A/N: I found this story that I had started a while back and figured I might as well post it since I put a somewhat decent amount of effort into it. This is actually the first fanfic that I will have posted. Ever. The reason I don't post anything I write is because I can never finish them, but I'd really like to see where this story ends up. If there are even a few people out there who want to read what happens next, then that'll definitely inspire me to finish this one.

I apologize if anyone seems too OOC. I tried to keep them in character, but it can be so hard sometimes. Grrr!

Sorry for any grammar or spelling problems, too.

Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. If I did then we'd have a season 2 of Ghost Hunt.

It had been a long day of work, as usual, and Naru was in desperate need of sleep. He didn't know why, nor did he really care, but for the past couple of days everyone had been acting a little unusual. Takigawa wasn't his usual lively self. In fact, the last time he had visited SPR, which was two days before, he hardly spoke at all. This was actually a good thing, though. It meant more peace and quiet for Naru, who had made a mental note to charge the monk the next time he came in just for an iced coffee. And two days before that, John had paid a little visit, saying that he would be leaving the country for a short while. This wouldn't be unusual at all, except for the fact that he had been giving weird laughs after every sentence. Yasuhara had also left the area for a while, but that was understandable. His grandfather had passed away and he needed to attend the funeral. Hara-san had simply stopped visiting SPR for reasons unknown. The only thing strange about that was that she didn't come to bid Naru farewell.

There was also Ayako, who randomly showed up that day after being missing for about a week and a half. Figuring that she would fill Mai with all her latest gossip as she usually did, Naru decided to lock himself in his office, as he always did. He could yell at Mai later. But when he left his office to get a file from the cabinet just outside his door, he found the priestess asleep on one of his sofas. Mai was sitting on the floor, her back pressed against the area of the sofa where Ayako's knees met, quietly organizing papers. Naru, who was already in a bad mood having gotten only a few hours sleep the night before, decided to wake the woman up. He should have known better, but the lack of sleep messed with his better judgment. Of course it could have been a lot worse. Ayako could have decided to stay, but instead she bolted out the door crying after yelling at Naru about how he had just ruined the precious time she was spending with Mai after not seeing her in a long time.

And then there was Mai, who was probably showing the most significant changes. For the last two weeks she had shown up not just on time for work, but early. Also, Naru couldn't recall anytime since then that he had found her asleep at her desk. These were good signs, but something about then seemed out of place. Mai had become a lot more jumpy and had many moments where she would just begin to zone out, not appearing to be thinking of anything at all. Today she had broken her fourth tea cup, the first one breaking only seven days ago. What bothered Naru was that these little accidents didn't seem to be caused by her klutziness, but by some unseen force that had her constantly on edge. When Naru decided to ask her what was wrong, she simply stated that she had a lot on her mind. He left it at that. If she didn't want to tell him then that was fine.

Naru walked into his apartment and quietly shut the door behind him, careful not to disturb any of the neighbors. Not bothering to turn any lights on, he headed strait for the bathroom to take a quick shower. He noted the time on his watch. 12:04 a.m. Tomorrow, or tonight to be more accurate, he would be sure to come home extra early. It could be allowed.

It was only moments after Naru's head hit the pillow that he fell asleep. Unfortunately, the sound of his phone woke him up only seconds later. Or so it seemed. It took him a second before he could clearly make out the time. The clock on his right read 3:46 a.m. It was probably an emergency, Naru concluded. Well it had damn well better be. He blindly reached for his phone that continued ringing beside the clock and hit the talk button, too tired to give a simple hello or what the hell do you want. The first thing he heard was what sounded like a sniffle. A female sniffle.

He thought for a moment. "...Mai?"

"I'm s-sorry," she answered. She seemed to be crying. "I tried calling Ayako, and then Bou-san, but their p-phones were off."

Naru sat up, feeling more awake than he had all day. Mai said no more, to his annoyance, but he knew that ordering an answer from her wouldn't help any. He had to be patient.

"Mai," he said in a soft voice, "what's wrong?"

"...It's happening," she sobbed.

Worry washed over Naru. That and bit of anger. Whoever or whatever it was that was troubling Mai would be sure to meet his wrath. A troubled Mai meant no tea, and no tea for a certain narcissist who had only gotten a total amount of eight hours sleep in the last three days meant hell for all of SPR, or what was left of it, anyway.

"Mai, calm down." Naru said, partly to himself. "What's happening?"

"The dreams..." she replied. "At first I thought I should just ignore them, but now... I'm scared. I don't know what's going on."

"What kind of dreams?"

"I started seeing things... and I'm just scared. I don't want to be alone," she finished quietly.

Naru began thinking. He knew that she must've been desperate if she was really asking him to go to her. After all, he was third on her list. Right after Ayako and Bou-san, both whom he knew would be better suited for this kind of situation.

"The funny thing is," she continued, "I don't think I'm alone..."

"Lin and I will be there soon. You are at home, right?" he asked, feeling a bit drowsy once again.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Mm."

Naru hung up and began dialing Lin's number. Damn the Japanese driving laws, he thought as he got dressed. Of course if he had wanted to, he could have changed any paperwork before coming to Japan. It's not like he would get caught, and he could easily pass for eighteen. Possibly a bit older even. But seeing as he had Lin to drive him around, and also the fact that he could just as easily get around using the train or by simply walking, there was no need to obtain a driver's license here.

Mai lived quite a distance away from Naru though, and only a car could get him there soon enough, which for him, was not soon enough at all.

"What's wrong?" Lin answered on the fifth ring.

"Get over here now, we need to go to Mai's." Naru said sleepily, hanging up right afterwards.

Luckily Lin only lived two blocks down, so it took him no more than five minutes after putting his phone down before he arrived in front of the building Naru could be seen walking out of.

"Well?" Lin questioned as the young man, clearly exhausted, climbed into his car.

Naru leaned his head back against the seat, taking a moment before answering. "I'm not entirely sure. Just drive."

Lin asked no more questions, for which Naru was grateful for. But then again, he knew that Lin wasn't one to pry. The situation would eventually unfold itself. That they were both sure of, so there was no need for further questioning.

There was, however, one question that began to be bug Naru only minutes after Lin began driving. He should have taken these few minutes to catch up on whatever sleep he could, but Naru was curious. True enough, Lin usually did just about everything effortlessly. But the fact that he hadn't so much as paused even the slightest at any single turn was a bit discomforting. Then again, he was Naru's assistant. It was only natural that he knew Mai's address. It was to be expected that Lin had directions to Mai's home, just in case of an emergency. Directions that he didn't need to look at. Probably, Naru concluded, because he had already driven there before. Either that or Lin had went over those directions before leaving his apartment and remembered them with his photographic memory. Yes, that also seemed like a plausible solution.

But even so... Lin seemed to be deep in thought, and that added with the languidness that shown in eyes did not seem help the matter anymore. Lin had an excellent memory indeed, but there was no way he could drive like that, not even bothering to look at any street signs, unless...

"You've been there before," Naru said, breaking Lin's thoughts.

"...Yes," his assistant replied.

Naru had gotten his answer. It didn't ease his curiosity though. Now only one more question remained. One which Naru would never in a million years have asked - had Naru been well-rested and completely aware of what he was doing. But the sleepiness was really getting to him, and at the moment he decided it would be okay to ask. Just for the moment.

"Why?" he asked softly.

"I've offered her a ride home a few times when she was sick."

A simple answer. Naru should have figured it out for himself. He would have scolded himself, but once again, he decided to let it go.

"We're here," Lin said, exiting the car. It was only seconds later that he called out his bosses name with an urgent tone.

"What is it?" Naru answered. The worry that seemed to have faded away in the car came rushing back in an instant.

"I don't know. But my shiki... There's something here." Lin turned to face Naru. "A completely different presence than anything I've ever encountered before. I wouldn't go as far to say it's dangerous, but... It doesn't feel right. I can't explain it. It would seem that this place is surrounded by them, though."

That was all Naru needed to hear. "Where's Mai?" he asked.

Even though he knew it shouldn't matter, Naru was somewhat relieved when Lin pulled out a paper from the front pocket of his coat and read, "B12." Lin had never actually been inside.

Mai's building was very unlike the apartments Naru and Lin lived in. It contained only two floors, Mai living on the second. It was small but very homely, and unlike the taller westernized buildings Naru was so used to seeing, this place seemed to have a more traditional feel to it.

Mai opened the door before either of the two men could knock. She was still in her pajamas and it wasn't hard to tell that she had been crying.

"I'm so sorry," she said earnestly. "I didn't mean to wake you up at this time. I would've called Yasuhara or John, but seeing as they're both away..."

Yasuhara or John? Naru thought to himself. Of course. So that didn't make him number three on her list of calls for help, that made him number five. John is understandable, but what the hell would Yasuhara do to protect her should the need arise?

"Bou-san and Ayako still aren't picking up their phones," she continued, letting her boss and his assistant inside.

"Taniyama-san," Lin asked, "Are you aware of the... entities surrounding this place?"

"Um... What exactly do you mean by entities?" Mai didn't seem the slightest bit surprised. She shut the door.

"There is an unknown presence surrounding this building. Many of them, actually, according to my shiki." Lin answered.

"...I have an idea. But I can't be absolutely positive," Mai said with her head down, twiddling her fingers.

Naru sighed. As fate would have it, there would be no time for rest anytime soon. Not until they solved this new case that had been brought to their attention. A case that Mai had yet to explain. There was only one thing that could force Naru's brain into working mode, as his will didn't seem to be enough at the moment.

"Mai," Naru said in what seemed to be an almost pleading voice. Almost, but not quite. "Tea."