A/N; Welp, here it is! I'm really excited for this one, I think it'll be pretty good (hopefully), and interesting too. Now, this story is going to probably end up breaking into two parts (if not more). The first part will be based in the Ghost Hunt universe, but the second part is going to be a crossover with an anime by the name of Psychic Detective Yakumo. In my opinion these two are like the PERFECT animes to do a crossover of. If you haven't seen PDY yet, I highly recommend it. If you have, you might see why they crossover later in this fic. If you don't plan to watch it, that's fine, but it may or may not get confusing in the second half if you don't. I'm going to try my best to make it so it's not necessary, but I'm not perfect. Haha. But I mean, let's face it, you'll probably have plenty of time to watch it though with how slow I am at updates. Hehe. Plus it's only 13 episodes. Just sayin'.

Anyway ~ Pay Attention to the time indicated at the beginning of each chapter. This story skips around a lot timeline-wise. "Current" takes place three years after Naru's return from England after finding Gene's body, where he spent two years. Which would put him and Mai at around... 22/21 respectively? Yeah, we'll go with that... and just to make it easier to keep track, at "current" the year will be 2014.

Chapter One - Forebodings

Time: Current [August 2014]

Belief was a funny thing. The realist would say that seeing was believing, but the idealist would say that believing was seeing. Truth be told, Katsuo was neither of these.

In her opinion, seeing something didn't necessarily make it real, and belief, no matter how strong, did not have the power to work on anyone but the person who used it. In the case of followings, it was merely the influence of a person that made the belief spread.

Everyone saw things differently and everyone believed things differently. To say otherwise would be to deny the way the world worked. Nature was chaotic and random, and every part of it was different. No two stars were the same, and nether were two people.

No matter how similar they were, they were always just as different. Each strand of DNA was coded specifically to that individual, and anomalies like identical twins aside, no two strands were the same.

Her point to this train of thought, was that if no two people were the same and anything that was seen or believed differed between each individual, what was to say that anything was truly real?

Nothing in life was consistent. Words varied from culture to culture and belief systems changed and adapted themselves every generation. People died. Nations fell. Worlds burned. What tangible thing was there to hold on to?

With lips pressed into a thin line, Katsuo stared at the retreating landscape with an intense glare. She wasn't a particular fan of cars, and it didn't help that this particular car ride was two hours long. To say that it put her in a bad mood was an understatement, and no doubt her current train of thought was her mind's attempt to think of something other than how much she wanted to climb out of the vehicle and walk. It was only the fact that it'd take half a day on foot to reach her destination that kept her buckled in.

Removing herself from the window, the young woman turned to her right where her companion sat, his honey eyes looking out at the scenery longingly. Contemplation was written all over his features, a rare sight seeing as he usually hid his thoughts behind a feigned good nature. Something that had taken him a good while to perfect. Even without having to ask, Katsuo knew exactly what was going on in his mind. It was a side effect of the bond they shared.

"Reminding you of home?" she questioned offhandedly as she leaned back, gaze casually landing on their driver through the rearview mirror. He looked just about as exhausted as she felt.

"Of course," Yoshida confirmed, pulling his attention away from the view to fix her with that idiotic up-to-no-good smile of his. "There aren't many places that have been kept so close to their original state... I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me a bit nostalgic."

Katsuo nodded thoughtfully, her own emerald eye took in the lush forest around them, understanding what he meant. She knew that Yoshida felt out of place with today's skyscrapers and metal transportation. She could see why he missed the horses and small villages of the past. He was an old soul after all. She had to admit that the view was beautiful. Peaceful even. She was never really one to spend much time to stop and smell the roses, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate them.

"Look," Yoshida ordered breathlessly, pointing to the large looming castle approaching in the distance.

Following his line of sight, Katsuo smiled ever so slightly at the excitement that practically rolled off her companion in waves. "I bet now you really feel at home."

"You could say that..." he smiled, genuinely this time.

To be far, the place was breathtakingly beautiful. An architectural masterpiece cut into the mountain side, surrounded completely by a healthy and ancient forest. It was easy to see, even from a distance, that grate pains had been taken to keep it restored to it's former glory.

The stone and wood fortress stood tall, both standing apart from and being of the mountain. Like most of it's time, it had been made with the same materials that had been taken from clearing the mountainside itself. Surrounding the large building as a moat, that had no doubt been made by diverting a nearby stream of some sort. The bridge over the water was small, but had been reinforced and widened so that a car could easily pass over it on both sides.

The building itself sat atop of tall, steep sloping stone walls which in the past had been used to keep out invaders. Above that, the main portion of the building rose four stories high, white walls reflecting the sunlight. A balcony overlooked the courtyard, sitting just atop of the castle's front door, which one could only get to by making a trek up it's steep stone steps.

"Don't forget what we're here for," Katsuo reminded Yoshida, snapping out of the temporary sense of wonder that he had swept her up in. In that moment she had felt his nostalgia and forgotten herself. Sometimes the effects of their bond were annoying that way. She couldn't afford for her thoughts to wonder too far.

Clearing his throat, the man leaded back in his seat. A frown gracing his features. "Don't worry. I know exactly how important this is."

Fixing him with a calculating look, Katsuo felt herself sigh. She hadn't meant to ruin his mood, but they weren't there for sightseeing. Their freedom rode on this mission, though she wasn't entirely sure if she could trust what they were walking into. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like things weren't what they seemed to be. Powerful foe, or no, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was another reason she'd been sent here. She just hadn't figured out what yet.

Sensing her concerns, Yoshida reached over and gave her hand a squeeze, earning him an annoyed look, to which he ignored. "I don't trust them either... Whatever happens here we'll get through together. We always do," he assured, giving her that stupid grin.

She rolled her eyes, but didn't pull her hand away. "As cocky as always."

He shook his head and winked at her. "Not cocky. Confident."

Leaving it at that, Katsuo let the car fall into silence the rest of the way to the castle. When the taxi finally stopped at it's destination she immediately stepped out of the car without hesitation, while Yoshida took time to give the driver their thanks. Fortunately, one of the perks about working for her former associates again was the fact that they paid for transportation. She wasn't sure what exactly the cost had been to drive them all the way out here, but she knew she didn't want to be the one to pay it.

Patting the top of the taxi, Yoshida stepped back enough to let the car drive off before letting out a sigh of his own and turned to face her. "Ready?"

Instead of answering, Katsuo brushed passed him and lead the way towards the front entrance. From up close, the place looked even more lavish and imposing. Though, while from afar the place had looked restored to match it's past, up close it was easy for her to see the new editions to the place. To most they wouldn't be too noticeable, but for her they stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Cameras," she notified Yoshida lowly as they passed by a man in a dark suit,-one of many security guards that littered the place. They'd met a few at the palace's main gate at the start of the many acres before the palace. They seemed to only talk when necessary, much to the ever talkative Yoshida's dismay.

"They're probably all over the place, sadly," he added, confirming he'd seen them. Of the few things they agreed on, their dislike of cameras was one of them.

Pausing just before her foot hit the stone steps, Katsuo's indifferent look went serious as a familiar feeling of darkness slithered down her spine. "Do you feel that?"

"Demon," Yoshida agreed, eyeing their surroundings. "I can't tell where it's coming from... but..."

"It's power is almost suffocating," she finished for him, not looking pleased in the slightest.

A/N; Hope this got you interested! I'm sure it's given you a lot of questions, but don't worry, it's supposed to. All shall be revealed soon enough. Do let me know what you think so far. It helps with inspiration.