Ghost Hunt, Volume 3 by Shiho Inada and Fuyumi Ono

Mai Taniyama met Kazuya Shibuya in her school when he came to investigate a number of ghost stories. It turned out to be nothing more than a poltergeist, but in the end Mai ended up working as an assistant for her boss, Naru, or "Narcissist" as she, and everyone else seems to call him.

Now they are called to another school, one with several problems. First, there is a desk where anyone who sits at it inevitably ends up getting their arm caught in a train door and getting dragged along the platform. But that's not the only thing that happened to people who sat at the desk. Another girl felt ghostly hands massaging her stomach and ended up in the hospital with a hole in her stomach.

But the rumors swirl around a girl with the power to bend spoons merely by thinking about it. Rumors about her grew so loud and numerous, she was forced to exhibit her power before the entire school at a school assembly. Nevertheless, some people accused her of using a trick to make the school believe she had done so. Only one teacher, Kei-Sensei, supports the girl, whose name is Kasai.

Naru believes that the problems are due to Emmi, small pawlonia wood totems that direct the attention of spirits to the people named on the Emmi, from a specific name to "The person who sits at this desk". But who is the person (Zuso) behind the Emmi? Who has the psychic powers to do such a thing?

Another school story, this time with real spirits, and this one ramps up the story by having the spirits being directed by someone who knows enough about the occult to make Emmi and manipulate the spirits into doing their bidding? Suspicion falls on Kasai, naturally, but is her spoon-bending skill strong enough to make Emmi?

It gets even harder for the investigators when they discover Emmi aimed specifically at them, and Naru and Mai nearly get injured when the Emmi makes a well collapse, trapping them below. As for Mai, she finds herself attracted to Naru, but his arrogant and conceited behavior turn her right off. Only in her dreams is he gentle and smiling and helpful. But does he really have that sort of behavior within him?

In addition to Mai and Naru, the exorcists John Brown, Ayako Matsuzaki, Masako Hara and Housho Takigawa appear once again in this volume to contrast with Naru's more secular, more equipment-based approach, but he's willing to use the others's powers to solve problems. And I'm looking forward to seeing (and reading) more.