Yeah, I know you're all gonna kill me for starting another story. But this is to get me going on my old GH fic. I'm at a bust with that one, so I decided to make this one to one, give me motivation to edit/redo my other one, as well as giving all the fans of GH another fic to read!

Many of you are more pro NaruxMai, but seriously, Lin needs some love too! Come on people, there aren't even ten fics with Lin paired with someone! (besides OCs, but those do NOT count) I mean, COME ON people. Lin is freaking HAWT!

So this is a story about the both of them with Mai in the middle XD

"Paradise!" Ayako yelled ecstatically as the resort came into view.

Everyone in the overcrowded van crammed into each other in order to look out the window to see what had made the miko so excited, everyone except Lin, who was driving, and Naru, who was too composed and stoic to do such a thing. Even Masako, and all her lady like manners, shifted positions in her seat, leaning past Takigawa, in order to get a good look.

A beautiful lakeside villa, white, and noble, with tall pillars and balconies overlooking the vast sparkling lake, clear enough to reflect the reds and golds of the setting sun in perfect replication. It was a beautiful resort, one meant for relaxation, luxury, and a break from it all.

The SPR team had anticipated this day for the past few weeks, the proper paperwork was filled out, the best of information gathered, and past histories researched. Everyone had been called together to complete the task, and for once, it wasn't for an investigation.

They were here on vacation!

Mai had been the one to bring up the topic, saying how all Naru did was work, work work, and even a vacation was needed in order to higher one's potential. A vacation was needed to get rid of pent up stress, which would ultimately lead to better, more efficient, work from the team.

She had fluffed the crap out of that speech, but it was only after repeated and exaggerated statistics that it had finally worked on her stoic boss.

Naru had agreed.

So here they were, entering the beautiful building, only to be greeted with a shiny marble room full of paintings, sculptures, and even a fountain. It had a high ceiling, with a large mural painted on it of a perfect afternoon day, with a few clouds adding believability to it. There were a multitude of doors, all alike, all labeled with a plaque saying which room was which: The Parlor, The Lounge, The Resaurant, The Kitchen, The Elevator, The Stairs, The Swimming Pool…

It was heaven for the overworked team.

Takigawa let out a long, low whistle at the sight of all the expensive details the place contained, his eyes fixed on a stone statue of a small naked child aiming a bow and arrow at something only it could see. "Jeez, you could buy a house with all the artifacts in this place," the monk said absentmindedly, hand reaching out to poke the tip of the arrow, only to pull it back in pain once he had done so, letting a small sound of pain escape his mouth.

"Honestly," Ayako sighed, taking a few steps closer to her immature companion, grabbing hold of his hand to check the damage on his finger. It was a tiny wound, almost like a paper cut, though a single drop of blood was forming, "You have no appreciation for the arts and the intelligence they represent."

"How is giving a naked baby a deadly weapon intelligent?" the monk growled, letting out a childish huff in rebellion as Ayako placed a band-aid on the drama-queen's finger.

"If you break anything, it's coming out of your paychecks," a monotonous voice called from off to the side of the group, silencing all arguements.

"Naru!" Mai called surprised, before turning toward him and giving him a slight glare, "We're supposed to be on vacation." She waved her arms around for dramatic emphasis. "You should try to lighten up."

"Yeah, Naru," Takigawa joined, "You should really try wearing some greens, or maybe some yellow. It would really bring out your eyes."

Mai felt a vein in her head throb.

How was it that she more of an adult than him?

Sensing her rising temper, Takigawa quickly ruffled up his younger comrade's hair, letting out a loud laugh at the whole situation. Perhaps he was trying to picture Naru wearing something other than black. Mai did as well, and couldn't help but bursting out laughing with him.

Their stoic boss ignored them, uninterested in the common lapses of insanity his subordinates were known for. Instead, he held out his hand, which was holding three red key cards.

"There are two beds to a room," Naru started calmly, the red cards adding more color to him than his black attire ever could. "You'll have to partner up and share a room, but one person will have a room to themselves.

Mai snorted. "And who's that going to be, oh great and fearless leader?"

"That's up for you to decide. Lin and I are sharing the room furthest down the hall," the handsome man spoke. The tall silent China-man next to him brought out a red card from his breast pocket, proving that they were indeed sharing a room.

Wait… The furthest room down the hall… That's the best room on the floor! Mai growled in her head, Of course Naru would call dibs, he just did it all sneakily…

"I don't mind sharing, so you can decide amongst yourselves who you want to get the single," John said sweetly, a smile on his face.

"Well don't think I'm fine with sharing," Ayako spat. "I'm a lady, therefore I get the single room."

"You mean you're the oldest," Takigawa mumbled under his breath.

"What was that!" she hissed back at him, her long, red, manicured nails digging into her palms in anger.

"Alright, alright. I'll share," the monk said, holding up his hands in surrender. "You can have the room. No need to get into a big fight about it."

"Well I'm glad that's settled," Mai said with a sigh. It'd be best if we kept the rooms with one gender, so Monk you'll be with John and I'll be with- AH!" she screamed in realization, all train of thought forgotten except the terrifying one she was dealing with now.

If Naru was with Lin, and John was with the monk, and Ayako had a room all to herself, that meant she was left with… MASAKO!

"No way!" she sobbed, tears threatening to show themselves in her eyes. She had been so excited for this vacation and she would have to sleep in the same room as Masako. They were such opposites it was going to be impossible to feel comfortable. "My… my vacation…" she cried, resisting the urge to fall dramatically to her knees. Instead, she took a quick glance at the medium who had strangely gotten closer to Naru than she had been before. She was proper, and elegant, her kimonoed arm covering her mouth, but it did no good in hiding the distasteful glare in her eyes, the possible sneer on her face. Masako didn't like the idea any better than Mai did.

Ayako seemed to sense the fierce tension between the two girls. She let out a loud, depressed sigh, before walking over to Mai and resting her well groomed hand on her shoulder. "Masako, why don't you take the single room, I'll share with Mai."

These words made the high schooler look up teary eyed at the miko. "You'll share a room with me?"

"Just think of it as a girl's night. It'll be fun!"

"Thank you, Ayako!" Mai grinned happily, immediately encasing the woman in a tight hug.

"Enough, enough!" the miko said dramatically, miming that she was unable to breathe, "Let's just go to our room and get settled in before it's too dark. I'm exhausted! And I still want to take a shower. The van smells like a bus…." She grabbed a piece of her long hair and took a whiff, scrunching her face into a disapproving grimace. "No offense, Lin." she said, casting a hesitant glance toward the handsome silent man. He said nothing, nor showed that he was insulted or angry the she had openly down talked his vehicle. Ayako took this as a good sign, and turned back to her new roommate. "Let's go, Mai."

Ayako stepped out of the bathroom, trod in a warm fuzzy white bathrobe, with a soft towel lifted toward her long locks of hair. She was quite surprised by what she saw, and took a moment to stand in dumb silence at the sight.

Mai.

She was wearing a small bikini, with fabric of plaid gold with thin strips of brown. The priestess had never seen her in such a swimsuit before. The last swimsuit the young girl had was a simple blue one-piece. This was only held together by a couple of strings! Surprised as she was, Ayako found that the design and color of it suited Mai perfectly, and really brought out her character, but she had never notice how pale the girl was before.

"Is something wrong?" the high schooler asked, noticing that her roommate was staring at her.

"Oh?" the miko said, raising an eyebrow, "You trying to catch the attention of someone?"

"Don't be silly," Mai said with an annoyed, yet dismissive tone, a small blush adorning her pale face, "I'm just going to take a quick dip in the lake."

"Mai, you shouldn't swim by yourself, especially at night," Ayako said sternly, starting to rub at wet hair with a towel, now that she was over the shock of seeing Mai, to keep the stray beads of water from falling onto her fluffy white robe, "And the resort pamphlet says that the lake gets pretty deep, even by the shore. Why don't you just swim in the pool?"

"I know," Mai answered, somewhat in awe that the miko had actually read the pamphlet, "but I really want to get in a few minutes before bed, and the pool is already closed. I saw a big dock running into the lake when we came here. I'll just stay close to that. I'll be fine. I promise." The high school girl gave a reassuring smile, and crossed her heart to show how serious she was about keeping the promise.

"Fine, but don't come haunting me when you drown," the older woman answered with a huff, throwing the now damp towel over the back of a chair and grabbing a comb to take its place.

"Ah! That's mean!" Mai laughed, sticking out her tongue at her friend to try and lighten the mood. It worked, for the priestess gave a small smile, before it was replaced with an irritated look.

"If you're going to go swim, swim! It's already getting dark out. Just make sure you come back before everyone is in bed, got that?"

"Yes!" Mai answered happily, grabbing a towel of her own off the rack next to the bathroom and scurrying out of the room.

"Where did Mai go?" Naru demanded once he saw Ayako walking into the lounge, Ayako all by herself, Ayako without Mai.

"She said she was going to take a quick swim in the lake before bed," the miko yawned dismissively, too tired to do anything else.

"Damn it!" Takigawa hissed as he shoved himself out of the chair he was sitting in, and bolting toward the door of the room.

"What?" Ayako asked quickly, realizing that something was wrong, terribly wrong. "What happened!?" She demanded of the fleeing monk. Her words were completely ignored, the man she pleaded to too busy running out of the room to give her any answer. "What happened!"

"The lake… Something…" Masako said terrified, her face paler than she had seen in a long time, her eyes wide and fearful, her hand extending and pointing out the large window to the world outside. "Something's there… Something's in the lake…" she repeated, as though in a trance. "So many… So many souls…"

The medium fainted.

"Miss Hara!" Naru called loudly, running over to her side and catching her just before she hit the ground. He took a quick glance over her and her unconscious form. "She's in shock. John, go grab some towels! Lin, go outside and help Takigawa find Mai! Ayako, go find a one of the workers and call for the medic!" he barked, his orders so clear that no one was even thinking of not doing as he said.

Everyone started scurrying about, Ayako turning around and bolting out the door she had just came from, determined to find help for Masako as fast as she could, too worried about Mai to think of anything different. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew Mai was in danger. She was alone. She had let Mai go off all alone… John followed closely behind her, jogging down the hallway, yet still far behind the priestess. His room was just around the next corner, he would grab the towels from the rack next to the bathroom. He would run to the kitchen next, and borrow some hot water and a large basin… Lin was already outside, the night sky bright with the glow of the full moon. The stars were everywhere, lighting a path toward the glittering lake. There were two paths to choose from, each leading to a different part of the lake. Quickly scanning the banks as far as he could see, he saw a small figure of a running person, Takigawa, who had taken the right fork. He proceeded to take the left.

Mai waded out into the lake water, liking the feeling of its cool breath against her exposed skin. It was a lot warmer than she expected. It had to be at least the temperature of what the pool would have been, if not warmer. The depth was up to her hips, her bellybutton still exposed above the water. She looked down, seeing a perfect mirror image of herself on its surface.

She was so pale in the moonlight.

Gazing up, Mai caught sight of the giant orb. It was full, and beautiful, a perfect circle. The stars were just as beautiful, like a glittering collection of jewels across the night sky. Leaning back, she felt the water wash against her back, her legs coming up, her body floating. She enjoyed it like this, just her and the moon, with no one else in the water to keep her out of focus. Closing her eyes, she gave a small kick, and went further out into the lake by a foot or two.

It was peacef-

The sound of loud footsteps caught her attention.

"Is someone there?" Mai called, body shifting so she was standing in the water, just below her breasts now, staring toward the direction of the noise, She took a few steps toward the shore, as though that would give her a better view. "Ayako?" It had to be her right? She's the only one Mai told where she was going. Unless one of the other team members came…

No one answered, only the wind rustling through the trees and the waves splashing softly against the shore.

Did I imagine it? Mai wondered confused, eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought. She must have. She probably just heard a branch bending in the wind, and confused it with someone walking toward her.

Now relaxed once again from her small little outburst, Mai was able to take in the feeling of her legs treading against the water, her arms pushing away the water by her chest. She liked the feeling, the lake all to herself, no one to please or take orders from. All she had to do here was relax, letting her body work only a small bit to get a sort of peace.

Mai had never been a strong swimmer, but she could tread for a long time, and was an expert of the back float. She could do the front crawl, but it was a lot more difficult for her to do than she would have liked, but she could still get by, as long as there weren't any strong currents.

Something brushed against her leg, causing her to squeak. Her foot kicked outward, hitting something solid and sending it away. A fish? It didn't feel like a fish. It felt different, like something else…

It returned, hitting against her leg now, biting her deeply as though in anger. Mai winced, her eyes filling with pain. She kicked her legs again, trying to shake it off, but whatever it was wouldn't let go. It stayed on her, weighing her leg down, causing her kicks to be nothing but the regular treads she was doing before.

"Get off!" Mai cried toward the thing below the surface, her face peering down below the depths, trying to see what had a hold of her through the darkness. She was able to make some of it out. Whatever it was, was pale, extremely pale, and very bony She'd never seen a fish like it, then again she hadn't seen many fish. It felt like it had multiple strong tongues, but she knew that wasn't right. What could it-

Mai let out a choked scream.

The thing grabbing hold of her wasn't a fish. It wasn't a fish at all! It was a hand!

What the hell is... This is a joke, this is a joke… she cried in her mind, looking desperately for something the hand was attached to. There was nothing. Where the arm should have been just faded into nothing, becoming a part of the water.

Again, Mai felt something brush against her, this time the second one wasted no time in latching on to her, grabbing her tightly, wrapping its bony fingers around her flesh.

"Rin! Pyo! Tou! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!" she called loudly, her hand sweeping across the water to form the seals. There was a small flash of bright light, and she felt the hand grasping her leg weaken, then let go. She felt a small moment of relief, but that immediately turn to terrified shriek as two hands tore out of the lake water directly in front of her and latched on to her wrists, pulling them beneath the surface.

Her eyes widened.

She had thought they were spirits, or perhaps some sort of corpse like thing reanimated to move. But they weren't. What rose out of the water was not a corpse, it wasn't even solid, it was see through!

They're part of the water! she gasped in thought. The water is-

Mai emptied her mind except for the ward she had learned from the monk, the only things left she had for defense. Taking a deep breath she opened her mouth to let the clear, powerful words flow. "Naumaku sanmanda bazarada dankan! Namaku sanmanda bazarada dan-"

A new water-hand bolted out of the lake, slamming down on her mouth and exploding into a large splash, every last drop of it entering her mouth.

She gagged, choked, tried desperately to breathe against the invasive element, but it was useless. She felt the fingers of the hand inside her throat, crawling downwards towards her lungs with its cold figners. Coughing violently, she was able to spit some of it out, swallowing the rest so it rested in her gut, squirming in protest, trying to find a way out.

She wanted to vomit.

They came in waves, more and more of the terrifying things, not alive, not dead, not spirit, not water.

What were they!

Someone… Someone please help me! she begged in her mind desperately, her voice blocked as the water from the hand inside her ripped its way through the opening of her mouth and poured back into the lake, temporarily drowning her from the inside. Tears were streaming down her face, her vision blurred because of them. She didn't care. All she cared about was getting the thing inside her out! Someone… Anyone…

"Naru!" Mai screamed as soon as she was able, the hands of water wrapped themselves around her, grabbing hold of her arms and legs, tightening painfully against her limbs, getting tighter, and tighter, until it was painful just to keep quiet. "NARU!"

"Mai!" someone yelled, their voice distant, yet they must have been yelling at the top of their lungs to be heard so far. "Mai! Get out of the water!" She tried to look around, to find the source of the voice, the one that would save her, but she couldn't see anything. The arms refused to let her move at all. She could only see what was out of the corners of her eyes, looking to the only place visible that wasn't the lake. All she could see was the dark shadows cast by the trees, and the hands, the liquid hands forming more and more. Soon there were hundreds of them, all closing in on her, grabbing at her…

"No! Stop it! Let go!" she begged, struggling against the hands of water as more and more continued to grab hold of her. "Naru!" she screamed again. The hands were trying to drag her down now, pulling painfully against her limbs, drawing her deeper and deeper down into the lake, her feet barely touching with their tiptoes. She was terrified now. Nothing was working. Her only spiritual defenses had failed her, and now she wasn't even able to perform them, all she could do was fight against the hands with her will to live, and the hope that someone would find her in time. But it was terrifying, for each second the hands double their strength. She was bending now, her back starting to succumb to the power of the things trying to pull her under. She was going to lose against these things, these hands! She was going to drown! The realization that she was going to die shoved all of the air out of her lungs and let out the loudest scream she had ever made. "NARUUU-"

She was pulled under the water.

"Mai!" Lin yelled, racing down the path toward the lake as fast as his legs could move him. She was under water now, the ripples and bubbles of where she went under ominously disappearing, making him unsure of where she went under. He had to try, he had to save her. "Mai!" he yelled again as he reached the bank. He jumped, his body curving into a sharp dive. His body speared through the murky water. He moved his head around, trying to spot her through the darkness. He couldn't see anything. Diving deeper, he kicked his legs more strongly, going toward the deepest part of the section they were in. He had to find her. She had to be there, she had to!

His arms flew everywhere around him, hoping beyond hope to find a part of Mai to grab onto. He searched desperately, knowing that Mai wouldn't have enough air to last long. She had been screaming when she went under, screaming for Naru. Her mouth would have flooded with water, going into her lungs, keeping her from breathing, drowning her…

Where are you, he demanded, Mai?

His vision was constantly obscured by his long bangs, rendering him temporarily blind at moments, though he doubted he would be able to see beyond a foot in front of him through he murky water anyway, yet he kept his eyes open, searching. Multiple times he had to shove his red tie down, to give him better ability to grasp and grope.

His fingers brushed against something soft, solid. Hopeful, desperate, he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around whatever it was he had hold of, not daring to let go, forcing it toward him to get a better view.

Everything was cold. So cold. So dark. She was numb, encased in a thick veil of an unseen force. What had happened? She couldn't seem to remember. Was she falling? Or was she rising? Everything seemed out of focus, distorted. Was it all a dream? Yes, it must be a dream. It wasn't a special dream, she didn't think so anyway. A regular dream? It had been so long since she had one, she couldn't be sure. It felt wrong. It was scary. She couldn't move, she wanted to speak, to call out to someone, but her voice wouldn't work, her mouth wouldn't even open. All she could do was look up, or was it down? Did it matter? Everywhere was gray, everywhere, above, below, she was trapped in such a deep gray with only a bright circle of light in view, churning and swaying the longer she looked at it, as though it didn't really exist to begin with, like it was fighting between reality and illusion. Is this what it felt like to die?

She didn't want to die.

She wanted to wake up.

Her eyes tried to open, as though that would help, but nothing changed, everything was still dark, dark except for the orb. Did she even have her eyes closed to begin with? Everything seemed the same, everything blurry, the bright orb still hovering beyond her reach, but her eyes becoming strange, heavy.

Someone, she called in her mind, her voice still failing her, Someone come find me. Someone… save me…

But who was there to hear her? Who was there to answer?

She closed her eyes, no longer wanting to see the bright orb and its shimmering.

Someone…

She felt something grab her arm, a strong, firm hand. She was slightly scared for a moment, though she wasn't sure why. She opened her eyes to see what was holding on to her, but everything was still slightly blurry, distorted. Yet she could make out something. A body, a face, the fabric of a white shirt, a strip of fabric floating around the body, the darkness of hair roaming around the person's face in an enchanted way. She wanted to know who this person was, trying to make her brain work harder, though it didn't want to. Things cleared slightly, and she was able to make out a strong jaw, a long face, a set of stern lips, and dark, dark familiar eyes.

Lin… she thought, her mind too fuzzy to be confused. She was too tired to ask what he was doing here, too tired to ask why he was pulling her against his chest. She just wanted to sleep. It was as though she was drained, not really caring about anything. Not that fact that someone came, or that fact that she was being held so close to her savior. She was too exhausted to care.

Her eyes closed.

Thank God, Lin cried in his mind, full of relief, as he pulled the unconscious form of a petite high school girl toward him. She was so small, Lin had never realized just how small she was, how delicate, how breakable. She was incredibly pale, the water swaying her hair around her small face, making it seem so unnaturally light. Wrapping his arm securely around her naked waist, he hoisted her next to him, making sure not to weaken his hold in the least.

His feet hit the floor of the lake, getting a firm hold on the floor before pushing off with incredible strength, rocketing him toward the air beyond the water. They were nearly to the surface now, his body staring to slow. He tightened his grip on the waist of his co-worker, using his free arm to help him swim toward the surface, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't too late in saving Mai, hoping he would have enough strength left to get her to shore.

Lin erupted through the surface of the water, using the last of his strength to pull Mai's limp body upward and into the air with him. His mouth opening wide to take in a huge breath of oxygen, the screaming of his lungs replaced with heavy breathing and gasping. Mai's head fell limply against his chest. He held her chin, lifting it up so she would be further away from the water.

He was so tired, but he wasn't going to stop now. He couldn't. Turning on his back, he slid Mai up on his chest, becoming her flotation device, her safety. He did a one armed back stroke, getting closer and closer to shore with each kick, each movement of his arm.

How had they gotten so far out? They were in the middle of the lake, the shore seeming like a mile away.

Lin continued to swim for what seemed like forever, his muscles aching, his strides getting slower and less efficient. Finally, he could see the sand below the surface, and soon he found him self trudging through the waist deep water, dragging Mai behind him. Small though she may be, she was dead weight, incredibly heavy to his exhausted self. After three more steps, with her weight and the resistance of the water, Lin fell. His face planted into the water, engulfing his face all the way to the corner of his jaw. He didn't know what happened to Mai. He tried to struggle, to get up, but he couldn't move.

"Lin? Lin! Did you find her!" Takigawa's voice rang, filling the Chinese man's ears with a sweet ringing sound. Someone was coming. They were going to be okay. He tried to speak a reply, but was only able to make gurgling sounds, the water entering his mouth and down his throat painfully. The monk seemed to see the situation they were in, his footsteps racing toward them, growing louder, and louder. "Oh shit! Lin!" he screamed. "LIN!"

He was beneath the surface of the water, his body cold, numb, unmoving. He was trapped within the current, floating toward the surface, being dragged down toward the dark. He had no control. He was searching for something. What was it? Everything was gray. Why was he here?

Movement caught Lin's attention.

The water was swirling around him, a giant rope like current forming a great circle. He watched it, awed. There was something strange about it. It was as though it were alive. It circled faster and faster, until Lin was sure the thing had a head, and a body, a long rope-like body, with two bright golden eyes…

A serpent.

It's head was getting and closer and closer to its tail, swimming faster the closer it got. He wanted to get away from it, as fast as he could, but his body wouldn't move. Something was holding him, locking him in place. He turned his head to see what it was.

His eyes widened.

A man with a long face framed in dark black hair, a strong jaw, lips set and stern, dark eyes…

It was him. It was Lin!

But if I'm behind myself, and that's the real me… who am I right now? he wondered.

The serpent bit its tail, and he was blinded in light.

Mai slowly opened her eyes, unsure of where she was. Everything she saw stung her eyes, everything incredibly bright, distorted, as though someone had blinded her with a powerful light source. She closed her eyes momentarily, opening them again when she felt it was safe.

She was staring at a gold ceiling. Her body wasn't moving, but she didn't feel afraid. Something warm was wrapped around her, pinning her gently to something soft beneath her body. A bed. She was laying on a bed. Whose room was this? It certainly wasn't hers, she knew that at least. The room she shared with Ayako had a theme of blue. A glow from a lamp was off somewhere to the side. Turning her head, she tried to find out where she was using its light.

"You're awake," came the familiar voice of her boss, somewhere right next to her. She turned her head the other way, taking in the full view of him.

He was sitting in a chair pulled up right next to the bed, just as handsome as she had remembered, his hair as jet black as ever, framing his angel like face. His eyes were smoldering… distant, but they seemed so tired for some reason. They were bloodshot, as though he hadn't slept all night, the bags beneath them proving that he hadn't. He looked so exhausted, but as he looked at her, his face seemed to light up, as though he were greatly relieved.

"What happened?" she managed to say, her voice cracking, soar, coming out a lot deeper than she had expected. She tried to bring a hand up to her throat, to soothe the ache, but Naru stopped her, placing a gentle yet firm hand on her arm pinning it down.

"You need to rest. The two of you almost drowned," he ordered calmly.

She had always wondered how her boss was able to get such respect and obedience from the sound of his voice. He was so young, yet he sounded as though he had been through more life-altering situations than everyone combined, earning him respect, and giving him intelligence even most adults lacked.

She wondered if that was true. She wondered if he would ever tell her about his life to her.

Wait the two of… she thought, trying to remember who the second person was.

Her eyes widened.

Lin!

"Naru! What happened!? The lake, there were these hands, grabbing, pulling… Who saved us!? Did they see what it was!?" she demanded suddenly, bolting up from the bed and into a sitting position, ignoring the searing pain in her throat and the sudden dizziness that made her head swim.

"I said you need to rest," Naru repeated coldly, shoving her back down on the bed with so much strength it made her wonder why he didn't have any noticeable bulging muscles ripping through his shirt. "Takigawa found you and gave you both CPR. We'll talk more in the morning after you've gotten more sleep."

"Fine, goodnight" she huffed, turning away from him childishly as though that was the same as kicking him out of the room, pulling the blankets closer around her chin. Her back was turned to her boss, so she wasn't able to see the look of surprise and confusion sprawling across his face. If she had, she would have noticed something was wrong.

But something else caught her attention.

The second bed in the room was directly across from where she was looking. The person asleep in it wasn't Lin. The form was much too small to belong to Lin. She couldn't see who it was, the blankets kept everything from view but the back of their head. That hair definitely didn't belong to Lin, it was more brown than black, and shorter.

Who was it? She didn't remember anyone with a hair style like that. Did Ayako get a haircut while she was out? No… even Ayako wasn't that small…

Which meant…

Throwing back the covers, Mai jumped out of bed, once again ignoring the swimming of her head that made everything seem so much further away from her than they actually were, and the sudden urge to vomit her guts out. She was determined, she needed to know. Something was eating away at the back of her thoughts, screaming at her, but she didn't know what it was saying, her blood was pounding too loudly in her ears.

She heard Naru spring up behind her, his body walking forward slowly, overrun with exhaustion, yet still determined to make his co-worker rested more than he did. For once in her life, Mai ignored her boss, and continued to walk forward toward the sleeping figure, the sense of dread filling her gut growing even more as she took each step.

She peered down at the person, her eyes widening at the sight.

It was a girl. A girl with a soft, pale face, short brown hair, and long, long eyelashes, and soft freckles. She was sleeping soundly, or perhaps she was still unconscious, her breaths coming out in even intakes and exhales of air.

Mai felt her heart leap to her throat.

No way… No way. No way, no way, no way. This is a lie, There's no way this can…

The person sleeping on the bed was her.

But how was that possible? Was she having an out of body experience? That must be it. She was so exhausted form drowning she was experiencing such a phenomenon. Perhaps it was a new form of dream?

"The medic says she had a very close call, any later and she would have been a risk for life-time damage from the lack of oxygen. She may be unconscious for a few more hours, but she'll wake up."

Wait. Naru was talking to her? He could see her? Was this a part of his powers too?

"You can see me?" she asked, her voice coming out as a course gasp of air.

Naru cast an uneasy glance to his subordinate.

No, no, he can see me. I really am here. But if I'm here, who is…

She turned to look at her self on the bed again. Yes, it was her, there was no mistake about that.

Then… who am I!?

She turned every which way, looking for something that could help her. There, on the far wall by the window, was just the object she needed. A mirror. Desperate for immediate answers, Mai raced over to the reflective glass, stumbling and nearly falling countless times on her way over, knocking over a chair on the way. Naru was about to follow her, to stop her from whatever she was doing, but decided against it, letting the girl have her moment of panic. She reached the cold pane of mirror, her hands bracing herself against the wall to keep from falling over from the sudden nausea that was rising up from her throat.

Expectantly, Mai peered into the mirror, expecting to see her own face, her short brown hair, her long eyelashes, her pale skin, her light freckles…

But the face that looked back at her wasn't her own.

It was Lin's.

Read and review please! I'll probably be revising this chapter's ending later, but for now it will have to do.