Disclaimer- I don't own Ghost Hunt
Note- This is based off the anime, I've only read a tiny bit of the manga and while I'm aware that in the manga Gene is the other person who had snapped at Lin for his remarks about disliking the Japanese, this has nothing to do with him.
Also beware some ooc moments, this my first oneshot, I've done several multi-chapter fics as some of you know, but never a oneshot, so please let me know what you think.
The Words That Brought Us Together
Mai Taniyama, sixteen year old high school student, roped into being an assistant for Shibuya Psychic Research run by the seventeen year old boy known as Kazuya Shibuya. A prideful narcissist with many secrets. He left Mai little choice but to be his assistant after she accidentally broke an expensive camera and caused his original assistant to sprain his leg. His nickname is Naru and he is also the same person that poor innocent Mai has feelings for, though sometimes she finds it hard to remember why. He however isn't the one that the brown haired girl is currently staring at while she begins to tug at her khaki pants in her distress.
Never good at hiding her emotions, she was currently shaking with pent up frustration and sadness while hot tears filled her big brown eyes and her fists clenched at her sides. The object of her ire was none other than the very assistant she had accidentally led to being injured several months before. Koujo Lin.
The normally quiet, to the point of being cold and seemingly unfeeling man was sitting at a desk with a laptop set up in front of him. His hands were still poised above the keys while he stared at Mai's trembling form with little emotion. It was safe to say that he was used to Mai's often overly dramatic displays of emotion and as such he didn't particularly care that she was upset with him. Not that he would have cared to begin with, there were more important things to worry about besides the feelings of one sixteen year old girl. Like the fact that the whole team was currently in a labyrinthine house where young people, like she and Naru, kept disappearing without a trace.
A soft sigh reverberated through the quiet room and Lin, let his dark eyes shift to the form of a small woman that was only a few inches taller than Mai and barely reached his shoulders when she was standing. She had hair of the deepest brown that fell over her delicate shoulder in gentle waves and eyes that were such a bright blue that they reminded him of the sky. Her skin was fair, but it suited her. A pale beige tiered skirt covered her legs and a light blue cardigan was worn over a white tank top, several gemstones hung from simple silver chains around her neck and a few silver bangles adorned her wrists. Though it was a simple almost earthy look, it suited her very well. Her gaze was soft as she watched Mai from where she sat in a wooden chair at the only table in the room to be free of any electronic equipment.
"You haven't changed a bit," the woman sighed, standing from her seat to put a small hand on Mai's shoulder in a gesture she hoped would comfort the distraught girl. Her voice was like a whisper of the wind as it blew threw the trees, tranquil and full of life. "Must you always be so harsh?"
His emotionless face pulled into a frown and he tossed an irritated look the woman's way. "I wasn't being harsh, Tsukiko. I was merely stating the truth. I have no desire to befriend any Japanese."
Before Tsukiko had a chance to reply in her soft, breezy voice, Mai spoke up.
"It's not like I don't know what happened in the past. I know that Japan did a lot of bad things, but to hate people now for what happened then... It just seems wrong. Just think what it would be like if the whole world was like that. Everyone would hate each other and no one would be able to get along and that's horrible. If you're going to hate me then hate me because I'm annoying or something, but don't hate me just because I'm Japanese. You're.. a horrible person."
A gentle smile lifted Tsukiko's pink lips and she looked to Lin's back to see that the initial shock of Mai's all too familiar words had worn off. His white clad back was shaking and his light laughter filled the room, confusing Mai while she blinked at him torn between being offended and uncertain about Lin's mental welfare.
"Sorry," Lin apologized. "It's just that someone else once said something very similar to me."
"Though I threatened to turn him into a rat to teach him a lesson," Tsukiko spoke up winking at Mai and then stepping up behind Lin's chair, resting a small hand upon his shoulder. The young woman then smiled down at the dark eyed man whose face Mai didn't fail to see soften some as he returned her gaze briefly.
"She was much more harsh," Lin admitted with a chuckle, turning his attention back to the confused Mai.
Mai wasn't certain what to think. There was something in the way that the two people had looked at each other that spoke of a relationship far deeper than the one they seemed to have which was simply that of co-workers who barely spoke to each other let alone the others. She didn't know much about either person, but she knew that they had both been around Naru far longer than she had. She also thought that Tsukiko wasn't full Japanese and that's the thought that she voiced. "But...Tsukiko I thought that you were part Chinese too. Your last name is Lee..."
"I'm not Chinese at all actually," Tsukiko answered. "My last name is Lee, but it's English, not Chinese. It's derived from the last name of Laye which means a clearing in the woods. My father is English and my mother is Japanese, I'm told I take after her quite a bit. I was raised in England for the most part, my mother past on when I was very young. That's where I learned about faeries and magic, from my grandmother. I've always loved nature, but there never really seemed to be much use for the powers I possessed, until I met Naru and his family anyway."
"Oh..." Mai said, hanging her head shyly.
Lin stood up from the desk he had sat behind. "I don't hate you, Mai. My heritage just means very much to me and it always will, I will never forget who I am. I have a tendency to get carried away sometimes however and I apologize for upsetting you and saying such hateful things." He gave Mai a small polite bow.
Mai seemed stunned by the gesture and could only stare at Lin in confusion.
A tinkling laughter filled the room and both Lin and Mai turned to see that Tsukiko was chuckling at them, amusement clear in her crystalline eyes. "Sorry, it's just that...well Mai, you got a much different apology than I did. Actually to be correct, I never got an apology."
"That's not true," Lin contradicted.
"It is too," Tsukiko replied with child like innocence. "You never actually apologized, Lin. Do you want to know what he did instead? After all the words we both said were the words that brought us together."
Two Years Earlier
-Japan-
"You still think like that? That's stupid."
Tsukiko heard an annoyed and angry scoff and it didn't take much thought for her to figure out that the person scoffing was Lin. Coming around the corner of the hall and into the main living area of the house that the three of them were currently sharing, she tilted a brown brow quizzically. Kazuya was looking as full of himself as usual while the normally calm and quiet Lin looked rather offended and quite angry.
"What's stupid, Kazuya," Tsukiko inquired, curious as to what would make Lin look so upset.
"Nothing," the teenager replied blandly, turning away from Lin. "I'm bored, I'm going to go read. Tsukiko, tea."
"Ask nicely," she retorted playfully, smiling.
Ignoring her request, the handsome and much too full of himself fifteen year old brushed past her. "I'll be in my room."
Tsukiko sighed and shook her head, her brown hair flirted around her shoulders that were covered with a white shawl. "I'm pretty sure your parents taught you manners, perhaps you should use them sometimes."
A quiet, indignant snort was her only response and Tsukiko had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the younger boy who was five years her junior.
"Sometimes I forget why I'm even doing this. It certainly doesn't seem as if he wants to be here let alone like he wants me here," she said. "I'm a witch, not a babysitter."
"Then maybe you should leave," Lin stated bitterly.
Her brow rose once again and she walked forward, her white skirt with sakura blossoms sprayed across it, fluttering around her knees. She stopped a few inches from Lin, her eyes narrowed, but not to suggest she was angry, it was so she could better examine him. "This is my house, Lin. I have no intention of going anywhere. If you don't like it here than you can leave. You're radiating a decent amount of hate at the moment, Lin, that's very unlike you. Care to tell me why you're directing it at me?"
"You were asked to get tea-"
"And I'll get it in a moment," she cut in. "My job is to look after him, so is yours, but he's capable of making his own tea. He's just too spoiled to do it so he can wait a moment. Besides, do I need to point out again that this is my house, not his, and while I may be employed by his parents you are still my guests."
"You were hired as a caretaker, so take care of your ward." Lin turned his back on her to return to the computer he had abandoned when he had confronted Kazuya and took a seat.
Tsukiko stared at his back, she wasn't known for losing her temper, she was usually the levelheaded one that kept the two prideful men out of trouble. At the moment however she was highly annoyed. She was very sensitive to the feelings of others and his attitude was brushing off on her.
Instead she lifted a hand and snapped her fingers. The computer screen that Lin was so intently looking at while he pointedly ignored her flickered for a moment before it went dark. "Would you look at that," she hummed. "It looks like there's something wrong with that heap of junk you spend so much time on."
"Dammit! I was working on something important," Lin snapped.
"What you were working on is fine, I only had the monitor shut off and it won't come back on until I remove the charm," she replied. "But now that you're no longer busy, mind telling me what your problem is with me today? While you're at it you might as well explain why you have always hated me so much and could never be bothered to thank me for even the simplest things let alone look at me unless you had little other choice."
"It's none of your business."
"On the contrary, it is my business. I deserve to know what I did, if anything, to offend you because if I did offend you I think I should have the opportunity to correct my mistake and apologize."
"I hate the Japanese," he replied, standing from his chair to face her once again. "Do you have any idea what they did to my country? What they did to China? Maybe you should pick up a book other than that nonsense you usually read and see for yourself. After everything that has been done to my country I have no intention of befriending anyone who is Japanese."
"That's a very hateful thing to say," Tsukiko replied, a note of sadness in her wistful, melodic voice.
"Perhaps, but.. It's only what is deserved."
Tsukiko sighed, she didn't want to fight, but she also wasn't about to back down. She wasn't about to be disliked simply because his heritage told him to dislike her. While she respected his opinions and his beliefs, they were what made him him after all, she wasn't going to stand for the treatment he was bestowing upon her and had bestowed upon the uncaring Kazuya. "Perhaps it is, but who made you the judge of that? You are entitled to your own opinions, Lin, but not everyone thinks the way you do. If they did then the entire world would be a big mess where no one got a long and wars were never ending. To be honest I don't know much about Japanese history or even Chinese history, I was raised in England, I'm half English after all.
I'm sorry about what happened in the past, but that doesn't mean that I can change it nor does it mean that I had anything to do with it. What happened in the past, happened in the past and I don't think you should hate me for it simply because I'm part Japanese. It's wrong.
If you're going to hate me then hate me because you find me annoying or something, but don't hate me because of my own heritage. I respect yours so respect mine. If you can't do that then you're not worth my time and you're also not worthy of living under my roof and I'll have to ask that you leave. I don't even care where you go, it's not usually in my nature to be mean or spiteful, but I will cast you out on to the streets to live with the rats if you can't at least respect me as I respect you. Then again that would be torture for the rats if they were to get stuck with you, so I suppose I'll have to think of something else. Perhaps I should turn you into one, rats live hated by society, they're viewed as vile and filthy creatures maybe if you lived a life where you were being hated for something beyond your control you would understand how I feel."
"How you feel? What does it matter how you feel? This isn't about you."
"Wrong," she countered strongly, surprising Lin with the strength of her voice that was usually so light and airy. "You have made this about me and my heritage. I am proud of who I am, I have no reason not to be. I am half Japanese and half English and while both countries have a long history and have done many horrible things to other nations, I am happy with who I am and where I came from. I don't appreciate being disliked for that, it's disgusting and it makes you a very ugly person. I must say I never expected this from you, Lin, I have respected you since you and Kazuya moved in here last year, I thought you were a good man, it seems I was wrong."
"My heritage is very important to me and it always will be. I will never forget about what happened in the past and what was done to my people. I don't expect you to understand nor do I want you to. It's not your business. Now fix the computer, I was working on something." Lin's face remained impassive, but he was refusing to look at Tsukiko now despite the fact that she was staring straight at him.
"I'm not fixing anything until you think about the things you're saying to me. I don't deserve this kind of-"
"And China deserved the treatment they got from Japan?" Lin cut in.
Tsukiko was getting extremely agitated by the amount of anger being directed her way and fisted her hands at her sides, her normally clear blue eyes darkened slightly and she was afraid that if she wasn't careful, she would lose control of her own emotions and that was never a good thing. "Of course not, I'm not defending what was done to China. I'm telling you that it's not fair of you to judge me simply because I'm Japanese. Have you not been listening to anything I've said?" She was beginning to shake, but she still never took her eyes from Lin who was scowling at the floor.
"Fix the computer, Tsukiko," he requested calmly.
Her eyes flashed darkly. "I'll fix it once I get an apology."
Letting his dark eyes meet her bright blue ones for a moment, Lin sighed and took a step towards Tsukiko's much smaller frame. "You're crying," he stated, reaching a hand up to wipe away a warm, salty tear from her silky cheek.
Eyes widening, Tsukiko jolted at the touch. Taking a step back, she turned her head away from Lin and his dark eyes that seemed to express he was ashamed of how he had acted towards her but there was something else there too, something she wasn't sure how to put into words. "I'm upset, I cry when I'm upset. Is that a problem?"
"No, but it doesn't suit you," he answered.
"You're not making any sense, Lin."
"It wasn't my intention to upset you, I'm just very proud of my heritage, maybe a little too proud. That will never change."
"I'm not saying it should, you are who you are and I understand that but-" Tsukiko's retort was cut off when Lin placed a finger over her lips to quiet her. Her blue eyes widened again and she blinked up into the dark eyes that were looking down at her. He was smiling and for some reason she found it hard to recall what they had just been fighting about. His smile was amazing, so gentle and full of kindness that she was rendered speechless.
"I don't think you understand at all," Lin told her, his finger gliding from her lips so that his hand was cupping her cheek and his thumb brushed a stray tear from her flawless pale skin. "I don't hate you, Tsukiko. It's just been very difficult for me to live in Japan and even harder to live with you. Don't look so offended," he said with a light chuckle. "As I've said I'm proud of my heritage so when I met you I was determined to keep you at a distance and to not become your friend. You were Japanese and though it's horrible of me to think in such a way, I can't really help it, it's how I was raised. I've been taught that the Japanese aren't worthy of my friendship, but you proved me wrong.."
"I...don't understand," she muttered, noticing for the first time that Lin's handsome face was very near to her own, making her heart skip a beat.
His finger glided over her cheek again and he kept her crystalline eyes locked with his. "I've been especially horrible to you. I was thinking that it would make you hate me and that you would want nothing to do with me, but you've never been anything but kind and giving. After awhile it got hard for me to want to push you away, I found myself wanting to be near you even feeling as if I had to be near you.. And I was angry with myself. My family wouldn't approve and neither would my ancestors, but.."
"W-What are you saying?"
Her response didn't come in the form of words, instead it came in the form of a tender kiss. His lips were so warm and gentle that she wasn't sure what to do or if she even wanted to do anything. It took her several long moments to regain control of herself and when she did, she stepped back, pulling herself out of Lin's arms. "I don't find that apology to be up to my standards. You insult my heritage and tell me how hard it was for you to live with me and then kiss me?"
"Do my feelings mean nothing to you," Lin asked. Stepping towards her again, he tentatively reaching a hand out towards her face. When she didn't stop him, he rested his palm on her cheek and wrapped his free arm around her, pulling her tiny body against his own.
"I didn't say that," Tsukiko sighed, resting her forehead against his shoulder and letting her hands rest on his chest. "I'm very pleased actually. Like I said I have always thought you were a good man and I've always been drawn to you, but after the things you've said it just doesn't seem like this would work out. You can't change who you are, Lin."
"I don't agree, but that doesn't change the way I feel for you though. I know we haven't known each other long, but I can't help but to feel that I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. If you'll let me of course." Tilting her chin up, he placed another kiss on her lips. This time she returned the kiss with a small smile on her lips.
For several minutes they stood in the middle of her living room in each others arms. Nothing else matter but the two of them and the passionate kiss they were sharing. That was until a vice shouted from the second floor.
"Tsukiko, tea!"
Unable to help herself, Tsukiko rolled her eyes and broke the kiss. "That boy needs to learn some manners before I make him do all of the housework. I mean, really, does he think it's easy to run a house by myself?"
Lin laughed at the annoyance in her voice and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "I suppose I should stop taking up all of your time and let you get to work. Would you mind fixing the computer now?"
Locking eyes with Lin, she raised her right hand while reciting a brief chant in her head. Snapping her fingers, she smiled when she heard an electronic buzzing noise and then a small poofing sound. Smoke rose from the monitor on the desk and with a small nod, she turned on her heel and made her way towards her large kitchen to get the tea Kazuya was by now impatiently waiting for. Pausing at the sliding door that led to the hall, she looked over her shoulder at Lin who was watching the smoke rise from his monitor. "At least it was just the monitor that I destroyed. A warning though, should you ever say anything as hateful as that again, I won't be so kind. Now come and help me with the tea since you have nothing else to do for the time being."
"Y-you blew up his monitor," Mai asked, she was on the verge of bursting into laughter.
Tsukiko was smiling and Lin looked somewhat annoyed by the memory.
"Yes, I did. I wasn't going to be the typical woman who would have melted into his arms in happiness. It's just not who I am and I don't know what he was expecting, but he never apologized and a kiss, however nice it may have been, was not enough to make up for the things he had said," Tsukiko replied with a smile. Taking his hand in hers, she kissed the back of his hand and held it close to her heart.
"So he never apologized? Jeez Lin, if you liked her that much, then you should have apologized," Mai teased.
"I don't see why we need to discuss this with her," Lin said pointedly to Tsukiko.
"I didn't even know the two of you were together, you don't act like it," Mai observed. "You two rarely talk to each other let alone anyone else."
Tsukiko laughed, a soft tinkling of chimes in the wind. "We just prefer to keep it to ourselves. There's no need for everyone to know, not that we mind either way, it just cuts down on the amount of drama we have to deal with. That and our job is important to us, we have no intention of letting our relationship ever come between that. While we're working, we're working and we're nothing more than co-workers, it's that simple."
"You know now that you mention it," Mai mused, shifting uncomfortably. "Um..What exactly-"
"Is our job," Tsukiko finished.
Mai nodded, blushing slightly. "Yeah. If you don't want to say then it's okay, I understand."
"It's alright. Our jobs are to be who we are. I'm a witch who is skilled at healing, protection and sometimes manipulating the things around me all with the help of the faeries that I have a pact with. Lin is skilled at divination, exorcism and many other things as an onmyoji. We're here to assist Naru in anyway he sees fit and to make sure he doesn't come to harm," Tsukiko explained.
"You know..." Mai mused. "If Monk and Ayako were to find out about the two of you they'd be pretty heartbroken."
"I think it's cute that Ayako likes Lin," Tsukiko chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand when she received a small glare from Lin.
"And what do you think about Monk liking Tsukiko, Lin," Mai asked teasingly.
Tsukiko couldn't help but to giggle when the man's dark eyes narrowed briefly.
"It's not like it matters. As long as he keep his hands to himself there won't be a problem." He wrapped an arm around Tsukiko's slender waist, whether it was a conscious movement or not, it made the woman blush slightly, but still continue to giggle.
"Wow," Mai laughed. "Who would have thought that Lin was the possessive type."
"What's Lin possessive of," Takigawa, also known as Monk, asked upon entering the room. He stopped dead in his tracks causing the young woman behind him who happened to be Ayako run into his back. "What's up with that?!"
"What are you talking about, Takigawa," Ayako inquired stiffly, attempting to step around the tall monk in his casual clothes only to stop in her tracks as well. "What's going on here?"
Tsukiko couldn't help it, she started giggling uncontrollably to the point that she was clutching at her sides. Her pale cheeks tinted with red and tears formed in her eyes. The looks on the faces of the two people who had stopped upon seeing Lin with his arm around her waist had been priceless. It made her wish she had a camera and could have captured the moment on film. Even Mai started to chuckle at the looks on the faces of the adults, it was a pretty funny scene after all.
The only two to not seem to care at all where Naru himself and the young Miss Masako, an acclaimed psychic.
"Well it looks like our secret is out," Tsukiko said, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiling brilliantly up at Lin. Putting her arm around him, she leaned into his body and smiled at everyone in the room.
"You have to be kidding me?!" Both Ayako and Monk cried.
"The two of you are together," Monk asked, clearing unable to believe that someone as quiet and taciturn as Lin could win over the vibrant and beautiful Tsukiko he had been trying to find a way to woo.
"There's no way," Ayako said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Sorry, but it's true. He's mine," Tsukiko replied, lifting herself onto her tiptoes to kiss the corner of Lin's mouth.
Ayako and Monk were left speechless, jaws hanging open and eyes wide. Not only had their fantasies been crushed, but it was obvious to see just how much the two cared for each other because even Lin, no matter how bland he usually appeared was smiling down at Tsukiko with absolute adoration in his eyes. It was a bit of a shock for them to see so much emotion in the young man's eyes.
"Who knows," Tsukiko stated, looking over to Ayako and Monk. "Perhaps the two of you will find happiness one day."
"They would make a cute couple, wouldn't they," Mai asked innocently.
"Us?!" The two shouted before flying into an argument with one another and exchanging insults left and right.
"Shut up," Naru sighed in annoyance, brushing past Monk and causing him to topple over.
He landed rather unceremoniously on top of Ayako.
"You could at least wait until we're out of the room," Lin stated blandly.
The blushing people on the floor couldn't be heard as they argued once more over the laughter that filled the room at their expense.