayako and John. "What's up with your lab?"

"What is it, boy? Getting ready to leave already?" Ayako asked.

"Yes, I am," Kazuya replied, sitting up a bit more, but not enough to stir Mei-Lin awake. Kazuya gently lifted Mei-Lin up and lay her down flat, using his jacket as a pillow for her head, covering her with the blanket. The gentle way he treated her did not pass anyone as they all stared at the two. They have to be dating or something...

"You mean, you're running away because you can't handle it?" Housho asked, raising a brow. He didn't expect this self-important kid to just give up so quickly.

"That can't be right," John said in disbelief. He didn't believe that Kazuya would give up so easily. Was it his fault that he felt the need to leave?

"No. I've determined that the case has been solved," Kazuya answered, disproving their earlier thoughts on him giving up.

"You exorcized them all on your own?" Housho asked, surprised.

"No, I didn't. There was no need."

"There was no need?"

"What do you mean?" Mai questioned him. Kazuya pulled out his computers and typed in a few keywords before showing the group a graph.

"Last night, I compiled the results of all of my measurements. This is a graph of my survey levels. The old schoolhouse sank 0.2 inches overnight."

"What?" Housho exclaimed, looking over the graph.

"It's subsidence."

"So, what? You're saying that was the cause of all of these strange phenomena?" Ayako asked dubiously. She found that hard to believe, the whole reason behind these strange events was something as simple as land subsidence.

"This whole area is reclaimed swampland," Kazuya explained, showing the various graphs and charts to the group. "When I looked into the distribution of wells that were once in use, I found out that there was a large waterway that passed directly underneath this school but when Mei and I checked the wells around here, they were mostly dry."

"Which means..." Mai asked, needing further explanation on the matter.

"The ground here was weak, to begin with, and the water has dried up, so if it is hollowing out underground, then naturally, the old school that is built above it will sink, too."

"So then, the chair moving, and the ceiling collapsing, was all caused by the ground sinking?" Housho asked.

"Yes. The floor of the classroom at the eastern end, where the ceiling collapsed, was three inches lower than the west end."

"Three inches is..." Mai tilted her head, trying to calculate how much that meant and how deep it was.

"...about 7 1/2 cm, huh?" Housho finished the math.

"Then, what about the rapping noises?" Ayako asked.

"Probably the sound of the building warping," Kazuya answered, shutting his laptop closed. "We should have the area around the school declared off-limits. This building is going to collapse before long."

✛幽霊∞✛∞シリーズ✛

"This can't be! Then, what is it that attacked me!?" Kuroda protested when she showed up later. Mai, with some help from the others, explained the truth behind the supposed hauntings of the school. Among hearing this, she immediately ran to confront Kazuya in the base, who was currently packing up any remaining equipment. Kazuya stopped what he was doing and faced her. Even with the evidence there, this girl was still going to protest saying there are spirits here?

"If that really did happen, then maybe it's the work of a floating specter that was following you." He remarked with an emotionless face. He recalled the few times Mei-Lin say that she felt strong emotions from the girl and majority of it was negative. Kuroda grits her teeth and glared at Kazuya.

"It was real! I really was attacked!" Kuroda insisted, stubbornly.

"Are you really leaving, Naru?" Mai asked.

"Uh-huh. The job is done." He said, getting back to work.

"I see. I guess it is, huh?" Mai said, playing with the ends of her hair as she let out a nervous laugh. However, something didn't feel, right? What? I'm disappointed for some reason. Huh? Somehow, it just doesn't feel all cleared up.

Mei-Lin walked into the room, wide awake from her sleep. "Kazu, I've put all the microphones and camera's back in the van."

"Good, just help me with these last few pieces of equipment," Kazuya ordered her. Mei-Lin nodded and quickly went to work, disassembling the rest of the equipment as Kazuya put them into boxes.

"There is a spirit here, really." Kuroda insisted.

"No. The outcome of my investigation was completely blank." Kazuya stated firmly.

"Maybe you just can't tell if it's here, right?!" Kuroda yelled at him in frustration. Mei-Lin pinched the bridge of her nose before looking at the girl.

"Then you can drive it out. If you do have spiritual powers, that is." Mei-Lin told her, losing her patience with the girl. "Since you've been here all you've done is say spirits are here but you haven't done anything to get rid of the problem. You keep saying there here but is that all you're here for, to convince us of spirits that are not here? The whole time I've been here I've felt nothing but negative emotions from you and want for attention. Anything you say at this point is pointless, the case is closed."

Everyone stood there in silence looking between the two girls. Kuroda clenched her fist glaring hard at the girl, with tears of anger in the corner of her eyes. Some may have thought that what Mei-Lin said was harsh but unfortunately, it was the truth. The evidence was there but one person just keeps on insisting that it's not true. In this field, for Kazuya and Mei-Lin, it's not the people who don't believe in the supernatural or psychic abilities who are a pain but rather those who blame it all on that as well as going around claiming they were psychic. If it wasn't for people who had those sorts of outlooks cases that do actually involve the supernatural wouldn't be made fun of and progress regarding psychic abilities would have advanced years ahead of time. In their eyes, Kuroda was that type of person, someone who blames it on the unknown and making false claims.

Kazuya sighed and placed a hand on Mei-Lin's head. Mei-Lin looked up at Kazuya but he was looking straight at Kuroda. "I've decided that our work here is done, so we're leaving." With that said, Kazuya grabbed the last control panel and packed it into the box.

"It kind of feels like the dreams is over," Mai said, looking down at the ground, solemnly. Kazuya and Mei-Lin both looked at Mai, giving her a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" Kazuya asked.

"Here's an old building in the corner of the school, which really seems to have something about it- stories about it having ghosts and all- there's a certain sort of romance to it, isn't there?" Mai said, playing with her hands as she expressed her thoughts. "I mean, I wouldn't want someone to have really died or anything, but it would be nice if it had some, just for some harmless ghost stories."

"Maybe so," Kazuya said thoughtfully. Mei-Lin glanced at Mai before looking down. Her words... they reminded her of him. Mei-Lin paused and felt a dark chill go up to her spine. She felt a dark and malicious intent but it wasn't in one specific area, it was filling the entire room.

"Kazu..." Mei-lin called out to him, shakily as she fell to her knees. The pressure in the room was suffocating and she felt like it was pressing her down. Kazuya's eyes widened and he quickly made his way to Mei-Lin. Everyone perked up when they started hearing the sound of glass breaking. They all looked back and saw the glass behind Kuroda shattered, nearly cutting her with the shards, causing her to scream.

"Kuroda-san!" Mai shouted, running over to check on her.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"What is this?!" Ayako asked nervously.

"Somebody is hitting something!" Housho said, furrowing his brow as he looked around the room.

"The sound of knocking! Another one of Tisane's conditions!" John exclaimed.

"Naru!" Mai called out to her boss, looking for an explanation of what was going on. Kazuya seemed to be in shock, not moving and staring in one area with Mei-Lin slowly growing pale in his arms from the negative aura. This wasn't the sound of a creaking building, this was an actual knocking sound! "Naru?"

Mai turned back and looked back when the doors leading to the hallway started opening and closing shut over and over again.

"This is really dangerous!" Housho exclaimed. There was no way this was something as simple as the building sinking.

"Outside! It's going to collapse! Mai!" Kazuya said, lifting up Mei-Lin into his arms as the girl was paralyzed and unable to move at the moment.

"But the doors..." Mai shouted over the banging, How were they suppose to get past the doors without getting smashed between them. They also couldn't leave through the windows without possibly getting cut from the shards of glass.

"Leave that to me!" Housho said, as he picked up a chair and threw it at the window pane. shattering them in the process so they could all escape. "We'll get out this way!"

✛幽霊∞✛∞シリーズ✛

"Are you okay, Kuroda-san?" Mai asked the girl once they were all outside and out of harm's way. Kuroda didn't say anything except giving a small nod, her eyes never looking away from the floor.

"You're bleeding. Hold out your hand." Ayako told the quiet girl as she started to treat her hand, fortunately, it was only a small cut. "It's okay, the cut isn't deep."

Mei-Lin was sitting on the ground, taking slow and deep breaths as her skin started getting back it's natural hue. What was that... It wasn't a spirit but it was so bad that it caused me to nearly pass out?

"What was that?" Housho demanded, looking at Kazuya with narrowed eyes. "You telling me that was caused by the ground sinking, too?! That was a full-on poltergeist, wasn't it?!"

"Far from the sound of the building warping, someone was definitely knocking on the walls," Ayako added.

"This makes four of Tisane's nine conditions that have been met," John added in regretfully. By no means was he trying to be cruel to Kazuya or say he was wrong but there was no denying what happened in there.

"How can you say your data turned up blank? That's ridiculous!" Ayako continued, criticizing the young ghost hunter. "We were this close to being the butt of your childish joke."

"It's time for us to show a little grown-up earnestness," Housho said decisively.

"Good grief, I can't even stand to be near you." Ayako huffed, turning away from Kazuya and leaving with the monk. Mei-Lin glared harshly at the two as they left. She felt that it was a bit rich how Ayako failed and yet had the right to criticize Kazuya, not to mention the monk hadn't really done anything to help the situation.

"What's with them?!" Mai exclaimed in anger. "Now they start getting along with each other!" Mei-Lin could only let out a sigh and looked at Kazuya before her eyes trailed down to his arm, seeing blood on his.

"Kazuya, your hand." She gasped.

"It isn't serious. It'll stop bleeding soon." He said calmly, not looking back at the girl.

"Still..."

"I'm fine. Mai, see to Kuroda-san. Mei-Lin, rest for now and don't push it." He insisted, leaving no room for argument.

"Naru..." Mai took a step closer, concerned for her boss.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me alone right now." He told them coldly. "I'm so mad at myself, I could throw up."

"Kazuya!" Mei-Lin called out to him, but the young teenager just walked away without looking back. Mei-Lin tried to stand up but stumbled, her body not fully recovering from the shock of earlier. Mai's eyes widened and she helped the girl avoid crashing into the floor. Mei-Lin watched Kazuya leave and grit her teeth, looking down. She was angry. She was angry at Ayako and Housho for saying all those things to Kazuya. She was angry that those things happened when she believed the case was solved. But most of all, she was angry at herself for not knowing what to say at this moment.

Kazuya wasn't wrong but there was a part of this case that they were missing. Until he came back, she was going to find out what it was. However, she couldn't do it alone...

"Mai... Can I ask for your help with something."

✛幽霊∞✛∞シリーズ✛

"You're not going to watch our monk's exorcism?" Ayako asked. She thought that other than John, Housho, and herself the rest left so she was surprised when the two girls working with Kazuya were still sticking around.

"No, thank you!" Mai answered, not looking back at Ayako. She was still annoyed how the woman was criticizing Kazuya earlier and acting like it was nothing. Mai continued to pack up pieces of equipment that Mei-Lin asked her to help with. She was genuinely surprised that the girl asked for her help, despite clearly not liking her for unknown reasons. However, the fact that Mei-Lin stayed around showed she must have had some kind of faith in Kazuya. If she had faith in him, so should she.

"Are you sure about this?" John asked Mai, holding out a few cables to her. "Should you really be packing up?"

"If I have to, I can always carry it back in," Mai answered, feeling better now' that the young priest was helping her, "Besides, Mei-Lin said it was best to pack up most of the stuff here."

"In that case, I'll take this," John said, picking up a microphone.

"Oh, hang on a second on that," Mai told him. "Mei-Lin may want to use that for a certain room."

"Do you still believe the boy's explanation?" Ayako asked, watching the two from the side along with Housho. Mai's eyes narrowed, slowly getting fed up with the woman's attitude.

"Do you have any proof that he's wrong?! If so, prove to me that there's an evil spirit here!" Mai demanded. Ayako flinched a bit and glared at Mai. The two stared each other down, neither tearing their gaze away until soft footsteps were heard behind them.

"If there are actually spirits here, which I highly doubt, then what does that say about the person who failed to exorcize them?" Mei-Lin said from behind. Ayako's face turned red and she directed her glare at Mei-Lin this time, her glare harsher than it was before.

"Why you...!"

"Now, now..."

Mei-Lin didn't seem to pay her any mind and walked past her. "Mai, would you and John mind setting some of the equipment on the second floor. I think we may be able to get a few decent sounds from there if anything happens."

"Ah, sure!"

✛幽霊∞✛∞シリーズ✛

"On sunba nisunba un bazara un hatta jaku un ban koku on dakini shara kyara heigi yaya shigi yaya nei." Monk had started chanting incantations for the exorcism. To those who knew what was happening, this was very common and normal. To people like Mai, on the other hand, this was nothing but gibberish.

How is chanting that gibberish incantation going to clear out evil spirits? Mai thought to herself. Ayako glanced back at Mai, noticing the girls stare, causing Mai to flinch. Geez, Naru, you dope! Get back here quick, and tell these guys off! Mei is waiting for you! With a sigh, Mai left the room and started putting the rest of the equipment in spots that Mei-Lin said would be good for research.

"I set up the microphone on the second floor," John told her as he came down the steps.

"Thanks. Sorry to put you to work like this." Mai thanked him. She felt bad that she had the priest help her but she was really grateful for it.

"I don't mind. Anyhow, I'm going to go look around inside some more and see if Mei-Lin-san needs anything." John said, not minding the situation.

"Uh-huh. Be careful." Mai waved him as he walked to the other side of the building. She let out a small sigh once he was out of sight and leaned against the wall. Mai thought back to what Mei-Lin told her...

"Kazuya isn't the type who would walk away from an unsolved case and have his pride damaged. He's not wrong about what's happening here but there is something we clearly missed. If I know him, he will come back, maybe not tonight but he will..."

Deciding to wait for Naru is fine and all, but is he really coming back? Mai thought to herself. She couldn't understand how someone could put that much faith and confidence into one person. Mai's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the floorboard creak.

"Naru?!" Mai said, looking in the direction of the sound, hoping to find the narcissist but instead found Kuroda, standing still. "Kuroda-san..."

"Well? How's it going?" Kuroda asked, looking around. Mai immediately knew that Kuroda was referring to the exorcism monk was performing at the moment.

"Oh, Monk and the others are making their rounds right now," Mai told her, she figured there was no harm in telling the girl since it was almost done, at least she thought it was almost done.

"What about Shibuya-san?"

"He's gone off somewhere. Mei-Lin says he will come back though." Mai let out a sigh and looked up. "Aw, man, are there really any evil spirits here?"

"I saw them."

"Oh, yeah. You did say that, huh?" Mai said. She completely forgot the girl said that she was attacked by the said spirits. However, she couldn't help but feel a few things were off with the girl, especially considering what just happened earlier.

"They're not here anymore," Ayako called out to them. Mai and Kuroda looked at the older woman as she looked at them with a smug look. "The exorcism was successful."

"You've said that before and it failed, didn't it?" Mai asked Ayako with a skeptical look. She bought this before and it resulted in glass shattering and multiple cuts.

"This time will be okay!" Ayako exclaimed, blushing a bit in embarrassment. She didn't want that to be brought up!

"They're still here," Kuroda said, pressing a hand to her chest. Ayako and Mai both looked at the girl in confusion. "I can feel them. There are still many spirits here."

"Still pretending to be spiritually sensitive?" Ayako asked the girl, growing tired of this charade. "Give it up. We're pros, here."

"You haven't done all that much considering, have you?" Kuroda sassed the older woman. Ayako's eyes widened and she glared harshly at the girl, opening her mouth to make a comeback before being interrupted.

"It's okay," Housho told them, walking up to the small group with John right behind him. "Ayako may not have done it, but I did."

"What did you say?!"

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

"You think you can take credit for my work?!"

"Same goes for you."

"Oh, come off it!"

"Now, look here!" Mai was in the middle of the two bickering adults and honestly, she was growing sick of it. Before she could tell the two "adults" off, John put a finger to his lips shushing all of them.

"I hear something." He said. They all stood in silence, listening for any noise. They started hearing clattering and slight footsteps upstairs.

"Someone's there..." Ayako said, looking up at the ceiling.

"It couldn't be..." Housho said. He just did an exorcism, there shouldn't be any signs of activity or any activity at all.

"M-Maybe it's Mei," Mai said nervously. The girl wasn't anywhere and sight and she would rather it be the girl than a spirit.

"What are you going on about?" Mei-Lin said, appearing from behind. Mai let out a small scream and looked at the black-haired girl.

"Don't do that!"

"Shh!" Ayako, Housho, and John shushed Mai and looked at the direction of the stairs as the footsteps got louder and louder as if the source was getting closer. The footsteps stopped for a moment before they heard a loud bang. Housho ran up the stairs, searching for the source of the noise but there was no one in sight.

"Monk!" Mai called out to the man. "Is anyone there?"

"No. Must have just imagined it," Housho said hesitantly.

"H-hold on! We imagined it?!" Mai asked incredulously. "I definitely heard something! Monk, you heard it too, right?"

"It was just the wind," Ayako said, pushing the topic to the side. Mai, however, wouldn't let them off like that so easily.

"Enough, already! You've failed to exorcize them!" Mai shouted in high school. "And after the self-important lecture, you gave to Naru earlier, too! Did Naru make up any such sorry excuses then?! For grown-ups, you're acting pretty disgraceful-" Mai had to stop mid-rant because the knocking from earlier began again, this time louder than it was before.

"Knocking!" John shouted. The knocks were getting harder and louder, the lights in the room were shattering making the room pitch black. Along with the knocking, the sound of multiple footsteps surrounded the room as if they were running a marathon. "There are sounds of more footsteps than there were before!"

"What is this, an indoor track meet?!" Housho asked, hearing the multiple footsteps.

"Does it matter? Do you want to stay and find out?" Mei-Lin told the older man. Her body was trembling once more feeling the malicious intent, it was suffocating her to the point she almost couldn't stand anymore. Everyone noticed the girl was growing pale once more and her body was trembling. This wasn't a good sign.

"Hey, it's too dangerous in here! Get outside!" Housho told everyone.

"R-Right, Mei-san, Kuroda-san, hurry!" Mai told the two. She quickly took both of their hands and started running for the entrance.

"Yeah..." Kuroda replied following the girl. Mei-Lin didn't reply and followed after the girls, barely managing to keep up. They were close to the entrance when one of the shelves started to fall over from the constant shaking in the building. Mei-Lin's eyes widened and with enough strength she pushed Mai out of the way, replacing her spot. With the last of her strength gone she collapsed to the floor holding her hands out to soften the impact of the shelf. There was a small tear in the corner of her eye as she squeezed them shut. At that moment only one name came to mind...

"Kazuya!!"

And like that, she faded into darkness