Masako: You've lost your mind, haven't you Yamirai-san?

Yoruko: Why do you say that, Hara-chan?

Masako: Why else would you write a story like this?

Yoruko: Even if it's true, I have an excuse: this is inspired by/in response to a challenge I saw. I simply put my own twist to it. Which the challenge never said or implied I couldn't do.

Yasuhara: She's got you there, Hara-san. Ha ha ha ha.

Disclaimer: Yoruko Rhapsodos doesn't own Ghost Hunt, Inuyasha, or anything else she borrows for writing fanfiction.

Warnings: light language, violence, potential mention of yaoi

Summary: Mai has a secret: she's an orphan. When her aunt shows up with a job for SPR, it leads to SPR finding out. What happens when Mai turns out to the key to finding her deceased cousin, Kagome, who ends up also being a part of SPR? How will the story change? Mai/Lin and Kagome/Naru, might change to threesome w/ Gene.

Chapter 1:Meet Mai's Aunt

It was a typical day at SPR. Kazuya 'Naru' Shibuya was in his office doing paperwork or something. (Not that anyone knew for sure, Naru keeps his door closed.) Anyone who bothered to peek inside Lin's office- he tended to leave his door open- could see him on his computer. The Irregulars, as Mai tends to call John, Matsuzaki, Takigawa, and Yasuhara- Masako never came around anymore, she was too busy- were chatting. And Mai, who had finished her 'busywork' since it was Saturday, was doing her homework.

It was usual for Mai to do her homework while at work. Even during the work days where she usually only comes in after school. She didn't have very much to do besides make Naru's tea when he demanded (There was no other way of term for it- there was no way that what the jerk did could be called asking or even requesting.) most days, after all. There was often a couple of things she needed to file or even either fill out or type up because Naru was too lazy to do them and so she had to do them because Lin had too much to do usually for her to let him do it, though. So she tended to either do her homework, study, or either read something or do something on the computer that Takigawa had given her for her birthday last year. Luckily the Irregulars often came to hang out- which never fails to get on Naru's nerves- so she didn't always need the books, manga, or her laptop.

"Urgh! I'm finally finished. I can't believe that Sensei gave us so much homework over the weekend. I'm glad that summer break is soon." Mai said, closing and putting away her text book.

"Harsh Japanese teacher?" Takigawa asked knowingly.

"Yeah. We've been working on a project in school and she moved up the due date by a week. I'm just glad that I'd been working on it since she gave us the assignment. Otherwise I'd be working all weekend-nights included."

"Why don't you take a break, Jou-chan? You've been working all day from the looks of things- you need it." Takigawa said.

"Mai! Tea!" Naru shouted.

"Hold that thought, Bou-san." Mai said.

John, Matsuzaki, Yasuhara and Takigawa all had drinks already so today she didn't ask them if they wanted some too. Instead, she went straight to the doorway of Lin's office.

"Lin-kun, would you like something to drink?" Mai asked.

"Iced tea, please, Taniyama-chan." Lin said.

Mai was back a few minutes later holding his glass of iced tea and a bottle of Cherry Coke. She was muttering about 'stubborn, narcissistic jerks' and how they 'needed to learnt some manners' and that it 'wouldn't kill him to say 'please' or 'thank you' every once in a while'. She had stopped muttering by the time she reached Lin's desk. Once there, she handed him his drink.

"Here you are, Lin-kun." she said.

Lin took the glass from her.

"Thank you Taniyama-chan." he said.

Mai's improved a little and she smiled brightly.

"You're welcome, Lin-kun."

Lin chuckled. He would never admit it, but sometimes he found Mai very amusing. She was pretty and could be absolutely adorable, too.

"Taniyama-chan," he said, "you could either refuse to give Naru his tea or refuse to even make his tea if it bothers you that much. He's perfectly capable of getting some himself."

"No way. I won't stoop to his level. I'm eighteen, not eight. And I may not be as intelligent or witty as Naru, but unlike him I'm stupid or socially inept."

Lin smirked. "Naru is quite awkward in most social situations, isn't he?" he agreed. 'And she's right- by not arguing over it or refusing to get him his tea, she's proving that she's the bigger person.'

"He may be intelligent and logical, but he's still just a childish, idiotic scientist." Mai said as she left the room.

Lin chuckled again. 'She would have gotten along very well with Gene. I'm sure that he would have been quite fond of her.'

Meanwhile, Mai had gotten back to the 'lounge' as Mai and the Irregulars had taken to calling it and was now sitting on a couch and chatting with the others. Matsuzaki was just about to say something when they heard the ringing that signals that someone opened the front door.

Everyone looked up. It was a middle-aged woman who seemed to be in her mid to late forties. She had black hair that she kept up in a bun and brown eyes. It was easy to tell from her face and aura that she was a very kind and understanding woman. But she was obviously worried about something- you would tell by her eyes and how strained her smile was. Plus, something was… off. Mai knew somehow that even though she was doing her best to hide it the woman was obviously said. It made Mai frown. What would have happened- not to mention what was currently happening- to make her like that? Wait a minute- she's…

Mai's change in demeanor didn't escape the others' notice. They looked at her with concern. Why did she seem sad and worried all of the sudden? Just then, Lin came out.

"Is this a client, Taniyama-chan?" he asked.

Mai nodded. She also visibly relaxed. Lin had a soothing aura- it calmed her down. "I think so, Lin-kun." she said.

Mai turned to the woman with a smile. "Please sit down. We'll be with you in a moment."

"All right." the woman said, sitting down in an offered chair.

Mai went to desk and got out the notebook she used for notes pertaining to cases and a pen, shouting "Naru! Get your butt you here! We have a client!"

"Naru?" the woman asked.

"My boss, Kazuya Shibuya- aka Naru the Narcissist. I call him Naru for short." Mai explained.

The woman chuckled. 'They always were similar.' "And your friends here?"

'Does Mai know this woman?' Lin thought.

Mai took the hint and introduced everyone. "Houshou Takigawa, a monk from Mt. Koya. He plays the bass in a band. Ayako Matsuzaki, a self-claimed miko. John Brown, and exorcist from Australia. Osamu Yasuhara here helps with research. And this is Naru's assistant, Koujo Lin."

"I'm Misaki Higurashi. It's nice to meet you all. I hope you've all been taking great care of my niece."

"Can we get down to business, please?" Naru said.

Mai huffed- it had been a while since she had last seen her 'aunt'. Lin just rolled his eyes, used to Naru's attitude.

"Of course." said Misaki.

"So what's the problem?" asked Naru.

Misaki frowned. "It all started 5 years ago. My daughter Kagome disappeared down the well located on our shrine on her 15th birthday. She turned up in the well 3 days later. To make a long story short, she had ended up in the Feudal Era 500 years in the past. She broke the Shikon no Tama which she says was apparently in her side- on accident rescuing a child from a crow demon and had to continue traveling back and forth between times to put it back together. She seems to have died 2 years ago in the final battle for the jewel against an evil half demon named Naraku. Her Spirit stayed on the shrine to look after and protect us ever since. She's had a tendency to go and wander around since half a year after her death. I think she was usually checking up on friends and our other family. But 6 months ago, she went off on one of these trips and never came back."

Mai looked shocked. "Kagome's… dead?"

Misaki nodded sadly.

"What does this have to do with SPR?" Naru asked coldly.

"Naru!" Mai said angrily.

"What?"

"Watch how you treat my mother's cousin! She's always been like a real aunt to me!" Mai said.

"It's okay, Mai." Misaki turned to Naru. "I want you to help us find her."

"Why should I?" he asked.

"Naru!" Mai said.

"Please! I know that there are things that can hurt spirits. Whether she's dead or not, Kagome is a spirit right now. I just want to know that my baby's okay." Misaki begged.

Mai glared at Naru, as if daring him to be rude to her. Naru knew that he didn't have much choice- even Lin seemed ready to help, whether Naru accepted or not.

He sighed. "All right. What's your address?" Naru asked.

"Mai knows." Misaki said, "And thank you so much."

"We'll be there tomorrow." Naru said.

"We'll be waiting. Thank you again." Misaki said, "Take care, Mai."

"I will, Misaki Oba-san." Mai said.

Then Misaki was out the door.

"You're aunt seems nice, Jou-chan." said Takigawa.

"Oba-san is very nice," said Mai, "she's probably the nicest, sweetest, and gentlest person you could ever meet."

"You must really love your aunt." observed Matsuzaki.

Mai smiled brightly, yet there was a hint of sorrow to it- one only Lin and Takigawa caught.

"I do. She's always been there for me…" 'Even when I was all alone.' "Though it's been years since I've actually seen her. I'm just glad that I finally know the truth about Kagome."

"What do you mean 'truth'?" asked Matsuzaki.

"Ever since her fifteenth birthday she's disappeared regularly under the excuse of her being sick. Considering the types of diseases and the fact that it was always Jii-chan giving the excuses-not to mention that he had a number of them himself- I always wondered what was really going on." explained Mai, "Though I'm just surprised that she was the girl from the legend of the Shikon no Tama."

"She's what?" exclaimed Matsuzaki and Takigawa.

John blinked. "What are you talking about? And what's so surprising about it?"

"The legend of the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls- also known as the Sacred Jewel is a well known myth, especially in both Shinto and Buddhist shrines." Takigawa explained.

"Mai, why do you think that she's the girl from the legend?" Matsuzaki asked.

"Oba-san mentioned the jewel- and said that it had been in Kagome's side. Her and Jii-chan seemed okay with Kagome's time travelling. Add to the mix that Jii-chan is eccentric, obsessed with demons and magic, and was always going on about it or spouting off one of the legends or stories he knew. The legend of the Shikon no Tama was his favorite." Mai explained.

"Lin, I want you to look up this legend and anything connected to it." Naru ordered.

"All right." Lin said. Then he headed back to the office.

"Meet here at 10:30 AM." Naru said to the others as he walked towards his office.

A couple of hours later, Mai, John, Takigawa, Yasuhara, and Matsuzaki went out for pizza for dinner. They had a great time. Takigawa, Mai, and Matsuzaki even joked about how Naru need to lighten up or he'd go prey prematurely.

Takigawa dropped Mai off at her apartment afterwards. It had been 8:30 by the time they arrived. Mai unlocked and opened the door then stepped inside.

"I'm home." she called.

The only reply was from Mai's cat, who came up to her and rubbed against her leg. Other than that, It was silent. An inspection showed the apartment to be quaint. But it was empty. No one else was there. it didn't seem like anyone else was ever there- all personal belongings one could find belonged to Mai.

An inspection of the apartment only confirmed that Mai was alone. The bathroom only had one toothbrush. The second bedroom-the one that wasn't Mai's- had a bed in it, but the dresser was empty and the close used for storage. If one looked at the bed, they would think that it was completely unused if the comforter and pillows weren't covered in cat hair. Near a corner in the living room, there was a small shrine with a picture of a man and woman that look somewhat similar to Mai settle all doubts- Mai was an orphan, and lived alone. yet no one came over and none even suspected. Mai had too much pride to ask for help, and never told anyone; she didn't think it was important. She knew she could take care of herself. So there she was, all alone in her apartment with no one the wiser, not knowing that her aunt's arrival foreshadowed the revelation of her secret. or that she would be the one to provide the key to finding not just her cousin, but someone else who was missing as well.

End of Chapter