Chapter 1

August is a hot and uncomfortable time to be in Tokyo. Despite that heat, a woman in her 30's, impeccably dressed in a grey suit could be seen walking down Dogensaka in Shibuya Ward. The woman, looked about herself somewhat uncertainly as she sought a specific office and opened a blue-grey door on the second floor of a small building. A small bell rang out merrily as she opened the door announcing her arrival. Inside the office, a young high school aged girl could be seen sitting at one of the desks alone in the reception area. The woman, wearing a very uncertain expression, entered the office. As she entered, she glanced about the office.

Mai Taniyama, who was the only part-time worker in this day, looked up when the chime attached to the door rang out. Seeing the woman, she quickly got up from her desk and approached her.

The woman glanced around the office once more before focusing on Mai.

"Is this... Shibuya Psychic Research? Where you investigate... possible paranormal activities?" she asked Mai hesitantly.

Mai looked a hint surprised when she realized the woman was clear on whom she was seeking and her smile relaxed and warmed slightly from the plastic 'work' smile she often wore.

"That's right," Mai confirmed. "Are you here for an investigation?"

The woman nodded slightly at Mai's question.

"In that case, won't you come in and have a seat? We can discuss things over some tea," Mai said.

The woman hesitantly allowed Mai to seat her at the sofa and set her things down while Mai disappeared first into Noll's office and second into the kitchenette to make some tea. A few moments later, Noll appeared from his office and studied the woman briefly before moving to speak to her.

While Mai was busy making tea, Noll asked the woman her name and where she'd learned of their office.

The woman, Reiko Adachi explained that she decided to ask around at work for help finding someone to exorcise her home after some unusual things happened, but while she'd visited a few other possible mediums, she wasn't happy with their approach. During her search, she'd learned of the office and that this office was supposed to study unexplained phenomena in a scientific manner which appealed to her orderly mind greatly. Hence she decided to consult their office about her home.

Just as Reiko finished explaining this, Mai reappeared from the kitchenette carrying a tray of tea things. Noll waited for Mai to finish serving tea before bringing his full attention on the woman.

"And so what has brought you to our office then Ms Adachi?" he asked quietly.

Reiko sat quietly for a moment gathering her thoughts before replying. "I honestly don't know if it's something you'd normally investigate. In fact, I'm pretty sure part of the problem is that I'm a city slicker living in the middle of nowhere," she began hesitantly.

Noll sighed. "Please let us form our own conclusions over matters and focus instead on explaining what has led you to consult us about your household."

Reiko paused again uncertainly. "I really don't know if it's significant or if maybe... maybe I'm imagining things," she said hesitantly.

Noll's expression darkened slightly at the woman's hesitations.

"If you're that uncertain, perhaps it would be in everyone's best interests if you returned once you're a little more certain," he said finally.

Reiko shrank slightly at his words trembling ever so slightly when Mai snapped, "Naru!"

Mai glared at her boss. "Why don't you try having a little more patience and compassion and listen to what she has to say!"

"Mai!" Noll glared back at Mai. However, Mai completely ignored her boss and instead turned towards Reiko.

"Please ignore him," Mai said gently as she picked up Reiko's teacup and handed it to her. "Here, why don't you drink some tea and tell us at your own pace what has you so confused."

Reiko relaxed slightly at Mai's words and after taking a calming sip of tea, she closed her eyes for a moment before saying, "There's something strange about my house."

Reiko opened her eyes and glanced at Noll and Mai briefly before continuing. "At first, I thought maybe I was hearing things or that it was the animals living nearby. You see, I was born and raised in a big city and never really spent much time outside the city. But, several months ago, I decided to move out of the city into a very quiet rural village. Country living is quite different from the city so there was much I had to get used to. Animals, noise and the lack thereof, lights... so much was different that when things first started to happen, I thought it was my imagination or the animals."

Reiko paused slightly before continuing, "The first thing to happen was I heard footsteps from the roof. I'd hear something or someone go running across the roof and there'd be a few different sounds for this running. Some are literally running while others are very slow and heavy, plodding steps. Others still fall somewhere in between. After awhile, it wasn't just footsteps. I started feeling cold drafts in the house. Since it's not a new house, it's possible that the windows have become leaky so I didn't pay too much attention at first but, I'd sometimes feel these breezes in the hallway or in rooms where there are no windows."

She paused again as she thought about the various incidents in the house; things that seemed strange and had started putting her on edge.

"These are the most common things to happen and are probably the most explainable for various reasons but..." the woman's voice trailed off briefly as she took a deep breath trying to build up the courage to tell everything she'd seen.

She still wasn't able to get rid of the nagging doubt that perhaps everything was all in her mind and she was going crazy.

Taking another deep breath to steady herself, she almost too quietly said, "My cat..."

"Your cat?" Noll repeated when the woman fell silent for several long moments.The woman shook her head slightly. "I brought a cat with me from the city. I was afraid it'd run off in the country and get lost but didn't want to keep it locked up either... After the stress of the initial move, Myst seemed to like the house well enough and did much like any normal cat would in a new home but after several weeks, he stopped coming home at night."

"Cats are often more nocturnal in the activities," Noll said quietly.

"I understand that but, this was different. You see, he's a city cat and he always eats at home and he'll sleep there during the day. At first, he slept there at night too, but later on, he started screaming to be let out at night. If I don't let him out, he usually hides under my bed all night long. Rarely, he'll hide under my desk in my office instead," Reiko paused briefly taking another sip of tea. "Early on, perhaps a month or two after we moved, I once found him crouched in the hallway staring at the stairs growling. One other time, when we were in the living room, he suddenly jumped down from the couch and stared at something out in the hallway growling, his hackles raised. It's after these incidents that he stopped staying home at night.

Then about a month ago, I started having problems with some of the doors. It's... strange. They... stick," Reiko paused struggling to figure out how best to explain the doors in her home.

"The first time it happened, I was working in my office. It was a relatively warm night so I had the windows open and I figure there must've been a slight breeze because all of a sudden there was a cold draft and the door slammed shut. I'd been working late and hadn't noticed any major breezes but, there's no other reason for the door to close on its own like that," she said shrugging slightly. "Anyhow, since I didn't want the rest of the house to get stuffy, I got up to re-open the door but it wouldn't budge. I couldn't get it to open at all. I must've struggled for several minutes before I turned to put the book I'd been holding down. And when I went back to try again, the door opened without problem."

Noll considered the statement quietly waiting for Reiko to continue. However, when she didn't, he asked, "Do you remember if you were able to turn the knob at all or anything?"

Reiko considered his question, "I don't recall for certain but... I don't think so. I remember thinking it odd to be locked in... but that door doesn't have a lock. In any case, the door wouldn't move at all and didn't rattle or anything. It's sort of like a wooden door on a very hot and humid day, when the door isn't quite hung right and it swells in the jamb. You can pretty much throw your body against it and it won't do anything. That's sort of how it felt."

"Is there anything else?" Noll asked quietly.

The woman hesitated before nodding slightly. "Two other incidents," she said quietly, her hands tightly clenched in her lap.

Noll looked at her steadily, waiting patiently.

"Both happened within the past few weeks and lasted only for a brief instant and... I'd been half asleep both times, so I may have imagined them," she said softly.

"...Please tell us anyways," Noll said quietly.

The woman stared at her hands. "Both times, I'd been in the living room. I... don't like being in there late at night but, the first time, I'd just finished a major project and hadn't thought about the time much. I must've dozed off for a while watching TV because I suddenly woke when I felt a cold chill in the room. There must've been a noise coming from the window because something made me look that way and I noticed that the window was completely fogged over."

Reiko clenched her hands in her lap tightly. "The next thing I knew, as I was looking at the window, the words 'Get out!' suddenly appeared on the glass. It only lasted a moment or so before the words and the fog disappeared. I think I stared at the window for several minutes before I finally snapped out of my shock, but nothing else happened," she said quietly.

"The second time, I'd been reading until very late when I suddenly felt that cold draft again. Looking at the clock, I realized it was much later than I'd thought and went to take care of some things in the kitchen. Just as I turned the corner to enter the kitchen though, a woman was standing right there in front of me. She just about scared the living daylights out of me startling me like that, but the next instant, she just vanished. I just about dropped the things I'd been carrying and...... I couldn't bring myself to go in there that night," she confessed.

"Have you ever seen the woman before?" Noll asked her.

Reiko shook her head silently. Recounting the events up to that point had re-opened the many doubts she had about her own sanity and whether she'd imagined everything up to then.

"Have you seen her since then?" Noll continued. Again she shook her head in response. Noll sighed slightly.

"Have you consulted a psychiatrist about the possibility of psychological problems from work, stress or other factors resulting from the move?"

Reiko stiffened at that question and looked at Noll. "Are you suggesting that I imagined all this and that it's all in my head? That I'm going crazy or something??"

Noll looked at her steadily. "I'm asking if you've explored the possibility prior to coming to this office as a possible explanation for things and that this is one of many possible answers for what you've seen and experienced."

Reiko sat very still before she finally slumped slightly in her seat. "I saw a psychiatrist once," she confessed. "But his comments about isolation and getting out to be with people more and stress related problems... I'll admit, it's possible but I don't see how it would on one hand have me see writing telling me to get out while on the other causing doors to jam keeping me trapped in a room for several minutes," she said tiredly.

"If everything I was experiencing went one way or the other then maybe I could accept that but this...?" Reiko shook her head. "I just don't buy it."

Noll considered Reiko's comments for several long moments. "Most of what you've described can easily be explained by mundane means," he said quietly looking at Reiko inquiringly.

"I understand that," she replied. "It's the entirety of it all and the non-mundane events that I want an explanation for."

Noll stared at her for a few more moments before sighing slightly. "If it meets your approval, our office should be ready to begin a three-day preliminary investigation of your home in two, perhaps three days time. After the initial investigation, if we have reason to believe something other than mundane forces is at work, we will continue investigating until we've determined the source of your problems or until such time as you request us to stop," he said finally.

Reiko looked up relief written clearly on her face. "It does! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed.

"My assistant will take down your personal details as well as explain what needs to be done and what we will require while investigating your home," Noll said as he stood. "Mai."

"Ah, yessir!" Mai said quickly. As Mai turned towards Reiko to get the necessary information, Noll returned to the sanctuary of his office.