Awakening

Tauria

Prologue

Gene's eyes flashed open wide, his breath hitching in his throat as his heart thundered erratically.

"What the hell...?" he muttered, slowly sitting up. Just that slight movement sent wicked pain through his head, pounding in tune with his racing heart. His pale hand quickly reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, hoping that would help, in some small way. He stayed utterly still, hoping the pain would fade. The next few minutes seemed to be an eternity, but the pain did pass.

He slowly made his way to his feet. His legs were unsteady at first, but he quickly regained his bearings and took a look around his surroundings. A lake was the first thing he saw, blue water sparkling underneath the light of the sun. On the eastern side of the lake was an old wooden dock, and fishing boats could be seen on the surface. It was a beautiful picture.

He stood on the muddy shore, sopping as if he had just washed ashore. In addition to the lake water making his clothes stick uncomfortably to his skin, he was caked in mud that was quickly drying in the heat of the sun. It was distinctly uncomfortable, especially as he could feel strands of his hair sticking together.

But he wasn't too busy focusing on that, too busy focusing on the crisp stillness that was the surface of the lake.

The sun glinting off it, the trees being reflected off of it perfectly created an effect most would consider peaceful, especially since the sun was warm... but not hot. There was an occasional breeze, which would create small, choppy waves across the lake.

But for Gene...

It brought sensations he would like to leave behind him.

First, pain. Pain shot through his entire body, most acutely in his ribs and arm. He could taste the irony tinge of blood in his mouth. The stifling sensation of cloth covering his head, blocking his vision – which was already blinded by spots anyway – and making it even harder to breathe.

And then, the water. It soaked him to the bone, creeping into his nose and mouth. It filled his lungs, and he was sinking. Unable to move, unable to see, unable to feel anything but pain... It was terrible...

.

He gasped for air, wrenching his eyes open and abruptly turning from the lake. He took a few deep, calming breaths. At first, they caused shudders to resound through his body, but after a bit, they succeeded in calming his racing heart. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind with some effort. There was no use on dwelling on painful memories...

Wait.

He opened his eyes again. Are they really memories? Did... did I really die? Did Noll meet Mai? Did I guide her dreams...? Does she even exist? It all felt so... so real.

It was difficult to say. Afraid to search his instincts – he wasn't sure which he wanted to be true – he settled for trying to remember what happened the night he had – possibly – died.

.

He'd been walking back to the town, having been offered a ride back, but the night was so nice – what with the full moon and the wide expanse of stars – he had decided to walk. It hadn't been the smartest thing to do, as he had been wearing all-black at the time, but he was being careful.

He'd been halfway across the street when the car veered around the corner, headlights blinding him. For a moment, he had understood what a deer felt like. The thought had caused a hysterical bubble of mirth in him, before it was popped by crushing pain...

He shook his head.

His most recent memory – or what he thought was his most recent memory – was saying farewell to Mai by the tree, still pretending he was his brother. He had prepared for leaving – after all, his body was being found and put to rest. Some part of him doubted that would make him move on, but it was always best to be prepared. Then, he had been back on the spiritual plane. A warm light, like the one he had seen spirits be engulfed by many times during his years as a medium and stood before him...

And, nothing.

It felt as if there was more to the memory, something that he was missing. On the echoes of his mind, he could almost hear words. He knew, deep inside, that there was more to it.

He sighed, frustrated. He resisted the urge to run his hand through his hair. Ugh... I need new clothes. And a shower. A long, hot shower. Ignoring his... disheveled appearance, he started walking up to the road, intent on heading back to town. As he walked, he got out his wallet. The bills were pretty much non-existent, but he still had a credit card.

Hopefully it wasn't expired. Gene planned to get some clothes, get a hotel room for the night, take a shower, and then head to Tokyo the next day. While he was at it, he would check the date and hopefully that would tell him if Mai and SPR had transpired.

If he didn't manage to get the date, after his shower, he'd search his instincts to find out which was the truth – quelling his desire not to find out – and see if he could get some sort of clue about what he should do next.

Mai jolted slightly. Something... something important had just happened. She didn't know what, but... something big was about to happen. She rubbed her cheek with her palm, wishing she could get more than just a feeling on it. But, as she was in the middle of class, that obviously wasn't happening.

However, she would call Bou-san the moment class had ended. Maybe the other members of SPR could help her...

The thought of SPR sent a small wave of melancholy through her. Naru – who had really been Oliver Davis! Who would have thunk it? Then again... it wasn't entirely surprising after she had thought about it – had left a year ago. Madoka was currently running the Japanese branch, and though Naru had promised he would come back... something in Mai told her that it wasn't going to happen.

Not for a long time. Especially since he had apparently gotten really busy, and Madoka was going to be returning near the end of the week. Which meant that one of the other members would be in charge – probably Bou-san, they wouldn't find out till tomorrow. They didn't know when she would be getting back, though she had promised that they wouldn't be dissolving the branch.

On the bright side, she'd just gotten a pay raise, which meant she had more extra money than she was used to. In celebration, she'd planned a shopping trip with Ayako... where she was putting her foot down, and not letting the priestess buy her any outfits. She didn't plan on doing any major splurging... but she thought she could use the treat.

Especially after that last case...

Her psychic dreams were still going strong, and she was only just starting to get the hang of controlling them without Gene's help. His absence was a major hole, and she found that her dreams were more erratic and less understandable without them.

She was even beginning to have dreams when they weren't on cases! Though, she was entirely sure if that was because Gene wasn't there to block them or if her powers were just getting stronger.

The brunette resisted the urge to drop her head to the desk, attempting to tune back into the teacher's lecture (and failing) while promising she'd think more about her crazy, messed-up life later. (Not that she would trade it for anything.)

Tauria: So, I'm finally trying my hand at posting a chaptered Ghost Hunt story~ I'm not a great updater (actually, I suck when it comes to updates...) but I'm going to do my best to write regularly. This just kind of came to me as I was reading, and then I was in a rush to get it written. I even used a notebook because I didn't feel like cleaning off my desk, which is like, really unusual for me. I always word myself better when I type... (no idea why).

Anyways, I hope you like it! And, no, I don't have much of a plot figured for this... like, at all. I've been trying to plan out my stories lately, but it just sucks out all the energy from me, and then I don't even want to write them anymore... -sigh- So I apologize ahead of time for any inconsistencies... (though when/if cases get involved, I will do some thinking ahead for those XD)

Also, I'm not sure about any pairings beyond Gene/Mai FRIENDshipping... Though, if there are any it will be Ayako/Bou-san and/or Naru/Mai. So, just a warning for those of you that don't like that kind of thing.

But again, I'm not sure. It may just end up being just friendship~

Anyways! I hope you enjoyed the prologue, which is really just me getting my feet wet before I do any serious stuff, and please leave a review! Or just a favorite~