DISCLAIMER: I don't earn Ghost Hunt.

A.N. Finally the EDITED version. Sorry, folks, it's been long overdue.

o.O.o

Ghost Hunt: Inerasable Secrets

. File 1 .

Saturday, 10:30am

"…And then I get the feeling – like – like I'm suffocating or something. Like I can't breathe… it's awful."

I set two cups of fresh tea on the table and take a seat next to my boss. By the way his eyes have shifted slightly at the comment our latest client has just made, I can tell he wants to roll them so very badly. But he seems to be clinging to whatever semblance of professional courtesy he has left, so he keeps his face masterfully blank. Thank God. I don't know whether to be grateful that he's not openly rude to other people, or really offended that he reserves all his insults for me. The thought makes me scoff, earning questioning looks from the two people that are sitting by me.

"Mai, we didn't need a demonstration," Naru says dispassionately, shuffling the papers in his lap.

I glare at him, sticking my tongue out in the process. You know, 'cause I'm real mature like that. My actions have little effect on the dark-haired narcissist, who turns back to our potential client, Koizumi Sayuri, without sparing me a second glance. I suppose this is his version of being 'nice' to me. I glower at him, retract my tongue, then zone back into the interview.

"Koizumi-san, you say you feel like you're suffocating; does the suffocation continue until you lose consciousness so that you have to be revived after blacking out during one of these instances?"

The girl shakes her head, her halo of fair hair swishing about her shoulders as she answers. "I usually manage to get out of the room before I black out. Once the door opens, I can breathe properly again. It's been happening since I was eleven – that's five years ago – but it's gotten worse lately, especially after my baby sister was born. My parents asked me about it, but I just told them it was my asthma playing up… they don't know anything about this."

Koizumi-san falls silent, green eyes suddenly vacant. Naru, however, raises an eyebrow and fires off another question (the interrogative bugger that he is). "You have asthma? How do you know it's not just an ordinary asthma attack?"

Our potential client raises her eyes, staring at us with such intensity that I find it hard to look away.

"Yes?" Naru prompts patiently. He's apparently immune to the whole eyes-conveying-emotions thing… must be the auto-arrogant amour he's packing. I wouldn't know; I'm nice.

"You don't understand… it's not natural, the way the room goes cold and everything goes completely silent – then, I can't breathe anymore, like something is blocking my nose and mouth so I can't even scream for help." Koizumi-san's eyebrows knit together to form an angry scowl as she delivers her final statement. "Whatever this is, I don't think it'll stop until I'm dead."

Phew. I blow out a quiet breath at this. Well, she sure is calm for someone who believes that an evil spirit is out there to kill her. I shudder at the mere thought of it. Naru gives me a sideways glance that I can confidently interpret as Scaredy cat. Or Stop acting weird in front of visitors, Mai. I roll my eyes; either way, both these charming sentiments are conveying the familiar feel of exasperation from boss to employee. I'm sorry to say that there is rarely any other emotion that Naru expresses towards me. Sigh.

"Well, Koizumi-san, your case has interested me." Naru shifts his papers again and gets up from his seat. "When can we begin our investigation?"

The girl nods her thanks and also rises (I get up too because it feels weird being the only one sitting). "You can come down later today – my parents are going out in the afternoon."

"Ah," says Naru, pausing and rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. "I assume you don't want your parents finding out about our investigations?"

"No, if that's alright," Koizumi-san says. "I don't want them to know."

I look at Naru. Well, so much for our base. It would be hard for Koizumi-san to explain to her mom and dad how a roomful of computers suddenly materialized in their spare room, along with seven investigators from Shibuya Psychic Research who want to explore their house for possible spirit infestations. I can see it now: Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Shibuya Kazuya and I think you're living in a haunted house – please may I exorcise your living room?

"Mai! Are you listening?"

"Huh?" And that's my first word/sound in this conversation. God, I feel so intelligent. "What?"

Naru sighs. In exasperation. Again. "Take down Koizumi-san's address. We'll start the investigation this afternoon."

"But what about base?" I ask, after collecting all the necessary information and seeing our latest client out of the door. "Where are we gonna put all the equipment?"

Naru shrugs. "I'm thinking about it…" he says.

"You'll come up with something," I say brightly, adding an optimistic smile to counter his ever-permanent scowl.

"Well, I can hardly count on you to come up with a solution, can I?" Naru tells me, bending down to collect his files.

Heck, his 'nice' mode (i.e. 'don't insult Mai, just ignore or glare at her' mode) doesn't last long, does it? My smile turns downward sharply and I open my mouth to retort. He catches sight of my face and says tiredly, "Another tea, Mai," cutting me off before I can even begin.

Startled, I look down at his cup, the one I always pour but never actually see him drink. Swallowing the rude remark I was going to throw at him – which he would have caught and beat me with in return – I pick up the china and carry it over to fill it with more tea. "Hey, I didn't see you drink this."

"That's because you don't look hard enough."

I grind my teeth with mild irritation.

But I swear I can see his eyes smiling in response.

o.O.o

Saturday, 4:32pm

There are clouds in the sky which I'm pretty sure weren't there when we first set out. Naru and I stand together on the threshold of our latest case as we wait for Koizumi-san to answer the door. It's going to start raining soon, and I consider telling Naru that his hair looks a little flat over his eyes from the humidity. No point risking sudden death-by-ego, though.

"Is something wrong, Mai?"

I blink. "Er, no."

"…Or do you really find me that interesting?" He's wearing a strange expression, his face titled slightly so that his cold eyes are peering up at me under his long eyelashes.

"Just wondering what mascara you use," I sniff, after a prolonged pause as I struggle to find something to say that won't end up biting me on my ass. It's a gift Naru seems to have, the gift of Comebacks and I Will Win This Argument No Matter What You Throw At Me. Witty remarks always end up smacking me back in the head like curveballs, so – mascara. Yes, well, I never said I was any good at pitching witticisms in the first place.

I watch him carefully for his response and he does the Naru-equivalent of a grin, which is basically a lift of one side of his mouth so that it's not quite a straight line any more. I'm willing to bet that it's the only form of exercise his facial muscles get.

"A much better brand than that blush you're always using," he says, and I feel my face heating. The wind picks up a bit and, oh look at that, the curveball's sailing right at me.

"I'll have you know–"

"Shibuya-san, Taniyama-san. Sorry about the wait; I had to finish feeding my baby sister. Come in, come in." Koizumi-san suddenly appears and ushers us into her house. I scowl at her bad timing, but my expression lifts, however, when I catch sight of the baby in her arms.

"She's so cute," I squeal. The baby stares at me with wide eyes that are the same colour as Koizumi-san's – a light blue that glows with an almost violet sheen. A few strands of blond hair frame her face, and she has a chubby thumb stuck inside her mouth. Adorable. "What's her name?"

"Michiko," Koizumi-san says affectionately as I coo at her sister. The baby giggles with me, opening her mouth and poking a saliva-doused hand into my face.

"Mai," Naru murmurs, dragging my attention away from Michiko-chan's sticky fingers, "stop scaring the baby. We have work to do."

Koizumi-san grins a little. "My room is upstairs," she tells us.

We all troop up the stairs, Michiko-chan bouncing happily on her sister's hip as we ascend to the next floor. I make faces at her as we go and she laughs with the innocent shrill of childish delight. Naru gives me a look and I ignore him.

"Here," Koizumi-san directs us, opening the second door on our left. The room, like the rest of the house is not too large; a bed takes up most of the available space, there are a couple of wardrobes on the far wall that are built-in. A bookshelf that's stacked with countless books, mangas and textbooks stands by the door, and I see Naru cast his eyes over it briefly; if there's anything he loves – other than his work – it's books. And languages. I always see him reading in other languages. It's a typical Naru way of handling things, I think, just blending both his loves together to save him the trouble of searching for two separate things to do.

"You say it only happens when you're asleep, and only in this room?" Naru is asking Koizumi-san. She nods, rocking her sister as she answers.

"Yes. I can usually tell when it's coming because I always hear this rattling sound just before the suffocation starts. Then the temperature drops and I can't breathe."

I scratch my head. "Poltergeist?" I offer, pressing my fingertips together in thought. "Explains the rattling noise… plus, during our second case you told me that a poltergeist's activities are generally caused by the stress of adolescents. Koizumi-san is sixteen, so she's around the correct age…" I leave the suggestion hanging, quite satisfied that I'd just deduced all of that so quickly. Michiko-chan burbles her agreement.

"It's possible, of course," Naru says, and I gape at him. It's the first time he hasn't shot one of my ideas down or insulted me when I input my opinion. I grin, celebrating my success. Where'd I put my confetti? "But Mai's usually wrong, so I can't say anything until we set up our equipment and investigate further."

All of my internal partying ceases and my face goes blank. "Thanks, Naru," I grumble, "Nice to know you have so much confidence in my ESP."

He shrugs. "I have confidence in facts and figures. Not amateurs."

"And yourself," I add, crossing my arms and huffing.

"Of course." Naru wanders about the room, touching things and taking everything in. "We're going to have to take some thermometer readings to be sure that the temperature really is dropping, and it's not actually fear-induced feelings that you're hallucinating about."

"Er…sure."

"However, we have one big problem that involves the rest of our equipment. We usually have a base – a room where we keep all our computers and tools during a case – but we obviously can't set one up here since you don't want your parents to know about this…"

"Hmm." Koizumi-san cocks her head thoughtfully. "Are you sure you can't conduct your investigations from an external location?"

"The results wouldn't be as precise or conclusive."

"I see. Well, you'll just have to–"

"Sayuri-chan!"

Everyone in the room stiffens – with the exception of the baby, who makes funny noises in blissful ignorance – as the sounds of a door being closed reach the silence of the room. Koizumi-san turns to us with a mortified expression.

"My parents! What are they doing back so early?!"

"It's ok," I assure her quickly. "They haven't seen us yet, so they don't know we're here. Me and Naru can slip out before they notice–"

"Sayuri-chan! Do you have visitors? We can see their car and their shoes down here!"

Koizumi-san blanches.

Damn. Well, so much for not noticing.

o.O.o

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