Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Previously…

She's going to drive me crazy.

Mai blinked, wondering if she was hearing things. Was that Gene talking? No, the voice was deeper, like Naru's.

Was she so far gone that she was hearing his voice now?

"Naru?"

He didn't answer immediately, instead continuing to rest his head against her shoulder.

"Just be quiet for a minute," he said, his voice vibrating against her body sending goosebumps up her spine.

She couldn't tell if she should be mad that her body reacted so viscerally to his touch.

But maybe she was further gone than she thought.

.

Pt. I

Mai tried to slow her breathing, hoping Naru wouldn't notice how frazzled she was. Could he feel how fast her heart was pounding inside her chest? Or how warm she was as he rested his head on her shoulder?

"Mai, what happened on your end?" he asked, his voice low.

Gulping, she cleared her throat before delving into what she'd just witnessed in her dreams.

"I left a talisman with Suzuki-san. I was hoping it could protect her—at least for now," she said, sighing. "But I don't even know if that was the real Suzuki-san I saw."

"We'll have to check her room to confirm. Regardless, by the time we find her, it may already be too late," he said, finally lifting his head off her shoulder. He leaned back against the wall, his arms loosening around her waist.

Mai sighed in relief, trying to calm herself. She wasn't free completely, however. She was still nestled between his legs with his arms on either side of her.

"What should we do then?" she said, attempting to distract herself.

"I will send Lin to survey her quarters first before drawing conclusions," he said, grabbing his phone and promptly sending Lin a message.

While he was occupied, she attempted to slip away from him, not getting very far before he spoke up again.

"Now, what of the past two days? People have gone missing in this building and you've failed to inform me on any of your experiences."

He caught her there.

Mai dipped her head in guilt. She used to be diligent about sharing her thoughts with him, and even with filling out her journals. But lately, she'd gotten too confident and had forgone her previous habits.

"You may be more experienced now, but you're not any less prone to danger. It was crucial that you had informed us on what you detected. If not for your own safety, then think about the team's. What if one of us disappeared because of your insubordination?"

She winced. Once again, he wasn't wrong. She bowed her head in disappointment. She'd been so caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't realized the implications it had for those around her.

Naru sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. "I recall you telling me to share my worries. It would only be natural that you did the same."

Mai lifted her head, letting his words sink in. She turned around to face him, ignoring their close proximity.

Before she could say anything, he added, "Because we are… friends." He eyed her as he said it. "Am I correct?"

"Y-yeah. You're right."

He nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Now, recount what has happened since we arrived."

And recount she did, starting with the dream she had in the van and ending with her chase from last night.

Naru was quiet as she spoke, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "I believe you had been possessed while you were dreaming." When she tilted her head, silently asking for more clarification, he slowly inhaled. "By the spirit from your initial dream in the van. She must have been using your body as a vessel while reliving her death."

"That's never happened before," she said, worry creeping into her voice. "I've never gotten possessed like that while projecting."

"She was likely attached to you since your arrival. As soon as you were out of your body, she seized the opportunity."

That sent shivers up her spine at the thought. "Do you think it'll happen again?"

"Potentially. I don't recommend astral projecting here unless you're with someone to watch you."

"The only reliable way to keep me from projecting in my sleep is by taking sleeping pills. I used to take them all the time to keep the nightmares away, but I don't like them."

Naru didn't say anything after that, instead sitting in silence as he thought. After a few moments too long of staring at each other, Mai glanced away toward the floor. That was a mistake, because it only reminded her how close they sat. It was hardly "friend distance."

Naru must have realized that as well. He pushed himself into standing soon after and brushed his clothes off. Mai followed suit. Their next course of action was to touch base with Lin, who had gone to check on Suzuki. Mai had questioned if it was safe for him to traverse the mansion on his own, which Naru informed her that Lin was likely the only person capable of doing so safely.

Thus, they walked back to base in silence.

That is, until Naru spoke up. "Mai."

She paused mid-step and tilted her head at him in question.

"I believe I owe you an apology."

Her eyes widened.

When she sent him a questioning look, he elaborated, "For the deception surrounding my name."

Mai wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't been expecting him to address the matter at all after she pried the truth from him. Yet, it was still nice to know that he cared enough to formally apologize to her—it must have taken him a night or two to think over.

"Um, it's okay. I understood why you had to hide your identity."

Instead of meeting her gaze, he focused on everything but her. "Regardless, it was still deception," he said, stopping beside her briefly. "Just as you needed a reminder on how your actions affected others, so did I."

His eyes met hers for a moment too long before he strode past her.

Mai watched his back in a half-daze, unsure how to interpret his words. She was broken out of her daze when he stopped and turned around.

Unlike before when he would walk off on her—

He was now waiting for her catch up.

.

As usual, Lin was left speechless.

After Noll had sped out of the room, Lin tried to follow after him. Clearly, his tracking skills were rusty in his old age of 28 years because he quickly lost track of Noll's turns.

Or rather, he happened to stumble upon a scene-of-sorts by accident and decided to backtrack to monitor from afar. As long as they were together, he reckoned they would likely be fine. Besides, they were close enough in case he needed to run out from the base.

Due to the quality of their equipment, he could hear them well despite the distance from the microphone. He had the decency to not tell Madoka, and by extension, Luella, any of it, regardless of threats or blackmail.

They were lucky to get a picture of the two sitting like… that… through the monitors. The rest was up to their imaginations.

Did he feel awful for snitching on his liege like this? Not really, especially after Noll sent Madoka the Christmas pictures. Although, he did feel a bit guilty regarding Taniyama.

Now, that wasn't to say he could completely fault Madoka and Luella's suspicions. He had been the involuntary witness to the whole charade since the start of their acquaintanceship, friendship, and then whatever this was. He was by no means an expert in relationships, but he knew more than Noll, at the very least.

And this entire relationship was puzzling—Noll's comfortability while making prolonged physical contact, Taniyama's newfound blushing, the quiet communication through their soul bond, and the hallway embrace from the night before (that they didn't know he witnessed).

Not that he paid much attention to any of this, of course. They were objective observations that were so blatant he couldn't not notice them.

One thing he was sure of was that their relationship was that of friendship—for right now, anyway. So, continuing to fuel Madoka and Luella's singular brain cell with fantasies was marginally cruel.

What was initially wellness updates on Noll, turned into gossip on his adventures in Japan, particularly about his new friend. And when Lin refused to elaborate, Luella threatened to tell his family that he found a Japanese fiancée.

Sometimes, she could be worse than any malevolent spirit he encountered.

Rubbing his nose bridge, he allowed himself a few moments of repose before his phone vibrated.

Check if Suzuki-san is still in her room. Mai dreamt that she was abducted by entities in this building.

So much for a moment of peace.

.

When Mai and Naru returned to the base, Lin confirmed Suzuki's disappearance. They alerted Igarashi-sensei and the staff, sending the entire mansion into disarray.

From the SPR hallway cameras, the footage only recorded up until Suzuki entered her bedroom without footage of her exiting.

When they checked the CCTV footage, there was nothing to indicate her climbing out the window or leaving the premises, lending the idea that Suzuki was still inside. It was at this point that Naru recounted Mai's vision to the group as well as her consistent experiences since arrival.

"Why should we believe an amateur?" asked Minami. "Children should really leave this work to the professionals."

Mai's face hardened, about ready to kick the pompous man's muffin top to knock him off his high horse. Before she would cause a scene, Naru stepped in front of her.

"For someone who has yet to prove any usefulness, you have quite the gall to make such statements," he said. "Mai's observations have proven more reliable than anything you've been able to provide."

Minami gawked, not expecting to be talked back to. "How rude! You can expect that I'll be having a word with your boss."

"You rang?" Yasu popped from behind, adorning a devilish grin.

Minami nearly jumped back in surprise, having forgotten that the disrespectful young man from the other night was in fact, SPR's boss. "No surprise that your whole group knows nothing of respect! Dr. Davis is no doubt appalled by the lack of professionalism."

This time, Masako spoke up. "Perhaps, you should have Dr. Davis use psychometry on one of Suzuki-san's personal belongings," she said, and then in a much lower tone, adding, "That is, if he truly is who you say he is."

Igarashi-sensei nodded her head, pleading further, "Please." She held out a contact lens case. "Suzuki-san is severely near-sided. She wouldn't dare go anywhere without her contacts."

Minami cleared his throat. "I… will ask the doctor," he said, taking the lens case. Everyone watched as he "negotiated" with Dr. Davis, who merely held the case before shaking his head.

"It would appear that this item cannot be used for psychometry. It must be an item that was on her when she left."

"Why not? This is a personal item. It should work regardless." Igarashi-sensei held the lens case to her chest in distress.

"Are you questioning the great Dr. Davis? How insulting," Minami said, scoffing. "For all you know, young people are so easily scared off. She probably just went home."

With that, he marched out with his posse of "experts" in tow.

Mai glared at the group as they walked out, placing a hand on Igarashi-sensei's shoulder as she cried.

"We'll do whatever we can to find her," Mai reassured, not vocalizing her own anxiety that bubbled in the pit of her stomach. If her vision was true, then Suzuki's fate was dubious.

Bou-san nodded. "We'll all take turns searching for her."

.

During lunch, Mai couldn't bring herself to eat much, continually replaying the vision in her head.

"So, Jou-chan, what happened to the spirit that possessed you last night?" asked Bou-san. "Naru-bou mentioned something about that."

She looked up in surprise, having completely forgotten about it since the confirmation of Suzuki's disappearance. "Oh, uh, I don't know. I just woke up and everything was back to normal. I don't feel weird anymore, so I guess the spirit's gone."

"What exactly happened?" asked Ayako this time.

Mai thought about it, realizing that she never actually asked Naru what had happened. "Y'know, I don't remember. One minute, I was in the vision. Next I knew, I woke up in the hallway in Naru's-"

She paused, remembering where his body had been pressed against hers. Fully aware of Masako's icy glare in her periphery, she cleared her throat. "I just remember waking up in the hallway with Naru present."

Ayako and Bou-san both raised their brows, sharing a glance before shrugging it off.

"Do you sense the spirit, Masako?" Ayako asked, turning to address the other girl.

Masako gave Mai a once-over before shaking her head. "She's not actively present right now. However, I do sense her general presence around Mai."

"Well, whatever the case is, hopefully we can find Suzuki-san's location soon. It'll be anytime now."

"Maybe we'd find her sooner if you actually offered to help." Bou-san quirked a brow, casually sipping from his soup bowl.

Ayako rolled her eyes. "I'm exhausted from all the walkthroughs. Right, Masako?"

"Yes, but you sure complain about it a lot more than I do."

"Oh, shut your mouth."

.

Soon after, Mai, Bou-san, John, and Yasu left to survey another wing of the mansion for clues while Ayako and Masako unsurprisingly went to rest.

On their journey, the group of four found an old storage room with wine boxes scattered along the back wall. Telling by the thick layer of dust and numerous cobwebs, the staff didn't come there often, if at all.

"Not an ideal spot to store wine," noted John, reading the labels on the boxes. They were written in English.

"Wonder how much a bottle would cost if we tried to sell it online?" Bou-san picked one up, turning it in his hand as he squinted with his flashlight.

Yasu put a hand to his chin. "Even if the wine inside isn't in pristine shape, just having a vintage bottle to gloat about would probably make people pay a pretty penny."

"People do that?" Mai asked.

Bou-san shrugged. "People in Ayako's family's circle might."

No one could argue that.

Moving to the next rooms, they soon realized that they were all like that in this corner of the mansion. It wasn't until they got to the further most room that Yasu pointed out a small door hidden behind a dresser.

"It may be a servants' door," said John.

"Servants' door?"

"Old houses in the west usually had passageways within the walls for servants to move from room to room faster without getting in the way of their masters and their families."

Yasu took one for the team and tried wiggling the knob. After a few attempts, the door finally loosened enough to open. Instead of a passage way, it revealed a completely separate room. Unsurprisingly, there were more boxes of wine, which Bou-san noted had slightly different labels and a difference in weight. It wasn't by much but noticeable, apparently.

"How can you tell?" Mai asked, her head tilting in curiosity.

"You'll understand when you're of drinking age," he said, grinning. "Gotta make sure you're getting your money's worth."

She and Yasu shrugged, while John scratched his cheek.

They returned to scanning the room with their flashlights before Yasu broke the silence. "Look here, there's a doctor's jacket."

They decided to take their findings and head back to base. Out of curiosity, Bou-san brought back two wine bottles; one from the back room and one from the other rooms.

Once back, they laid out what they found.

Naru looked at the jacket first, searching for tags or items in the pockets. "Miyama Charity Hospital," he read off the tag.

He continued his search, looking into each of the pockets to eventually find a folded up 5 yen bill. He laid it on the table for everyone to see.

Mai leaned over to look at it, noticing faint writing on the top. "Looks like there's some kind of writing on it."

"What does it say?"

She picked it up and read the characters aloud, brows scrunching. None of the characters went together, leaving the line with no meaning. "What's that supposed to mean? And it's so dirty in some spots I can't read all of it."

"Why write on money, though?" Bou-san asked.

"Maybe they didn't have anything else to write on?"

Naru crossed his arms, staring at the bill intently as the group threw ideas back and forth.

Meiji…

Mai blinked in surprise. Was that Gene dropping hints? He did say it was hard for him to reach her, so maybe that was all he could get through to her.

"…Did they write differently in this time period?" she asked as casually as possible. It wasn't implausible for her to notice such a thing—5 yen bills hadn't been in production for decades.

Yasu suddenly stepped forward, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen. "This mansion is from the Meiji era, right? Well, they wrote from right to left. So…," he said, scribbling on the paper.

Turning around, he presented his transcription. He had reordered the characters save for a few blank spaces for undecipherable characters.

Bou-san was the first to attempt filling in the blanks. "The first sentence says something like, 'Everyone who has come here is dead.'"

"Dead?" Mai repeated, more to herself. It really should have been unsurprising to her, but given that she never got a finished look at the vision, she wanted to hold her breath until it was confirmed.

Ayako put a finger to her chin. "Then, the last word should be 'run away.'"

Goosebumps ran up Mai's arms, suddenly feeling very eerie. The more they learned about this case, the more her stomach did flips.

"Urado…" Naru said quietly, catching everyone's attention.

She looked back to Yasu's paper and widened her eyes. That was right. Before the "run away" segment, there were the characters for "Urado."

"Someone's name? Perhaps, someone who knew the Miyamas?" said John. "Doesn't sound like a friend, but maybe an employee."

Naru looked thoughtful before turning to face everyone. "We should continue investigating. Remember to only search in groups."

They all nodded before dispersing.

The bottles of wine brought back left forgotten.

.

The investigations after that ended with slim findings with Yasu joking with Bou-san about, "The RNG being bad." When Mai tilted her head at them, they mentioned something about video games she didn't quite understand.

It eventually got too late with no other findings, so everyone retired for the night. As she, Masako, and Ayako walked back to their room, they encountered Minami's assistant, Atsugi.

"Sorry on behalf of my team earlier. Wish I could have been of more help," Atsugi said, bowing his head.

"Oh, no need to apologize. No worries," Mai said, waving her hands in the air.

He offered a small smile. "I hope we can find Suzuki-san soon. It must be frightening for her. Well, good night."

While her companions continued walking as Atsugi passed, Mai couldn't help but think about his sincerity. He was a lot nicer than the rest of his crew.

"Wait, Atsugi-san," she called. When he turned around, she handed him a talisman from her pocket. "I don't know how much use it will be… but, please keep this on you at all times. It's a charm for protection."

"Thank you."

With that, he continued on his way.

"What was that?" asked Ayako when she caught up to them.

"He seemed like a really nice man so I gave him a talisman," she said. "Wonder what he's doing with a man like Minami, though."

Masako laughed behind her sleeve. "I wonder the same thing about Naru having you for an assistant." Her eyes lost all their humor before she stuck her nose up and walked ahead of her.

Mai sucked in a deep breath. Just crabby Masako being Masako.

Shaking it off, she attempted to finish up her night as usual by beating Ayako to the bathroom and settling in for bed. Before she officially went under the sheets, she looked at the bottle of sleeping pills she'd set on her nightstand after her talk with Naru.

She thought after developing her abilities more, she'd left old habits in the past; yet, here they were creeping their heads up again—her recklessness, forgetting to inform the team, and now her temptation to use sleeping pills again.

Biting her lip, she placed the bottle back on the nightstand.

"It's not wrong to take one occasionally."

Mai straightened up, looking over at Masako who was combing her hair.

"I-I don't want to rely on them again. I need to get a better control of things on my own."

Masako watched her for a few moments before sighing. "There are times when even psychics need a break too."

"Have you ever had to take them?"

Masako seemed reluctant to answer, finishing her combing before placing it on the nightstand. "Yes. It was the only way for me to sleep when I was younger."

Just like me…

"However, I learned to control my abilities a lot earlier than you, so I don't need them anymore."

And just when Mai thought she could relate, Masako just had to be like that. It wasn't like she was wrong, but her haughty tone left a lot to be desired.

What little existed of that conversation died down soon after. They both settled in for the night, turning off their bedside lamps. Ayako's stayed on, offering a soft ambient glow to the room, nearly distracting Mai from what horrors were hidden in this mansion.

She soon fell asleep, the feeling of floating in waves lulling her, like laying in a sailboat as the water rocked her away.

And just like that, she was ripped out of her bed with a gag shoved in her mouth to keep her quiet. Two unrelenting hands gripped her arms hard enough to be bruised. When she chanced a glance at her assaulters, she saw large white coats.

She couldn't even be surprised at this point.

Attempting to rip herself from their grasp, she flailed and kicked with her legs only for one of figures to elbow her in the gut. With the air knocked out of her, she couldn't fight back anymore as they dragged her down a series of hallways. Everything turned black before she found herself at the hedge maze again. Unlike before, the figures dragged her through with ease.

She was led to a smaller mansion, looking reminiscent to Victorian-style houses in the west. There was a small foyer where they turned left at the end of a hallway into a small parlor with a lit fireplace, arm chair, dresser, and closet. Adjacent to the fireplace was shelving for multiple bottles of wine.

While her body recovered, her fear froze her in place. Where were they leading her?

Pushing the closet aside revealed a door with a glass window panel. As they dragged her through the door, she caught a quick glimpse of her reflection in the glass thanks to the light from the fireplace.

Rather than her own face, Atsugi's stared back at her.

Her stomach dropped as she processed the situation. Didn't she give him a talisman? Or was it too weak to do anything? Then, what happened to Suzuki?

Bile threatened to come up as she, or Atsugi, was dragged down a long narrow hallway of cement bricks. The only lighting being torches that lined either wall. Eventually, they reached another building, one much smaller and decrepit. Up the stairs was a long hallway of doors, each room holding stacked bones and… more wine bottles.

Finally, they arrived at their destination—a tiled room with a smell so putrid she wanted to gag. Before she could take in the rest of the room, she was shoved onto her back on an operating table with her head hanging off the edge. The two figures restrained her with straps that didn't budge even when she struggled.

She tried to scream but the gag cut her off, her own saliva nearly choking her.

I'm going to die!

Suddenly a hand yanked her hair, pulling her head down taut to provide access to her neck. Then, a metallic glint caught her attention, to that of a freshly sharpened scalpel.

Her eyes widened in realization.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

The scalpel slowly descended down until the cold metal rested on one side of her neck.

PLEASE STOP!

Her vision grew dark as her mind shut down, the sharp cold piercing of her skin barely noticeable as with the blood that inevitably poured out in droves.

I don't want to die…

.

Her head whipped to the side, jutting her awake as her cheek stung like she'd just been slapped. Her eyes blinked awake as she found her coworkers standing around her bed, Ayako with her hand still mid-air.

Mai's breathing was heavy as she found herself huddled against the head board of the bed defensively, her hands unknowingly grasping at her neck as trembles wracked over her body.

"Are you okay?" asked Ayako, attempting to reach out to her, only to freeze as Mai flinched and drew back into herself.

"What happened, Jou-chan? That didn't seem like one of your normal dreams." Bou-san said in the softest voice he could muster.

She couldn't speak, her voice caught in her throat. Her body continued to shake violently, once again flinching when Masako tried to reach a hand out to her.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you." Masako gently placed a hand on her shoulder, offering a soft smile. "You should move on toward the light. This girl can't help you. No matter how many times you try to possess her."

Mai felt hesitant.

"Go on," Masako said. "Just look around until you see the bright light. You'll be safe there."

As soon as the trembling started, it subsided, leaving Mai to slump back against her pillows. "Thanks," she mumbled, suddenly exhausted. She pushed her hair out of her face, finally realizing how much sweat had beaded up against her forehead.

"That was the spirit that has been attached to you. While you were sleeping, she must have tried to possess you again," Masako clarified.

Mai nodded, only half-processing what she said. It felt like she was in a brain fog, whether through the myriad of emotions, or from the use of so much psychic energy. She had spaced out so much that she completely failed to hear the knock on the door. It wasn't until her signature moon-dancing rabbit tea cup suddenly appeared in her field of vision that she looked up.

Naru stared down at her, his face slightly softer than usual. He stood beside her in his sleepwear, presenting what looked to be hojicha in her favorite cup.

"Thank you," she said silently, gratefully taking it from him. She stared into the cup, her breath hitching for a moment when the image of the cup filled with blood flashed into her mind. She quickly shook her head, returning the cup back to normal.

"Are you alright?"

Mai looked up at him, feeling everyone's eyes on her.

No.

"Atsugi-san… he's gone," was all she could muster before her vision blurred.

She could hear multiple people inhale sharply.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

Mai gulped, bracing herself before drinking some of the hojicha. She was just grateful it was actually tea. "I think I might have been experiencing a first person vision. Atsugi-san's experience. I remember being pulled out of bed by the two figures I've been seeing this whole time. They dragged me down some hallways before we got to the hedge maze.

"There was this western looking house at the end of the maze with a drawing room, fireplace, and wine bottles lined up on the walls. The closet opened up to a long hallway where we got to a decrepit looking wooden house. There was a tiled room where they threw me onto an operating table or something and strapped me to it," she said, her voice beginning to shake. "One of the figures pulled out a scalpel and sliced across my neck, right into both my arteries. I could feel the blood drain-"

A hand on her shoulder made her jump, looking up at the source. Bou-san shook his head, his face laden with sadness. "No need to relive it, Jou-chan. That's enough."

.

Once again, the mansion was woken up early.

This time by Minami, who frantically knocked on everyone's doors after Lin had gone to check for Atsugi after Mai's vision.

"All his belongings were in his room. The only thing I found was this paper charm on his nightstand." Minami rummaged through his pockets to present the charm in question—Mai's charm.

Naru recognized her sloppy brush work and turned to her in question.

Mai froze, eyes widening. "I had given him that in the hallway on the way back to my room. I told him to keep it on him at all times…"

"Doesn't look like he heeded your warning," said Yasu.

Ohashi entered the room just then, his face grave as he shook his head. "None of the staff have seen Atsugi-san. As with Shibuya Psychic Research, our CCTV has not caught any evidence of him leaving the premises."

"Does that mean Mai's vision is what really happened?" Ayako asked, horrified.

"Is there any way we could ask Dr. Davis to assist?" Igarashi-sensei pleaded.

Minami averted his gaze from all the on-lookers. "Er, no, but…"

Igarashi-sensei evidently had enough of his hesitation. She stood up, knocking her chair back. "Two people have disappeared, one of which being your own assistant! There is no time to hesitate… that is, unless you were lying about having the assistance of Dr. Davis."

Minami stayed quiet.

"Don't tell me that you had brought an imposter...!" Igarashi-sensei brought a hand to her mouth in disbelief.

"Enough!" Minami stood, firmly slamming his hands on the table. "I will have no more of your slander. We can finish this case on our own!" He waved a hand at the "doctor" and they left without a word.

Bou-san frowned following the spectacle, a hand on his chin. "I'm starting to think we've been duped."

"You think?" Yasu pushed up his glasses.

"There's really no evidence that he's the real thing, huh?" said John, scratching his cheek.

They sat quietly for a few moments longer before Bou-san said in a lower voice, "Do you think there might be some kind of nefarious business going on here?" His eyes darted back and forth. "How come none of the staff have gone missing? Only newcomers?"

Yasu nearly jumped at the implication. "Um, do you mean to say we're stuck in some murder mystery house?"

John surveyed the staff that entered and exited the drawing room, his brows scrunching in thought. "The staff seems to be wiser. If I recall, all of the victims were of the younger generation."

Everyone froze, widening their eyes at the realization.

"Good job," said Naru. "Considering these new conditions, I don't think I need to remind everyone to remain vigilant. As with before, only travel in pairs or more."

No one could argue with that.

After their meal, they returned to searching the mansion. The goal was to find any hidden entrances or exits.

"Don't you think it's odd that all the areas searched are on the outskirts? We have yet to enter the center of the mansion," Yasu mentioned as they walked up a staircase, tablet in hand. He turned it around to show Mai, Bou-san, and John the digital map that he and Lin had been developing. The tablet was updated to mark every location they hit using location services and cloud syncing.

"Good catch, Shounen." Bou-san zoomed in and out, rotating and flipping the map to get a better look. "It's like trying to get to hidden areas in an open-world game."

"Right?" Yasu nodded. "So far, there hasn't been any way for us to breech the center. No doors or windows."

"Hey, look here." John pointed to a small door in the wall. He fiddled with the knob before it eventually gave way. The door way was small, likely only allowing Mai or John through.

When he noticed the fear in her eyes as she peered into the dark space, John offered her a smile. "No worries, Mai-chan. I'll check it out."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I have my rosaries and the charm you gave me for Christmas, remember?"

She wasn't convinced but gave a reluctant nod anyways.

Before heading in, he surveyed the area with his flashlight, noting a small room with an old portrait in a frame. After slipping in, he took the frame off the wall.

"Here, I'll hand you the frame," he called, sticking it out of the small opening.

Bou-san pulled it out, blowing off some of the dust.

"Creepy," said Yasu.

"Was that everything in there?"

They waited for a response but when none came, Mai was the first to push herself past her other companions. "John?!"

She shined her phone light into the space, whipping her head around in all directions when she found no trace of him. Bou-san and Yasu tried calling for him only to be met with silence.

"Come on, man, this isn't funny!" Bou-san stuck his head in this time.

When Mai pushed him aside and tried to slide in herself, Bou-san immediately stopped her. "No, Jou-chan. We can't have you go missing too. Naru-bou would have our heads."

"But what about John?!" She stared in disbelief at the small doorway. "He- He was just there!"

"I know, but we can't go acting recklessly."

Mai clenched her fists, knowing that he was right. She allowed him to help her up as the three of them planned their next step.

"You don't suppose we should return to base? Maybe this portrait could be a clue. With all of our heads working, at least one of us could figure something out," said Yasu, already in the process of texting the SPR group chat.

"Do you think John will be okay?"

Bou-san placed a hand on her head, saying softly, "He'll be fine. He's a priest who's one heck of an exorcist, remember? I'd be more worried if it was this goof." He jutted his thumb toward Yasu, who didn't have the heart to feign hurt.

"He's right, you know."

Mai allowed herself a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. John's really strong."

Yasu put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a thumbs up with his other. "That's right! Now, let's get back to base!"

**

Pt. II

Once everyone reconvened, they crowded around the table pensively. While Naru appeared unaffected by the news, Mai wondered if it was all part of his facade. It wasn't noticeable to anyone who didn't observe him often—not that she was watching him or anything—but his shoulders were hunched with a general stiffness in his posture, indicating tension. He was still human, after all. Even if he didn't necessarily consider everyone a "friend," it didn't mean he didn't care for them at all.

Observing Naru reminded her of his other counterpart, the one who usually had extensive knowledge on what they didn't.

Gene? she called out. Are you there?

Silence.

Mai frowned, fingering her mirror in her pocket. Gene hadn't been lying when he said he had a hard time reaching out to her here. Aside from when they first came, she hadn't been able to sense or hear him since. She would have to do a full projection later to talk to him.

"I reached out to Madoka yesterday to complete some research. She should be getting back to us today," Naru told the team. He then turned around to study the portrait they had brought back with them. He checked for an artist signature before flipping the frame around to look at the back.

His eyes scanned the back until they stopped on the bottom left corner.

"You find something?" asked Bou-san, peering from the side at what Naru had found. "Portrait of Urado."

"Isn't that the name from earlier? On the bill?"

Naru placed the frame down before reaching over to grab the yen bill from earlier to compare the characters. He brought a hand up to his chin in thought.

"I wonder who Urado could be?" Mai asked no one in particular. All she knew was that the man in the picture made her feel uneasy. He had sunken cheeks, appearing sickly.

Suddenly, a knock on the window had Mai nearly jumping out of her skin. She whipped her head around to see the silhouette of a hand knocking on the glass from behind the curtains. Lin, unfazed as always, drew the curtains to reveal Madoka with a shit-eating grin.

Once she was inside, she waved to everyone. "What a huge property! I felt like a trespasser," she said, giggling.

Naru frowned. "I find it hard to believe that you decided the best course of action was to come in person even when you knew people have gone missing."

"Oh, lighten up." She brushed off his concern with a wave of her hand. "I'll only be here briefly. If something happens, you'll just have to rescue me!"

Naru sighed and gave up, retreating to the table they had been around prior to her arrival.

Mai couldn't help but crack a smile at how easily he gave up. Despite the gravity of the situation, Madoka's presence managed to help lighten the mood.

"Not to mention that the danger only lies within the house. There are even kids playing outside in the courtyard. There have never been reports of people going missing outside the building," Madoka revealed. She then made herself at home in one of the chairs. She pulled out a folder filled with copies of old documents she'd found in old databases from the town hall and library.

"I looked into the name, 'Urado' that you had found. Turns out that was actually another name that that the original owner, Miyama Kaneyuki, went by. He was known for his philanthropy, sponsoring multiple orphanages and charity hospitals. That wasn't to say he was the friendliest individual, however. Like any owner of a big corporation, he was meticulous and judged his workers according to their utility—his charity just happened to come with it."

Mai couldn't help but feel like judging people by utility was the exact opposite of being a philanthrop, but she didn't question it.

Madoka continued to explain the thoroughness of Miyama Kaneyuki, going as far as evicting a whole line of family down to their extended family for one family member's embezzlement.

"I also found some things that coincided with Mai-chan's dream. Kaneyuki-san was known for always having two assistants with him."

Mai's eyes widened.

"There was an annex separated from the main building by a hedge maze. It was noted by the gardeners for having the stench of rotting flesh."

Mai grabbed onto Masako's arm in order to steady herself. Her dream was nearly all but confirmed.

"It was supposed to be secret to only those within his family, but he was also a very sickly man. Some believed he was so adamant about visitors staying away from his home in order to not introduce bad spirits that could make him worse. Physicians told him that he didn't have long to live, but that didn't stop him from his endeavors." Madoka pulled out a few documents and presented them to the group.

"After Japan's foreign trade reformation near the end of his life, he took an interest in foreign alcohol, specifically wine. It was to the point that he even hired some westerners to teach him how to brew his own while simultaneously working with western merchants to import wine into his territory with little to no tariffs."

Didn't we bring back some wine bottles? Mai looked around the room until she spotted bottles from earlier. Naru must have heard her because he made eye contact with her, trailing his gaze toward the bottles.

"We've found countless rooms of stored wine. I brought two bottles back," said Bou-san.

"What I don't understand is why he focused on importing, especially with no tariffs?" Ayako crossed her arms. "That's a lot of money to forgo just for a hobby, no?"

"Maybe he wanted to share his love for wine with the rest of his people? I suppose it fits the philanthropist motif," said Yasu, shrugging.

Madoka tapped her chin. "It may have just been another business venture. He did hire those from his orphanages to work in his facilities, even his brewery," she said before moving to the next topic. "Something else interesting I noted in the diary of his wife was Kaneyuki-san's fascination with European tales. Especially those of Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula of Wallachia, and Elizabeth Bathory."

Mai's eyes widened. "Vlad Dracula? Like the vampire?"

"Bram Stoker's Dracula was inspired by Vlad the Impaler, who was known for his extreme sadism and barbarism during his rule."

"And Elizabeth Bathory was a serial killer from Hungary who's most known for bathing in the blood of young women and girls to preserve her youth. Some even say she was also an influence for Dracula as well," added Bou-san.

Hearing that, she couldn't help the goose bumps that trailed up her arms. Bathing in blood? Why did the idea seem familiar? She wracked through her brain, trying to remember where she might have heard the idea.

The image of an emaciated man floating in a tub of blood flashed in her mind. That was right! The dream she had the other night. She had forgotten about it as soon as she started her day.

Unbeknownst to her, Naru had been eying her from his periphery. He hadn't heard her thoughts, yet the gist of her feelings were clear to him. He turned to look at her straight on, hoping she would share. It seemed she noticed because she blinked before meeting his eyes.

"I don't know if it will help, but I had a dream the other day. There was an older-looking man who was floating in a bathtub filled with blood," she shared. "…But I wasn't sure what it meant."

"You don't think it could have been this guy, do you?" Ayako brought a hand to her mouth in disgust.

Mai looked back at the portrait from earlier, trying to remember what the man had looked like. She'd been so shocked she never got a good look at his face. "He was practically a skeleton when I saw him, so I don't know."

Madoka shrugged. "It could be him. His comorbities grew near the end of his life, shortening his life even further."

A knock on the door had everyone turning their heads over. Lin answered the door quickly before shutting it again, leaving Mai to tilt her head in question. It looked like a staff member of the mansion had delivered something. Lin promptly handed the object, a corkscrew, to Naru who had been waiting by the wine bottles.

When did he even get there?!

Offering no input on what he was doing, Naru took the corkscrew and began opening the two bottles. "Bou-san, just by looking at the bottles, which one came from the back room with the servants' door?"

Bou-san got closer before pointing to the right one. "That one had a slightly different label."

Naru nodded, finally managing to pull off the corks of both. Bou-san immediately scrunched his face when Naru used his hand to waft the scents of both. He then poured each into two glasses that Lin had brought.

"So?"

"See for yourself." Naru stepped aside.

Bou-san reluctantly approached, taking a sniff of both. He grimaced upon smelling the glass from the right bottle. "That's definitely off."

Upon seeing that reaction, Ayako and Masako figured they were better off standing as far away as possible. Mai and Yasu looked at each and shrugged before approaching the table.

While the glass from the left bottle smelled like what she would expect wine to be like, the other was… rancid. She did smell some elements of what could've been wine at some point but everything else about it smelled like rot.

Jumping back, she covered her nose. "That's disgusting. Why is it like that?"

"These must be the bottles that Kaneyuki-san brewed," said Yasu. "His preservation method probably wasn't perfected."

Naru didn't comment. Instead, he poured some of the wine from the right bottle onto a plate. He retrieved their first aid kit and pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

Mai tilted her head, wondering where he was going with this.

"Don't tell me…" Ayako mumbled from behind her.

With a dropper, Naru dropped some of the hydrogen peroxide into the wine plate. Once together, the two liquids bubbled up.

"That's putrid." Ayako covered her mouth like she was about to be sick.

"What is it?" Mai asked, looking around.

Naru raised a brow at her. "If you paid attention in class, you would remember that hydrogen peroxide reacts with blood due to the enzyme within it."

Oh…

"But wouldn't the catalase be denatured by the alcohol?" asked Ayako.

Naru shook his head. "Not necessarily, especially if the alcohol content was in a lower concentration, if present at all."

But what did it all mean?

Bou-san crossed his arms and leaned against the table. "So, let me get this straight. You said that Miyama Kaneyuki was a sickly man destined to have a short life who was fascinated by the tales related to Dracula. John mentioned earlier that all the people who have disappeared are young. The bill from the charity hospital jacket mentioned multiple people going missing. All that coupled with Jou-chan's visions…" he trailed off.

"It would seem Miyama Kaneyuki is still looking for victims," said Naru, his face grave.

Mai felt nauseous as she processed the implications of the findings. He had been bathing in and ingesting blood of the orphans and patients in order to preserve his own life. "All those poor people in the orphanage and hospital… and now, Atsugi-san too. And Suzuki-san and John," she said, hugging herself.

"That's right. What happened to Brown-san?" asked Madoka, her face concerned as she looked around the room.

"John was taken not long before you came," Bou-san answered.

.

Mai sighed, trying to concentrate on relaxing, which was already kind of ironic. It was difficult given their situation, but Nar- everyone was counting on her.

After Madoka left, they all discussed their next course of action. First, was the possibility of doing a séance with Masako to find the missing people's location. Mai was firmly against it.

"I don't want what happened to me to happen to Masako, especially not the death vision." Mai looked Naru squarely in the eyes, pleading with him.

Naru challenged her silently for a moment before crossing his arms. "Then, what do you suppose we do instead?”

And… that's how she ended up in the base with Lin. Her job was to astral project in hopes of finding access to the original building and its annex by extension. Lin stayed behind with her as he had preparations for the séance he would be doing later.

Every time she closed her eyes, fear crept up in the back of her mind. She was scared that the next time she opened her eyes, she would be back in the tiled room again. But, why did she have to be scared now? She needed to find a way there now more than ever.

"Taniyama-san, perhaps this can help."

She opened her eyes to find that Lin had left an incense burner near her with a few sticks lit. Her eyes widened in recognition—sometimes, he burned some during their meditation sessions.

"Thank you."

He nodded his head in acknowledgment before returning to his previous task.

She nestled back into the couch, feeling a little bit more at ease. Everything would be fine. Lin was with her, after all. Closing her eyes, she applied all the techniques she had learned from Gene's and Lin's teachings.

The spiritual string connected to her abdomen tugged as she pulled herself to her destination—wherever that was. Her body shifted as her spirit was lifted out.

She opened her eyes to reveal herself floating from above the mansion, much like when she had been at Yasu's school. She could see the general layout of the building and where everyone was located. It was at times like these that she wished she could sense people's energies or auras in a location. Even as far back as when she met Naru, she already had a sense for recognizing people by their energy. But she'd never been able to seek out energies, like being able to find an individual in a building from their energy alone.

That would've been a useful skill to have on a case like this.

Her brows scrunched as a frown made its way to her face. "What the hell?"

The center of the mansion was pure black, a dark distorted energy emanating from it like smoke. That must've been where the original building was located.

How could they reach it though? It didn't look like there were any openings that led there. They would likely have to destroy a wall to reach it.

Mai tried to get closer to the dark mass but froze when she got too close. Memories of Atsugi's death flashed through her head as a cold sweat started to form and her heart palpitated rapidly in her chest. Beginning to hyperventilate, she dropped to her knees while grasping at her chest.

It's okay, Mai. You're fine. You're the one in control.

Despite all the reassurances, her spiritual body wouldn't listen. She squeezed her eyes as she forced her body listen. It wasn't listening. She was too scared. Then, suddenly, her body was surrounded by a warm presence as her body slowly relaxed—it felt like she could control herself again.

Opening her eyes, a familiar white rabbit sat blinking back at her.

"You found me," she said, offering a tired smile and a pet. "Guess Gene couldn't make it?"

Usa-sama blinked before raising a single paw for her to take. She took it in her hand, closing her eyes as everything faded into white.

She reawoke to the sight of the base's ceiling, the smell of Chinese incense overwhelming her senses. Sitting up, she rubbed at her temples as a dull ache started from the back of her head—it was a problem she had occasionally when she projected.

Mai looked around for Lin, finding him at the computer. "Thank you for the incense, Lin-san. It helped."

"Did you discover anything?"

"Kinda. I know what rooms surround the original building, but I couldn't find any way for us to access it. Looks like we'd have to knock down a wall."

Lin paused his typing for a moment before continuing. "Given the circumstances, we should be able to get permission from Ohashi-san." He got out the tablet that he'd been using to map out the mansion and instructed Mai to mark where the original building was.

Looking at it, she couldn't help but be amazed that what she had seen during her projection was accurate to the floorplan. There was also the fact that Naru and Lin trusted her enough to knock down a whole wall! What if she was wrong?

After she was done leaving her chicken-scratch markings, she noticed a collection of items she'd never seen before. They must've been for Lin's séance.

She looked at the items in fascination. "Lin-san, I didn't realize you were Chinese until Ohashi-san mentioned something."

"What about it?" he asked, his tone noticeably sharper.

She jumped a bit, not expecting his reaction. "Oh, I just thought it made sense. Many of the items you use aren't really things I'm familiar with. Like the incense, or the jade you carry some times."

"And is that a problem?"

"No." She made a face, wondering what his sudden briskness was for. "I'm sorry, did I offend you in some way?"

"Not intentionally," he said bluntly, his face stoic as always. "However, I'm not fond of Japanese people because of Japan's history with China."

That explains a lot.

She frowned, standing her ground. "I get that Japan did a lot of awful things in the past, but the people now had nothing to do with it. I don't think it's right to judge a whole group of people because of sins from the past."

Lin watched her for a few moments before cracking a smirk and a chuckle.

"Uh…" she tilted her head, wondering what she'd said that was so funny.

"That was actually very rational of you," he said. Mai wondered if she was supposed to be offended or flattered by that statement. "Reminds me of something Gene once told me when he was ten." He smiled politely. "I understand that you're not directly responsible, so I apologize. But it is a prejudice I've lived with that I'm still trying to overcome."

"I'll be rooting for you," she said, nodding her head in acknowledgement for his effort. "I gotta say, though, you're a lot nicer to me now than you used to be."

He was quiet before smiling gently. "You've turned out to be more tolerable than I expected," he said before quietly adding, "With some unexpected twists that I couldn't exactly ignore either…"

Mai didn't get to question him about the latter part because the rest of the SPR team chose that moment to barge through the door.

After sharing her findings with Naru, he directed everyone to the séance location where Lin would be contacting the spirits of the missing people. With permission, Naru obtained some personal items of Suzuki and Atsugi in order to draw their spirits here. They hadn't told Igarashi-sensei or Minami what the items would be used for—one, for Igarashi-sensei's sake since she was still so distraught; two, Minami was being too petty to care.

Lin placed two candles on the table, incense, some kind of burning herb that created smoke, and some other unidentifiable objects.

Placing Suzuki's shirt in the center on what she could only describe as a Chinese magic circle, he began to write her personal details onto a sheet of rice paper. Placing the paper on her shirt, he proceeded to light the candles and incense.

Mai held her breath, waiting for something to happen. A soft whistling sound caught her attention and she wondered if it was Lin's doing. After what felt like an eternity with nothing happening, Lin extinguished the candles.

She scrunched her brow in confusion.

"It appears Suzuki-san is still alive."

Mai widened her eyes, her mouth agape. "I can't believe it."

"You said you left one of your talismans with her?" asked Naru.

She nodded.

"Told you your talismans work," Ayako said, giving her a pat on the head. "Good job. You saved someone's life."

Even though she was happy, she couldn't bring herself to celebrate. "Poor Atsugi-san."

"If he had listened to you, then he would still be here," Naru said bluntly before turning back to Lin. "Let's move on to Atsugi-san."

This time, when Lin followed the exact same steps with Atsugi's shirt, the candles cracked and grew in height before maintaining a steady flame.

Then, a barely audible disembodied sigh was heard. The smoke from the burning herb danced unnaturally until it took on Atsugi's sullen form.

Mai sucked in a breath.

"You are Atsugi Kenta, right?"

The spirit nodded.

"Are you aware that you're dead?"

Another nod.

"Did something horrific happen to you?

Nod.

"Do you know why you died?"

Atsugi shook his head.

"Was it 'Urado' who did this to you?"

That got a reaction from Atsugi. He nodded vigorously and pointed to his throat in distress. He was mute just like the other spirits that Masako had seen. Telling from Mai's vision, she now knew why.

"Where are you?"

Atsugi spirit wavered, the smoke making up his form distorting as he tried to speak. Knocks and rattling started along the walls and ceiling while the candles threatened to blow out. The last thing Atsugi could share with them was horrified expression as he pointed at the back wall behind Naru and Lin. Everyone looked over but found nothing.

The bangs on the wall got increasingly louder until the candles blew out of their own accord and Atsugi's spirit blew away with them.

Bou-san ran over to flick the lights on.

"What the-"

Writing littered the walls; all allegedly written in a red ink or blood. What was odd was that the wall that Atsugi had been pointing to was completely bare except for one word, "Vlad."

"Huh?" Mai questioned.

"It must be referring to 'Urado.' That's probably where he got the moniker from," said Bou-san.

Naru nodded. "He likely took inspiration from Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as the 'child of the devil.'"

"Sounds about right. He believed bathing in and ingesting young people's blood would grant him an extended lifespan, after all," added Ayako.

Naru crossed his arms. "Considering Kaneyuki-san wasn't expected to live very long, he likely grew bitter with how his life went. Following the story of Elizabeth Bathory, he must have taken hundreds of sacrifices to satiate his desperation to live."

Bou-san shivered. "To think he actually believed bathing and ingesting human blood would prolong his life. And remember that 5 yen bill we found with the eerie message? He must have been sacrificing people from his orphanages and hospitals for his sick delusion."

"How despicable." Mai glared at the writing on the wall. "How could he murder all those innocent people just to prolong his life. What a monster."

"Whether to classify him as an onryo or a demon is unclear, but it doesn't change the fact that he still remains on this plane," Naru said. "And he is continuing to seek out more sacrifices."

Mai rubbed at her arms, goosebumps running up her arms and back.

Out of paranoia, she subconsciously scanned the room. She froze when she noticed something out of place. Completing a double-take, she counted only five other people. Her anxiety skyrocketed for the millionth time that case as she frantically searched for the missing piece.

"Where's Yasu?"

.

"Just rest, Mai." Ayako placed a warm towel on Mai's head, pulling the blanket over her shoulders. "You've been through a lot of stress lately."

Mai didn't fight it, or more like she couldn't fight it. She was exhausted from whatever breakdown she had. Her head pounded and her eyes red from crying.

Bou-san had sworn that Yasu had been with them on the way to the séance room, which begged the question whether he disappeared before or after they arrived in the room. Naru believed it could have been in retaliation from Urado for their meddling.

She had already been upset about John, but he was at least a spiritualist who knew how to protect himself. Yasu was no spiritualist, and he was still fairly new to the paranormal world. Just the thought of him experiencing what Atsugi had, she couldn't bear it.

According to Ayako, she had broken down into tears and was nearly inconsolable until Naru managed to ground her. It was all a haze, but apparently, he reassured her that because she had given Yasu one of her protective bracelets, he would be safe for the time being.

After she had simmered, he instructed Ayako and Masako to bring her back to the room while the men got permission to tear down the walls.

"Yasuhara will be fine. Like Naru said, your charm will protect him," Ayako said before getting up. "Now, get some rest before dinner. I'm going to use the shower."

That left Masako to watch over her, seated on her own bed. The two sat in a solemn silence, both mourning the situation.

"I hope they're all okay," Mai said quietly as she stared blankly at the ceiling. "Suzuki-san has been missing for days without food or water."

Masako glanced over briefly before glancing back down to her kimono. "We'll save them soon," she said. She hesitated for a moment before adding, "Thanks to the floor plan and your knowledge from projecting, we might have found an opening to find them."

Mai nodded, neither accepting nor denying what she said.

"Naru believes in your abilities," Masako said quietly. "He acknowledges you, relies on you, initiates with you." She averted her gaze to the window, a frown embedded on her face.

Mai normally would've overrationalized what Masako said, but in this period of exhaustion, the picture was suddenly much clearer to understand. Not that Naru actually did any of that, no. Moreso the fact that Masako paid so much attention to it.

"Are you… jealous?"

Masako huffed. "Of course not."

If she had the energy, Mai would've giggled. All she could muster was a tired smile. "That's cute."

"Just be quiet and rest."

This time, Mai let out an exasperated sigh-chuckle hybrid. "Just so you know, there's nothing going on between us. At least in the way that you think."

"You mean to tell me that you have no feelings for him either?"

Mai's silence was an answer enough.

"Even if I do, I don't plan on doing anything about it. There's too much going on right now."

Masako turned to look at her with unreadable eyes. She slid her legs over the side in favor of sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Then, if I pursue him, you won't have a problem with that?"

Now, that was a loaded question—one that Mai didn't have the capacity to answer right now. She wondered why Masako even bothered asking since she would do whatever she wanted anyways.

"Like I said, I'm not planning on doing anything," Mai said, avoiding the real answer.

Masako glared at her, her mouth tightening. She looked angry, but why? Mai was basically giving her the green light.

"You're so frustrating." Without another word, Masako got up and headed for the door. "I want to be alone."

Panic took over and Mai sprung up, yanking Masako back before she could leave. "No! You can't! It's too dangerous."

Masako stopped but didn't turn around.

"Why are you upset? Shouldn't you be happy that I'm not getting in your way?"

Masako pulled her sleeve out of Mai's grip before turning to fully glare at her, her eyes glassy. "You're not even trying and you get his attention. It's taken a long time for him to even truly look at me."

Mai blinked, taken-aback by Masako's confession. It must have taken a lot of courage for someone so reserved with her true feelings to admit this. She'd always thought of Hara Masako as a mature and classy figure, but at the end of the day, Masako was still only a teenager with a crush.

"Trust me, he doesn't feel the same way about me," Mai said, sitting back on her bed. "I work with him, so I have to see him a lot. And we're friends, so it'd be kind of crappy if he ignored me."

Masako didn't look convinced but her shoulders relaxed even just the slightest bit.

"Besides, I feel like he gives you special treatment, not me. If I complained about being tired on a case, you think he'd just let me off the hook like he does for you? He also makes sure you're comfortable on cases and whenever you ride with us. You're both similar and I think you guys understand each other better." Mai listed off what she could think of using her fingers as markers.

"So, you see, he treats you differently than the rest of us."

"You think?" Masako looked hopeful for a minute before readopting a crestfallen expression. "But I don't think it's for the reason you think it is."

Mai tilted her head, looking up in thought. "Maybe try letting go of that 'hold' you have on him and start building a normal relationship."

"You… know about that?"

Mai looked away. "Well, Ayako likes to talk," she said, coming up with a cover story on the spot.

Speaking of Ayako, the shower had been turned off awhile ago, but they hadn't heard any movement. When Mai turned around to look at the door, she noticed that the bathroom light was off. The realization had her jumping up from the bed and rushing over, alarming Masako in the process.

"Ayako?"

No answer.

"Ayako! Please tell me you're in there!"

Silence.

Mai wriggled the doorknob, desperately trying to break in. "Not you too!"

She turned around to find that Masako had the exact same horrified expression on as she brought her hands to cover her mouth.

At that moment, a knock came from the hallway door making the two girls jump. "Dinner's ready." It was Bou-san's voice.

Masako opened the door to find what remained of their team in the hallway. Telling from their faces, her expression must have been grim.

"What happened?" he asked. His eyes widened as he scanned the room. "Where's Ayako?!"

Mai forced herself to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. She pointed at the closed bathroom door, barely getting out, "She never came out after her shower."

Bou-san widened his eyes and rushed over. He shook the knob just like Mai had, calling Ayako's name several times before forcing his way through by slamming the door open.

As expected, the bathroom lights were off as if no one had been in there at all. They checked behind the shower curtains but there was no sight of her. Telling from the towels and toiletries on the sink, Mai deduced that Ayako had at least been dressed when she disappeared.

"You think this was also in retaliation?" Bou-san asked, not facing them.

Naru continued his inspection of the bathroom. "Perhaps. The speed at which Urado is targeting us is noticeably faster. We have permission to tear down what we need, so we should act quickly. Even being separated by a door leaves us at risk."

A shiver ran up her back at the thought of being taken away while in the bathroom.

It's like you can't even pee in peace in this place. Poor Ayako.

"Someone needs to teach this bastard a thing or two," Bou-san said quietly, his voice surprisingly low.

While everyone filtered out, Mai glanced back at him, wondering what he was planning. His reaction was more raw regarding Ayako's disappearance compared to the others. She couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't reacted as heavily as she did with John's or Yasu's.

It wasn't that she liked Ayako any less than the other two. In fact, Ayako was like a guardian to her, like a sister or even a mother sometimes. But, perhaps it was the repeated stress getting to her, that she was getting numb to it.

But Ayako didn't deserve that—she didn't deserve Mai's jaded reaction.

.

The atmosphere at dinner was sullen. The SPR team—or what remained of them—was quiet as they ate.

Everyone had been in favor of skipping dinner altogether, but Naru took advantage of his authority to make them eat.

"You won't be of use to them exhausted," was the way he had worded it. "Them" being their missing friends.

Even though he said it in his usual offhanded way, Mai couldn't help but respect him for it. He had never verbally expressed care for the team so openly before. Everyone must have been touched by this too, because they ate as much as they could.

He was right, after all. They had no chance of saving their friends if they had no energy.

After their expedited dinner, they followed Mai's markings on the floorplan and proceeded to take down the wall leading to the empty space. Given their lack of hands, Bou-san and Lin completed most of the heavy work.

They were able to create a decent-sized hole fairly quickly. When Naru shined a flashlight inside, Mai could see the change in flooring to that of an older stone brick. Lacking any fear, Naru entered the hole with everyone following behind.

"Agh! What a stench!" Bou-san cried, covering his nose.

Naru ignored him and continued through the room until he found a door directly opposite to the wall they had just come from. When he opened it, it revealed yet another stone brick wall. The two windows were exactly the same.

"Naru!"

Turning toward the sound of Lin's voice, he and Bou-san stood next to an open furnace. Mai stayed further back with Masako because she had a strong inkling that she didn't want to see what was in there.

And she was right.

They met with Ohashi-san and the other investigators soon after to inform them of the bodies found in the furnace.

"They must be the bodies of those who disappeared during the college student break-in and the search thereafter," Naru explained. "While we couldn't confirm it prior, the fact that these bodies were found dead, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Atsugi-san is dead."

Minami audibly gasped, sitting back in his chair in fright.

Igarashi-sensei was equally as disturbed. She covered her mouth with her hand. "Do you mean to say that Suzuki-san is also… ?"

"She actually may still be alive. While completing a séance to summon her spirit, her spirit never appeared, supporting that she may very well be alive."

"That's wonderful news!" Igarashi-sensei looked close to crying but from relief this time. Then, she paused, scanning the SPR group. "I recalled you having more members? Are they unwell?"

Naru's mouth tightened ever so slightly. "We are now missing three of our members."

Minami shot out of his chair. "I'm leaving! More people are missing now and turning up dead. My own life is in danger." He started for the door as the fake doctor followed suit.

Mai had heard enough.

She quickly stood and approached the two men. "You're not even going to try finding Atsugi-san, or at least his remains?"

Minami brushed her off. "What's the point? He's already dead. Ohashi-san can just call us when they find his body."

"You're a disgusting excuse for a human being," she said, glaring at him before turning her eyes to the fake doctor. "And what about you, 'Dr. Davis?' For someone so skilled in investigation, are you going to continue to be useless until the end while a bunch of 'amateurs' do your job for you?"

Mai.

While she swore she could hear Naru's disapproval, she definitely felt the disapproving glare on her back, but she didn't care. Her friends were missing, and this riff raff was only in it for themselves.

With everyone's glares at him coupled with Mai's proximity, the fake doctor broke down. He shook his head vigorously. "Stop! I'm not Oliver Davis! I'm just following this man's orders. He was trying to fool you all for attention," he admitted before slamming the door open and stomping away.

That left Minami sputtering as he ran out behind the imposter, screaming some nonsense about being made a fool of. Not that he needed anyone else's help to do so.

Igarashi-sensei brought a hand to head, falling back into her chair.

"We promise we'll do our best to find Suzuki-san," Mai said.

Igarashi-sensei nodded, wiping her eye. "Thank you. I hope you will be able to find your friends as well," she said, looking toward the rest of the team. "Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you."

After the confrontation and Naru scolding Mai for being rash, they returned back to the room from earlier to continue their excavation.

Mai sighed as she watched Bou-san, Lin, and even Naru work to tear down the wall. Apparently, this wall was thicker than the last. She rubbed at her arms in worry, disappointed that she was practically useless when it came to manual labor.

She couldn't help but wonder how they were even going to get rid of Urado. To have this strong of a presence meant he had a lot of spiritual energy to expend. Right now, their only exorcist was Bou-san while she was there only for support. Lin seemed to have something up his sleeve but she hadn't seen enough of his abilities to know what he was capable of.

Turning her attention elsewhere, she glanced over to where Masako was.

Masako sat quietly huddled with her back to the wall. Her head hunched over as her hands bunched up her kimono. Mai realized in that moment that she'd been so caught up in her own angst that she never thought to consider how the others felt.

While Mai had her breakdowns, the other members must have been staying strong for eachother's sakes.

Sitting down beside Masako, she asked, "Are you okay?"

Masako sucked in a breath and shook her head. "Truthfully, no. I'm worried, but I have to believe that they will be fine." Mai noticed the way her fingers picked at each other and wondered if that was a bad habit. Maybe that was why she always hid her hands under her kimono.

Rustling into her pocket, Mai pulled out her old house key. "Here, hold this," she said, handing it to Masako.

"What is it?"

"It's the key to the house I lived in with my parents when they were alive. Whenever I feel uneasy or worried, I fidget with this. It always makes me feel better."

Masako was quiet as she stared at the key before taking it. "Thank you."

"No problem!" Mai smiled, as best as she could in this situation. "Wish we could be more helpful, though. I feel so useless."

Masako chuckled. "You're anything but. You're the only one who has access to them."

Mai's eyes widened, realizing something. "You're right. I could project there and find out if they're okay." Before she got too excited, fear bubbled up in the pit of her stomach. "Not gonna lie, projecting there scared me so much earlier that I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"I understand," said Masako softly, a small encouraging smile on her face.

"But I have to. For our friends."

"Take this." Masako pulled out a beautifully embellished comb. "If you get scared, this will ground you and lead you back here."

Mai blinked, a warmth building in her chest. She smiled brightly, taking the comb carefully. "Thank you. I'll do my best."

With that, the girls sat back as Mai closed her eyes and sharpened her focus.

Once again, her spirit disconnected with her body, getting pulled towards the image in her mind—the old annex with the hallway and the tiled room.

She opened her eyes to the scene of her vision from earlier. She froze immediately in fear, memories of the vision replaying in her head. Sweat beaded up on her forehead as her heart pounded and her hands shook.

Squeezing the comb in her hand, she controlled her breathing and talked herself through. She had to do this for her friends. There wasn't time to falter.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, she pumped her fists in the air. She could do this.

Looking around, she couldn't find anyone but could hear faint chanting. Floating her way to the hallway, she passed through one of the doors.

"Suzuki-san!"

Passed out on the floor was Suzuki who looked sickly pale but alive. Her breathing was quiet but still present.

Why haven't they done anything to her?

The folded charm in her shirt pocket illuminated slightly, alerting Mai to its presence. Usa-sama's energy emanating from it.

Relief overwhelmed her body knowing her guardian deity was present. Thank you, Usa-sama.

Mai continued to the next room over.

"John!"

He sat cross legged with his rosary and Mai's bracelet in hand while reading lines from the bible word for word. He couldn't hear her, but she was just grateful to see that he was fine. He had another rosary stabbed into the door, which made her wonder if the assistants had tried to enter but he blocked them off.

The next room was Yasu's who was still unconscious like Suzuki. The charm she gave him glowed through his jacket pocket, once again alerting her of Usa-sama's presence.

The last person to check up on was Ayako. Her room was across the hallway.

When Mai entered, she found the talismans she made pasted on the inside of the door while Ayako prayed.

"We'll be there soon, Ayako. Just a little bit longer," Mai said, knowing she couldn't be heard.

And yet—

"Mai?"

"You can hear me?!"

"Barely. Are you guys coming? It's cold and creepy as hell here. I hear walking and shifting around outside and all I can do is put up a barrier. I think they had the rooms locked from the outside."

"Do you know where the key is?"

"Like hell I would know. Just… hurry up and come, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I promise we'll be there soon. I'll try to find the key."

Mai peeked her head out into the hall and looked around. Where would a key be? Did evil spirits even need keys? And how many keys would she need? Hopefully, just a skeleton key.

A small ball of light materialized before her taking on Usa-sama's form.

"Do you know where a key would be?" she asked.

Her guardian led her over to the tiled room, gesturing his head at a key that hung on the wall left of the bathtub. As soon as Mai saw the tub, her breath hitched in recognition. She tried to move, but her feet stayed glued to the floor.

Suddenly, something shifted in the tub causing the blood to splash against the edge.

Oh hell no.

Usa-sama looked back at her, assuring her that he would protect her. Her lips pressed together tightly, trying to build the courage. The comb in her hand grounding her, just like Masako has said. Nodding to herself despite her paralyzing fear, she ran for it.

She quickly grabbed the key and put it in her pocket, doing her best not to look beside at her.

The scent of rotten blood overwhelmed her senses, nauseating her. Then, a warm rancid breath blew against her ear and she nearly screamed. A shot of light at her side knocked whatever it was back into the tub with a splash.

While Usa-sama didn't say anything, she understood that whatever it was would only be stunned briefly.

Shutting her eyes and squeezing Masako's comb for dear life, she pulled herself back to her body where the physical comb was.

She shot up from the wall with a gasp. When she felt something touch her, she nearly shrieked and swatted it away.

"It's me, Mai," said Masako.

"Huh? Oh… Masako." Mai swallowed and nodded, regaining her composure. She handed Masako her comb back. "Thank you for this."

"Did you find out anything?" Naru walked over.

Mai pushed herself up to stand. She reached into her pocket, unsure if she had successfully brought the key back with her or not. When she felt the cold metal, her eyes widened.

"Wow! I actually brought it with me!" She stared at the key in disbelief.

"What is it?" asked Bou-san.

"It's a skeleton key. Everyone's locked up right now, but no one's been harmed. Suzuki looks close to death, though. We need to get her medical help immediately."

Mai looked past them toward the wall to see that they had made a big enough sized hole to get through. Her eyes widened. "You're done?"

"We were waiting for you to wake up."

"They're waiting for us!" Mai shot up and headed towards the opening.

Altogether, they cautiously walked through the exact layout Mai had seen in her vision. When they got to the parlor with the mounted display of wine, armchair, and fireplace, she knew what came next. When they got to the hedge maze, she tried her best to guide them through but it still took awhile. Naru ended up solving it faster than she could.

When the annex came into view, Naru grabbed her wrist before she could run off. "Remember what we talked about."

She looked back at him for moment before pulling her wrist out of his grasp.

"Then, come with me," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.

He didn't get a say as she led him up the stairs and down the hall until they arrived at the hallway leading to the tiled room. She reached into her pocket to retrieve the skeleton key to start unlocking the doors.

"Mai!" Ayako shot up. "I am so glad to see you."

"We'll talk later. We gotta get everyone else out. Can you help?"

Ayako helped Naru with Suzuki, while John attempted to wake Yasu. The sound of splashing liquid alerted her to their main danger.

While Yasu finally woke up after several shakes, he was still a bit groggy as they helped him into a stand.

"You guys go first and meet up with Bou-san and Lin. I'll- I can hold him back for a bit."

"Him" being the demon rising from the bathtub. Urado rose out of his pool. His skin stuck to his bones like glue, a deranged expression on his face as he smiled unnaturally at them. His mouth spread from ear to ear as he watched them like prey. There was nothing human left to him.

"GO NOW!" She practically pushed everyone down the hall as she prepared her paper talismans. Two invisible hands grabbed her arms and yanked her forward into the tiled room and shoved her against the procedure table in the center, her chest and abdomen slamming against it. Blood from the table splashed onto her clothes and face.

"Mai!"

The door to the room slammed closed. Her eyes squeezed shut in pain.

One of the hands grabbed her hair from behind and forced her head upwards. The rancid breath was back again as it blew against her face. She opened her eyes and immediately screamed.

Urado cackled, his face close enough to lick the blood off her cheek with his shriveled rotten tongue.

"Get away from me!"

Usa-sama's light knocked Urado away as the door behind her was knocked down to the floor.

"You're mine, you piece of shit!" Bou-san bulldozed through and rammed a vajra into Urado's head, reciting his chant.

Lin whistled as two invisible masses made the finishing blow, dissipating Urado's body into a black mist.

"He's not gone yet. We need to go," said Lin from the door.

Mai didn't have any time to process as they all made a run for it.

Bou-san ended up taking Suzuki on his back while Yasu leaned against Lin for faster movement. Mai prayed as they escaped for a layer of defense, while John used what remained of his holy water to keep the assistants away.

Even if she couldn't see him, Mai knew Urado was on their tail.

"We gotta get out," Bou-san said, putting Suzuki down to break a nearby window.

As soon as they were all outside on the grass, everyone fell to the ground in relief. Mai essentially face-planted as soon as they were out, unable to utter a single word as she caught her breath.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Naru, brushing off the dirt from his clothes.

"Mm," was her reply.

They didn't waste anymore time sitting around as they had to get Suzuki medical attention. As everyone got up, Mai couldn't move an inch.

"I… I can't move," she said, her face pink from embarrassment.

"If I was some superhero, I'd carry both you and Suzuki-san on my back," Bou-san joked.

Mai groaned, attempting to sit up—her limbs like jelly.

Suddenly, Naru crouched down to her level with his back facing her. "Get on," he said.

Uhhh…

"We don't have all day, Mai."

Grumbling, she slung her arms around his neck while his hands wrapped under her knees.

Ayako giggled, trying to hide her smirk while Bou-san eyed Naru suspiciously.

Masako looked away.

Mai was so exhausted that the team's chatter faded into background noise as the pace of Naru's walk lulled her to sleep. She laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to be selfish.

Just one more time.