Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt

Read A/N at the end. Enjoy! ^_^

Chapter 2: The Cat is Out of the Bag

-oOo-

"Well.. I'm kind of finding it weird… But he said, "Gene is alive…"

Suddenly, Naru stood up and grabbed my wrist, eyeing me closely.

"Say. It. Again," he said. His voice was shaking. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he is angry yet somehow, deep inside, he is relieved to know such information.

I can feel his grip tightening in my wrist. "Naru… You're hurting me," I managed to say, gritting my teeth.

"Where is the paper?" He asked, loosening his grip.

I was shaking. I have never seen that side of Naru ever before. Slipping my hand in my pocket, I handed him the piece of paper that I have written the caller's details and contact number.

"Here… What was that all about?" I asked trying to hide my shaking voice.

"You will have your day off today. I will just call you when I need your help. You may leave," he replied, reading the piece of paper I have handed him.

"But Naru. You just can't shut me off like that. What was that all about?" I exclaimed, refusing to leave the spot where I'm standing.

"It is none of your business," turning his back on me.

"It is! It is my business, Naru! You can't just expect me to ignore this! Damn it! I've been working for you for at least a year now and I think I deserve to know whatever has been going on in this office!" I spat, my anger rising.

"This has nothing to do with the office. This matter is quite personal, if I insist," he replied coolly, ignoring my sentiments. "You may take your leave,"

"No," I replied. Then, without me realizing, tears started falling down my cheeks. You can't just possibly expect me to ignore this, Naru. Shutting yourself off in your office for who-knows-how-long, always having that mask on, never revealing your thoughts nor feelings to anyone… You never let anyone to get closer to you for that matter. Your eyes never laugh, just like the time when I first met you. But this… This is different. By the mere mention of the name 'Gene', your eyes flared up, as if life has gone back to them. So what on earth is going on?

"No," I repeated. He turned around to face me.

"As your boss, I'm telling you to follow my orders. You are still under me, after all," He said.

But before I could reply to him, the door burst open and Lin entered.

"I heard voices. What is going on?" He inquired, eyeing the young manager and me.

"Lin. Someone called the office, claiming that Gene is alive," Naru filled in.

With this, Lin's eyes widened, shocked. "Are you sure? No one knows him except us… Are you sure that this in no joke?"

"I'm ready to take the risk," he replied.

I looked at both of them, trying to make out the conversation they just had.

"Lin-san, who is Gene?" I asked, feeling the glare that Naru is giving me behind my back.

"I… I supposed that I'm not the right person to tell you who he is. I'm sorry, Taniyama-san," he replied. "Naru, surely you have…?" he continued, looking at Naru.

"No. I haven't. And we were just getting to that before you came in. I just asked Mai to take her leave until further notice,"

"But doesn't she has the right to know too?" he asked.

I felt my heart leaped with joy. Lin-san is siding with me? I couldn't believe my luck! I smirked.

"I repeat: That is none of her concerns. I believe that we should hurry up and meet this person so we can verify if this information…" he hesitated but continued. "…is right,"

"Fine. Do it your way! But I would be telling the others about this!" I huffed, and began making way towards the door. I know that blackmailing people is bad, but I'm willing to go this further just to know that tiny information that they've been hiding from me… From us.

"Mai!" he exclaimed, feeling the killer glare he is giving me. "Don't you know that blackmailing is bad?"

"Well, you're giving me no other options. Let me come, and I'll forever keep my mouth shut," I bargained, crossing my arms. I locked my eyes firmly with his, not breaking any contact.

Finally, he gave in. "Fine. You may come. But you're not allowed to ask any questions at all," He turned to face the Chinese sorcerer who was standing a few meters from him. "Lin, get the van. We're leaving in 10 mins."

"Should I tell Madoka?" Lin asked.

"No. Let's verify this first before contacting them. This just might be a prank of some sort. Better be ready."

"Okay," Lin replied.

-oOo-

I slipped in the van. Lin as driving it and Naru was seated at the passenger's seat, just beside the driver's seat. Normally, the back portion of the van is filled with all the equipments that we used in a case. But right now, all the equipments are gone and I sat back comfortably at the back.

The ride was extremely silent. Neither Lin nor Naru made a move to break the silence going on inside the van. Neither of them also pushed the argument awhile ago into question. Finally, I mustered enough courage and broke the silence.

"Ne, Naru…" I started. But before I could finish what I was about to say, he broke me off.

"I thought I have made it clear hat you are not supposed to ask any question… Has that slipped out into your brains?"

Talk about harsh.

"I just wanted to know who that 'Gene' is, that's all," I replied, ignoring his comment and pressed the matter.

Naru looked at Lin.

"It's your call, Naru," Lin just said.

"Mai, before I tell you anything…" Naru began, looking up at the front mirror, searching for the reflection my eyes. "Promise me to never, ever tell this to anyone; let alone the other members of the SPR. Understand?"

"Yes, I promise," I firmly said. Looks like he still hasn't forgiven me for tattling on him back when he bent the spoon.

"If ever I found out that you did, you'll be sorry for the whole duration of your life. And I mean it," Naru continued.

"Okay. Okay. I promise. I won't tell a single soul," I replied.

"Very well. What is your question then?"

"Uh… First things first: Who is 'Gene'?" I asked, curiosity overwhelming me.

"Gene is my older brother. His real name is Eugene Davis. As you can see, we weren't actually raised here in Japan. We grew up in England where our foster parents Luella and Martin Davis, paranormal researchers, adopted us."

Davis…? It kind of rings a bell… Wait a minute!

"Well Naru… Are you kind of related to Prof. Oliver Davis?" I sheepishly asked, not sure if the question is properly addressed.

He gave a smile as a reply.

"Couldn't you tell?"

With that, my eyes widen in realization.

"You don't mean to say… That you're… You are THE prof. Oliver Davis?" I stuttered, quite surprise at the implication of what he just said.

"Kazuya Shibuya is just my adopted name. I purposely got that name for the very sole reason why I'm here," He continued.

"And that is…?"

"To find my brother here," he supplied.

"Wait. I'm confused. So Gene went to Japan ahead of you? How come?"

"He was called to perform an exorcism here. Another reason is there are more paranormal occurrences here than in England,"

"Just like the reason when you first came in our school," I added. "But then, why did you come here?"

"Aren't you listening? Like I said, to find my brother,"

"But couldn't he just get home on his own?" I asked.

"Honestly, how much I.Q. do you have? Couldn't you figure it out on yourself?" he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Nonetheless, he continued. "He's dead… Or so I thought until we had that phone call,"

"What made you say that he's dead…?"

"Well, to begin with, I would have to tell you that Gene and I share the same psychic wavelength. He is what you can call a perfect medium. Whenever he encounters a ghost or spirit, no matter what kind of nationality that entity is, he could clearly speak the language it used to speak. Say for example, he met a German ghost, he could speak to it in the German language," Naru filled in.

"Wow. Amazing. He's great!" I exclaimed, awed at what I am hearing.

"Another thing is Gene and I can speak through mental telepathy. Even if we're not physically besides each other, each of us can hear exactly what the other is thinking," he elaborated.

"As of the question on how I assumed that Gene is… or was in this case… Is that I saw him died," he supplied.

"Eh? How come? What do you mean?"

"When Gene wet to Japan, I decided to borrow some of his clothes. That's when I had a vision of him being run down by a car. Twice. The driver must've panicked because after that, she threw him down the lake of some sort. That's when the vision turned green. And when the vision turns green, it only means that the person whom I am sharing the vision with dies," he said.

"Oh… I see," I couldn't find the right words to say. I'm quite astounded and shocked at all the revelations that Naru is telling me.

I fell silent.

"Ran out of questions?" he asked, crossing his arms and heaving a sigh.

"No… Not really. It's just too much to take in," I replied. Suddenly, I felt sad. I remembered all the things I have cruelly said to him. About being cold and apathetic. Of not knowing the feeling of death. Everything. I felt the need to cry.

"I'm sorry," I said, not looking up at him. Crumpling the hem of my skirt, I repeated what I said. "I'm sorry… For everything. For what I told you back then. I didn't know. I…" I broke off, not knowing what to say next.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know," Naru replied, his voice still as cold as ever.

Before I could reply to what he said, Lin cut in.

"We're here," he spoke.

A large white manor came into view. The design of the house is really beautiful, just like an English palace. The use of metal, wood and iron is very evident in the façade of the house.

At the middle of the lawn, just in front of the grand staircase leading to the house, is a large fountain. On it was a statue of a woman- she looked like one of the Olympian goddesses we have studied in our literature class.

To the left and right side of the house are very large trees, waiting to be pruned.

"Mai. Just wait in the van. We'll get this through in just a few minutes." Naru said.

"Eh? Why can't I come? And just what am I supposed to do in here?" I protested.

"Just do as I say. Watch the van. And don't ever fall asleep," he finally said.

"Fine. But I can't promise you I won't fall asleep," I replied, resting my back. "And do try to hurry up,"

Naru only smirked.

-oOo-

A/N: I know. I know. This chapter was rather boring and very uneventful. I'm starting to weave the plot so the pacing would still be a bit slower than usual. But I promise you, everything that would transpire after this chapter would be interesting.

It would do a good thing if you tell me what you think.:)

Will update soon,

Jhay07