Ding.

The elevator doors opened, and Mai found herself staring out into a dark hallway.

A woman with long black hair stood at the end of the hall, waiting. "Thank you for coming. Please come with me," she said.

Mai blinked. "Um..."

The woman turned to leave. The elevator doors began to close.

"W-wait!" Mai stammered, and dashed out of the elevator. She didn't know where it might take her next. Come to think of it, where was she now? And where did she come from?

She quickly caught up with the black-haired woman, who turned a corner and led her down a narrow entrance hall flanked by a Japanese garden, complete with bamboo and running water. Lanterns lit their way. It was both gloomy and beautiful at the same time.

Mai gasped when they came into the main room. She saw a tall, lit tank full of jellyfish. Above, a towering crystal chandelier, resembling a jellyfish itself. On a stage was a grand piano, with a woman playing. And ahead of them, a bar, with a white-haired bartender wiping glasses at the counter.

It was...otherworldly. That was the only word she could think of to describe the place. But then, she had never gone to places this fancy before. If it were Naru, he might not think it was any special at all.

And speak of the devil...there he was. At first he'd blended in with the shadows, what with his black hair and clothing. But as the woman led her to the bar, Mai spotted him already sitting there, his finger tapping restlessly against the countertop.

"Naru, you're here too?"

He turned to look at her, eyebrow raised.

"...Where are the others? I mean, is anyone else here?"

"As far as I can tell, no," he said.

"Oh. Maybe they're coming later...?" She really had no idea. But if Naru was here, she could only assume that they were meeting here for work related reasons.

Mai expected him to make some sarcastic comment about her absentmindedness, but he said nothing, just staring at the countertop. He seemed to be thinking hard about something.

At a loss, she went to sit in the bar stool next to him.

"Welcome to Quindecim. I am your bartender, Decim," the white-haired bartender said, bowing.

Mai nodded. She'd definitely never heard of the place before. Were they still in Tokyo at least...?

The black-haired woman went behind the counter and showed her a menu. "What would you like to drink?" she asked.

Mai looked to see what Naru was drinking. A cup of tea. How typical.

"I'll have an iced coffee. No alcohol, please," Mai smiled. After all, they were underage. So why were they meeting at a bar...?

"Very well." The bartender prepared her drink and set the glass in front of her.

Mai sipped her iced coffee, looking around curiously. She wondered if all this might just be another dream. It certainly felt like one. Only it wasn't Gene who was with her this time, it was Naru. And she was pretty sure she could tell the difference between them now.

She glanced at Naru again. He still wasn't paying attention to her. She sighed. Yup, definitely Naru.

After a moment, the bartender straightened and addressed them both. "Well then, now that you are both here, I would like to ask you a question."

Naru looked up. Mai blinked.

"Do you remember anything from right before you came here?"

Good question. Mai racked her brain. "Weren't we...on a case?" she asked Naru. She could remember setting up base, preparing the cameras, their usual bickering...but nothing after that.

"Yes, I think so." His finger tapped faster. "But I've been having difficulty recalling the details..."

"You too?" she asked, wide-eyed. Her being forgetful about things maybe wasn't too unusual. But even the great Oliver Davis had gaps in his memory...?

"Thank you for answering," the bartender said. "Now then, I will explain your current circumstances. Please pay close attention."

They stared.

"One!" the black-haired woman said, holding up a finger.

"First of all, I cannot tell you where you are."

"Two!" She held up another finger.

"We will now have you two play a game."

"Wh-what?" Mai stammered.

"Three!"

"We will have you choose the type of game by roulette."

Suddenly a square panel came crashing down onto the back wall of the bar. Mai jumped.

"Four!"

"We will have you stake your lives on the game."

Naru's eyes narrowed. "Our lives?"

"Five!"

"Until the game is over, you cannot leave this bar."

A stunned silence followed that announcement. Mai gaped at them. She could hardly believe her ears.

Naru looked unamused. "...This is nonsense," he said at last, leaving his seat.

"Wait...Naru! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to find the exit."

Giving the bartender and the woman a wary glance, Mai scrambled after him. "Wait for me!"

For the next ten minutes, they scoured the place looking for an exit. But it appeared there was none. The elevators didn't work. The only doors they could find led to the bathrooms, or were sealed shut. There were no windows. Mai tried asking the woman at the piano for help, but to her horror, it was actually a puppet on strings. Actually, the entire place was populated only by dummies. There were no other people.

Faced with a lack of other options, they were forced to return to the bar. By now Naru looked furious. Mai was bordering on panic. This was like something straight out of a horror movie...

Naru slammed his hand on the countertop. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"It is as I explained. You must play a game in order to leave," the bartender said calmly.

"Why?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question."

"What happens if we lose?" Mai asked nervously.

"I can only tell you that you must play with your lives on the line."

"But what does that mean?"

"I cannot answer."

"And if we win?" Naru asked.

"I cannot tell you the outcome of either scenario. However, I can assure you that you will be able to leave upon finishing the game."

"Can't you let us out now? Why do we have to do this?!"

"I cannot answer."

Mai and Naru exchanged a glance. Clearly they weren't going to get much more information out of him.

"...And what if we refuse to play?" Naru asked.

The bartender stared back at them. "...I do not recommend that option."

And as if on cue, the back wall of the bar opened up, revealing a dark room beyond. Mai squinted into the darkness, then gasped in horror. In the shadows, she could make out the outlines of various body parts strung from the ceiling.

"Oh, god...are those...corpses?"

The bartender didn't answer. The wall closed up again, hiding the back room from view.

Mai began to tremble. She was suddenly reminded of that vision she had in Urado's mansion...of being treated like an animal led to slaughter...

"Mai. Calm down." Naru's hand was on hers, his voice even and quiet.

"H-how can I stay calm after seeing that?!"

"I know. But these people are clearly insane, so we should try not to do anything that will set them off," he whispered to her. "Do you understand?"

She looked into his eyes and gradually nodded.

He gave her hand a light squeeze. "Good. Let's just listen to what they say for now, and we can think of a way out of this."

"O-okay." Usually she might accuse him of being heartless, but right now, she was thankful for his calm demeanor. It reassured her.

"Please push this button to start the roulette," the black-haired woman said, setting a large red button on the bar counter before them.

Naru took a deep breath, then pushed the button.

The square panel on the back wall was made up of several smaller panels. Each of these panels now lit up in turn until finally only one was lit. This panel flipped over to reveal the word 'Billiards.'

"It is decided. You will play a game of pool," the bartender announced.

There was a loud explosion behind them. Turning, they saw a cloud of billowing smoke, and then a pool table spun into the room seemingly out of nowhere. Mai jumped again, clinging to Naru's arm. Naru raised both eyebrows.

"What is this place, Naru?" Mai whispered. "I've gotten used to ghosts and stuff, but this..."

He didn't have an answer.

The bartender led them to the pool table, and the woman brought out a rack of cue sticks.

"Um, I've never played this game before..." Mai said uncertainly. "Naru, have you?"

He was looking at the rack. "Gene and Martin dragged me into playing a few times when we visited pubs."

"Oh." But didn't that give him an unfair advantage?

"Don't worry, I will explain the rules," the black-haired woman said, trying her best to look impassive. She couldn't help but feel sorry for these kids. They were both so young...

"You will play the game 'Eight-ball.' However, your balls will display various parts of your bodies instead of numbers."

Aside from the white cue ball, there were fifteen balls on the table. Seven were blue, seven were red, and then there was one black ball, with an infinity symbol floating inside. In fact, all the balls were clear, with images visible within. And sure enough, upon closer look, they realized that these images were of various bodily organs.

"Eww..." Mai made a face.

"The body parts are simply images, so even if your heart ball is pocketed, you will not lose your life. However, the images are synced with your pulse and blood pressure. Please just think of this as a visual enhancement to the game."

Mai and Naru exchanged another glance. Should they even bother asking how this was possible?

"You will pocket all of your opponent's body parts, and then pocket the eight-ball to win. Those are the rules."

"Which balls are mine?" Mai asked.

"Yours are red. His are blue." The woman removed the rack holding the balls together and looked at each of them. "Who would like to perform the break?"

Mai gave her a blank stare. "Break...?"

Naru sighed. "I'll do it."

"Very well. Please start the game."

The bartender and the woman went to stand at a distance, still watching them.

"Mai, here." Naru passed her a cue stick. Then he chose his own, going for the most worn-looking one of the bunch. It seemed well used, though still in good condition.

Naru wrapped his hands around it and closed his eyes, activating his psychometry.

Visions of countless people poured into his mind. All of them, forced to play this game exactly like he was. They all seemed to be under pressure, playing as if their lives depended on it. And all of them, without exception, appeared to him in a green haze.

Naru's eyes shot open. They were all dead. How many of them had even made it out of here? And how many...were still in that back room...?

A powerful feeling gripped him then, making him choke. Fear.

"Naru? What's wrong?" Mai asked.

He quickly forced himself to regain his composure. He turned to her, face carefully blank. "Nothing. Let's get this over with."

He went to the pool table and readied his cue stick.

Naru willed his hands to stop trembling. He needed to concentrate. He focused his attention on the balls.

He took the break shot. The balls scattered across the table.

One of the blue balls came to a stop near where Mai was standing. She could see it contained his heart. It was beating rapidly.

She glanced up at him, but his expression was as cool and stoic as ever. Were these balls really synced to them? It was hard to believe.

He moved a few steps, looking for a good angle. Then he leaned over the table again, eyes trained on the white cue ball and one of her red balls beside it. He held one hand on the table, steadying his cue stick, and exhaled softy.

Mai couldn't help it; she drank this sight in. Honestly, she didn't want to oggle, but...wow, he looked way too good doing that. She blushed.

Finally, he took his shot. The balls collided, but the red ball bounced off the rail and rolled off in a different direction. How anticlimactic.

Naru straightened. "Your turn," he nodded towards Mai.

"Okay, let's see..." She studied the position of the balls. She was only a beginner, but she didn't want to make too big a fool of herself in front of Naru. She could already imagine his condescending remarks.

She took a deep breath and aimed her cue stick. Of course, her form wasn't as nice as Naru's, but that couldn't be helped. She made her shot.

The cue ball rolled across the table and flawlessly struck a blue ball, launching it into a pocket.

"Wow, I got one in!" Mai gasped, surprised at herself.

"Beginner's luck, I suppose," Naru said idly.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's your turn again, by the way. You can keep going as long as you pocket a ball."

"Oh, really?" She looked at the table, then moved around it to find a new angle. She took another shot, but this time the ball bounced off the pocket and did not go in. "Aww, so close."

Naru stepped up for his turn.

This was good. Focusing on a goal allowed him to steady his nerves for the time being. He could do this.

He took a shot. The cue ball went rolling past its target. A complete miss.

Mai's turn. She pocketed one ball and moved another one close to a pocket in the same shot. She pocketed that one next.

"Got your brain!" she teased.

Naru rolled his eyes.

Mai didn't manage to pocket anything on her next try, so again it was Naru's turn.

He struck the cue ball gently, which proceeded to roll slowly across the table and came to a rest just barely nudging one of her red balls.

Mai giggled. "Wow, Naru, you suck." He sure looked cool playing, but even she could see his technique was terrible.

He glared at her. "I never said I was good at it, did I?"

"The great Oliver Davis is bad at something? I might die of shock," Mai said wryly.

"As I am a natural at most things, I think it is excusable."

"Narcissist." She rolled her eyes. "It's disappointing, though. I thought you'd put up more of a fight."

He smirked. "With a little practice, I'm sure I could comply."

Mai flushed. If it wasn't Naru saying it, she might think this conversation was becoming a bit suggestive.

Slightly flustered, Mai went to make her shot. She pocketed another blue ball effortlessly, but as she did so, a memory flashed in her mind.

"...So you're going back to England?"

"Yes."

They stood in the woods together, alone.

Now was her chance. Her only chance to tell him before he left for good.

Her heart pounding, Mai gathered her nerves, and put on a gentle smile.

"You know...I really liked you," she said.

"Yes, I already heard more than enough earlier that you carry good will towards me."

"Stupid! That's not what I meant!"

Naru looked at her a little strangely.

She couldn't help but smile at that. "Jeez...you're so dense." She took a breath to steady herself, blushing. "What I meant is...I liked you in a really special way."

He raised his eyebrows.

His gaze wandered a bit, as if mulling it over.

Then he looked at her again, smiling.

Her heart skipped a beat. That smile. He almost looked like...

"Do you mean me?" he asked. "Or Gene?"

She gasped.

Mai shook her head. Why was she remembering that now? ...And why did it still hurt?

She looked at Naru, and her heart ached even more.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head again, and leaned over the table. But now her concentration was shot.

She was confused back then, and his question had come as such a shock, overturning everything she thought she felt about him. But she understood now. It had always been Gene. Gentle, kind Gene, with his beautiful smile. Naru's question had only helped her realize that. So why would it still make her hurt?

Mai took her shot.

She nearly missed hitting the cue ball, managing to only just nudge it. It rolled a few inches and came to a stop without hitting anything.

"Your turn," she said quietly.

Naru frowned at her. Something was off. Whatever it was, he hoped she'd get over it quickly. If she kept making weak shots like that, he'd have a problem.

He looked to see where the cue ball was now. It was right next to a red ball, lined up perfectly with a nearby pocket. He'd have to be stupid to miss this shot.

No choice. Naru took his cue stick and aimed it at the cue ball, then smoothly pocketed the red ball.

In that instant, his mind recalled a memory.

Naru stood leaning against a tree. Beside him, Mai knelt on the ground, sobbing her eyes out. How long had she been crying now? It felt like forever.

Her tears were all but confirmation that he was not the one she truly loved. His hunch had been correct. She loved his dead twin brother.

Did he feel disappointed? Relieved? He wasn't sure. He felt a little empty, perhaps, but he'd been feeling that way ever since he found the lake.

He did pity her though. To have feelings for someone she'd never actually met, who she could never meet again, who could never truly return her feelings. He couldn't imagine how that must feel, but he could appreciate the irony.

Why was he the one standing there, receiving her confession? He didn't belong in this situation. He was just an outsider, forced to witness her pain.

But he couldn't bring himself to leave.

After a while, she finally seemed to calm down. Naru looked away from her as he spoke.

"At any rate..."

She looked up at his voice in surprise.

"At any rate, I'm sure you'll meet him again someday, whether you like it or not."

"...Like in a hundred years...?" Her voice sounded hoarse from crying.

"In your case, it might even take two hundred years."

She huffed. "Oh, sure. I'm just so stupid and clumsy that I'll live a long life, huh?"

"Probably."

"...You don't have to agree with me there."

"I think it's better to face reality."

She pouted. She seemed to be returning to her usual self now. Well, better than seeing her crying...

Naru blinked. What was that? A vision...?

He heard soft clapping.

"You finally got one," Mai smiled weakly.

He looked at her. "I told you. With a little practice..."

"Yeah, right. That was an easy shot."

Naru shrugged. He wasn't so insecure that losing a game would damage his pride. He made sure to miss his next shot.

Mai bit her lip.

She was getting worried. On one hand, it was nice to actually be winning against Naru for once. But on the other...should she be happy that she was winning? What would happen to Naru if he lost?

She gripped her cue stick tightly in her hands, looking at the table. Naru had only three balls left. That meant that if she kept this up, she would be only four turns away from beating him.

She supposed the least she could do was even the score a bit...

Mai readied her cue stick. This was a difficult angle, and the ball she was aiming at was far away. She was confident she would miss this one. She made the shot.

The cue ball took off down the table faster than she expected. It swerved around an obstructing red ball, bounced off a rail, and knocked another blue ball into a pocket.

"No!" she cried, jolting upright. She could hardly believe what just happened. "That's not where I wanted it to go!"

"But you still pocketed one," Naru pointed out.

"Yeah, but..." That wasn't what she meant to do. Naru now had only two balls left. She had a really bad feeling about this...

A short distance away, the black-haired woman turned to Decim and whispered in his ear, hoping to confirm something that had been bugging her.

"These aren't...ordinary kids, are they?" Earlier they were talking about being on a 'case,' and no matter how she looked at it, that boy did not act like a normal teenager.

"No. They were ghost hunters, and they both have very unique psychic abilities," Decim explained. "The boy in particular is also gifted with powerful psychokinesis."

"You're kidding."

"I am not."

"So, wait...what's going on here? The girl is a beginner, but she's completely curb-stomping him in the game. But he's the one with telekinetic powers?"

"Indeed. He is using his power to alter the game, but not to his own benefit."

"You don't mean...he's letting her win?" the woman gasped.

"He has been since the start of the game."

She looked at the boy in wonder. At the moment he was watching the girl as he nonchalantly applied chalk to his cue.

"My guess is that he is moving the balls at the precise moment the cue makes contact, giving the impression that the player is the one directing their movements. It is quite a masterful display."

"Is that why they wound up with Billiards? Because..."

"Yes, because it is a game easily manipulatable with psychokinesis. The goal was to test him, to see if he would seize that opportunity. And sure enough, he has, just not in the way I expected..."

The woman looked at the girl. It seemed she hadn't caught on yet. "You know, at this rate, it's just going to turn out exactly the way he wants it. Is that okay?"

Decim nodded. "True, I may not be able to accurately judge the girl if this continues. And I am still uncertain of the boy's motives..."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? He's in love with her."

"Is he?" Decim looked puzzled. "He doesn't show the usual signs."

"Not everyone wears their heart on their sleeves. He might be hiding it. Or he might not even realize it himself."

"Is that...possible?"

"Yes, you dummy. Now are you going to use that thing or not?" She normally didn't approve of it, but in this case, she felt it was warranted. The girl ought to know what was going on.

Decim took the remote out of his pocket. He watched the two teens carefully, waiting for the right moment.