Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.

"English speaking"

"Japanese speaking"

'Thinking'

Chapter 4

Saturday 7:42 pm, Davis Manor

Oliver had just gotten to his room after having dinner with his parents. His father had spoken at length about Mai's lecture, the conversation in the small lounge afterwards and what little he knew of the events regarding Charlie. They had asked Oliver what had happened when finding the body, and he had told them all the basic facts. Just like he would explain any other case to them. He had excused himself without eating much, saying that he was tired and going to his room.

Oliver stepped into his ensuite bathroom and turned on the shower. Looking into the mirror he stiffened when his reflection had changed. A much younger version of himself was smiling back at him.

"Gene."

"Hi Noll. How was your day with Mai?"

"Eventful. What are you doing here? I thought we had agreed that you would move on."

Gene shrugged his shoulders. "We did. But I can't."

"You can't? What is that supposed to mean? Why not?"

"I have unfinished business. Just like Charlie today, there is something that I need to have happen, before I can truly rest in peace."

"And what is that?" Oliver furrowed his brows in both confusion and concern. If his brother had something that needed to be done, then why hasn't he said anything?

"I can't tell you. If I do then the likelihood of it happening will lower. And I'm not willing to take that chance."

Oliver sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Knowing his brother, if he was determined not to say anything, then asking him again would be futile. This however might be a good chance to get a few other answers. "Were you with Mai when she almost died after having been away from her body for eight days?"

Gene's eyes widened. "Okay, I know you're a genius and everything, but how did you guess that?"

"The white light that John had told Yasuhara about gave me the tip."

"Aaaahh." Gene nodded and looked up. "Yeah, that would have been enough. Well, it's not like you were never going to find out."

"Mai didn't want to tell me."

"Mai didn't want to tell you because she is one of the kindest souls that have ever walked this earth. She didn't know if you were aware that I was still hanging around. Father was sitting next to you and she had no clue if he knew that she had ever spoken to me. She didn't want to hurt either of you by bringing me up. And since Mai can't and often won't lie, she opted not to say anything. At least that's what I think."

"So you think if I get her alone she would tell me?"

Gene's face turned grim. "No, I actually don't. I heard her say that she hasn't even told Yasu about it. That experience was traumatising for her. I don't know if she's ready to talk about it herself."

Oliver sighed. "So I'll never know." He placed his hands on the countertop and leaned on it.

"What? You're not going to ask me?"

He looked up again, slowly. "Would you tell me and betray her trust like that?"

"I won't be betraying her. We never agreed not to tell anyone, and her decision not to is entirely her own. And I'm sure that she will talk when she is ready."

Oliver thought for a moment, then straightened up, went to turn off the shower again and then faced his brother. "So what did happen?"

-0-0-0-

Gene had been visiting Mai from time to time over the years without revealing that he was there. She never seemed to need his help anymore. She had grown a lot since their first meeting. This time however, three years after he and Noll had left, he got a very bad feeling from the house she was in. He listened to their conversations and got the picture. They were debating how to save their friend, the priest named John, who had been taken by the malevolent spirit in the house. Mai was voting that she go in after him, believing that the spirit had taken him to the astral plane. A quick feel around in the energy of the house revealed to Gene that this was true.

The others on her team however thought it to be too dangerous, but none of them had any other ideas. Eventually Mai snapped and ordered them all to just look after her body. She lied down on a couch in the room and quicker than Gene would have thought, came running past him. He followed her, just a few steps behind. She no doubt had some instinct telling her where to go, and as always he didn't question her.

They came into one of the deep levels of the planes, a completely black void of nothing. Not even the little white floating souls of nature and animals went this far in. Up ahead they saw John being held in place against an invisible wall by what looked like an old man in his 70's wearing a black and red robe. Mai didn't hesitate. She jumped on the old man's back and tried to twist his torso away from John. It worked and John slumped to the ground. Knowing that Mai wouldn't be able to fight the spirit and get John out safely, Gene became a spirit light and flew into the man's face, effectively distracting him. Gene yelled for Mai to get her and John out of there. Mai was momentarily stunned at hearing his voice, but yelling at her again to move, she did just that and disappeared from his view.

Thinking that it was just him and the old man now, Gene returned to the form where he could utilise his arms and legs. The two of them went into a fulblown fistfight. For a man who looked so old, his punches were stronger than a forty year old's. Gene eventually found himself being pressed up against the same wall as John had been. A wicked smile came over the man's face. He pulled his right arm back and plunged it into Gene's chest. He was being drained of energy. The man was sucking it out of him.

All of a sudden, the man was gone and Gene fell to the ground much like John. Looking up, he saw that Mai had once again jumped on the old guy's back. Her legs were locked around his waist and her arms were trying to strangle him. The man yelled in frustration, grabbed onto Mai's shoulders and flung her off him.

"Mai!" Gene hurried to her side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Never mind that now. We have bigger problems."

And they did. The man was coming for them again.

"We need to run! Now!" Gene pulled Mai to her feet and started dragging her in the first direction he turned. "You need to go back to your body. Which way is that?"

"What?! I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Don't be stupid Mai! He can't kill me, I'm not alive."

"No. But he can destroy your soul. And as long as I have a say in the matter, that is not happening."

"Mai!..."

"No, Gene! I'm not going back. I'm not leaving Naru's brother behind."

Gene faltered in his step and Mai ended up taking the lead and dragging him instead. She led the way with the skilled precision of a person who has walked these planes many times. Taking turns around corners Gene could not see. It made sense. Mai was an astral walker and he was just a drifting spirit away from his resting place. They ran for a long time, hiding from time to time so Mai could figure out where to go next. Gene had no idea how much time had passed. Time in the astral plane flowed differently than on the living plane.

Eventually their luck ran out. The old man had found them and had Gene by the throat against another wall and his right hand was deep in Mai's chest. The little energy she had left was draining fast. Gene tried to get free but his efforts were futile. Mai's form began to flicker in and out of focus. Her eyes were wide with terror. All of a sudden a sharp burst of electricity sprang from Mai's torso and pushed the old man back.

"My heart." Mai whispered. "I don't think it's beating."

Gene froze. 'She's dead? But how?'

"Cardiac arrest." A look of fierce and reckless determination came over her features. She sprang forward and grabbed onto the man's midriff. He tried to get her off but she was sticking to him like glue. Gene got up and was about to go over to help when she yelled for him to get back. Another burst of electricity. The man screamed. Another burst.

Gene understood what she had meant now. Her heart had stopped beating and so someone was shocking her body with a defibrillator. The shocks of energy were bursting from her body in waves, and she was using them to her advantage. A total of five shocks were sent through her and into him before he flung her off again. She laid still on the ground and Gene rushed to her side. Looking back to see if the man was coming for her again, Gene was shocked to see that he was writhing in pain on the ground.

"Too much energy." Mai was trying to sit up so Gene helped support her.

"What do you mean, too much energy?"

"He's been sucking the energy and life force from anything living around here for decades. I wouldn't be surprised if he has also taken to draining energy from passing souls like he tried to do to you."

The man was screaming and writhing more intensely now. Mai continued to explain.

"The soul can only hold so much energy before it breaks. The energy he drains gets used over time, which is why he could continue to do it for so long, but too much energy at the same time is going to destroy his spirit."

A bright light sharper than the sun burst from the man and in a final gut wrenching scream of pain, his form exploded and the light pulsed like a shockwave blowing the two young souls backwards. Sitting up again they saw that the man had gone and everything around them was silent.

"He's gone. His spirit is nowhere." Gene said in an awed voice.

"His soul broke."

Gene looked at his friend. "Too much energy."

Mai smiled weakly. She looked exhausted.

"Okay. Time to get you back to your body before you get stuck here."

"I don't think I can walk." Mai's speech was slurred.

"Don't worry Mai. You just point in the direction we need to go, and I'll carry you."

And so they went. When they arrived, Gene told her that she probably wouldn't wake up for another few days and that she should take it easy for a while. Mai promised that she would.

"Hey, Gene?"

"Yeah Mai?"

"How come you haven't moved on yet?"

Gene petted Mai's hair like one would a little sister. "Don't worry Mai, I will. There's just something I need first. And I'm hoping that you might be able to help me with it someday. But for now you need rest. Sweet dreams Mai."

She smiled and closed her eyes.

-0-0-0-

"So.. That's everything." Gene had told Noll as many details as he could. But he was a little worried now. Instead of firing away questions and getting mad, his brother was sitting on the floor of the bathroom, holding his head in his hands.

"Noll? Are you okay?"

"I feel useless. Here I am once again. I'm on the other side of the world while people I care about are in mortal danger." His tone was seething.

"Nobody died, Noll. And even if you had been there, you wouldn't have been able to go in too."

"That's the problem!" Oliver had had enough. He got up and faced Gene again, rage and loathing edged into his face. "I can't do anything. The only reason the two of you didn't parish was because the others had enough sense to get her to a hospital in time. I already lost you once and I could have lost you a second time. And Mai…."

Oliver felt his heart squeeze. "She could have died and I would never have known!" He hung his head. "I left her there Gene." His voice turned sad and quiet. "I left her behind with nothing. Not even a phone number to call if she needed help on a case. I should have never left. I should have gone back like I planned to."

"You planned to go back?" This was news to Gene.

"I had originally planned to come back to Japan after a few months. But I couldn't."

"Why not?"

Oliver didn't answer.

"Noll. Why couldn't you go back?"

Oliver lifted his head, but still didn't answer. His look seemed to have said enough however.

"Oh, Noll. Are you serious?"

No answer.

"She was never in love with me, you idiot scientist. You drew the wrong conclusion because you were looking for one."

"I asked her. I asked her 'me or Gene?'."

"And what did she say?"

"She didn't say anything. I showed her the picture of us and she started crying."

"You never gave her a chance to explain. She was devastated because she thought you were rejecting her."

"You weren't there. You didn't see her face. See how she reacted."

"Then tell me this Noll. You just heard me tell you what happened three years ago when she nearly died. Right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"You heard what she said. 'I'm not leaving Naru's brother behind'. She didn't say 'You' or 'the person I love' or anything like that. She said 'Naru's brother'. She didn't just come back because I was her friend, but because she was thinking of you. I showed up and the first person that went through her mind was you."

Oliver stared at his brother. Could he be right? Had he been wrong?

"Like I said." Gene continued. "She never got to give you a real answer. So why don't you ask her again? We both know that you love her. Even if you won't admit it out loud. And you need to know how she feels. So go find out."

With that the reflection in the mirror changed back to Oliver's own. He stared into his own eyes for a long time. 'Do I love her? Is that what this is?' He had never felt love before. Not other than the familial love for his parents and brother. Thinking about it he knew that there were a lot of things about Mai that went outside the norm for him. The most noticeable ones. Mai didn't back away from him, and he liked that. He had always had an aversion to touch but he somehow didn't mind her's. He also felt an annoyingly strong urge to protect Mai, more so than any other friend or team member he had ever had. And then of course there was the whole tea thing.

Oliver sighed in frustration. Emotions had always been a terribly difficult thing for him to understand. He decided to find out the most logical way he could think of. He would spend time with Mai and then try to figure this out. He didn't have all the facts yet. And if there was one thing Oliver Davis never did. It was to make assumptions before having all the pieces of the puzzle. He turned the shower on again and started to make a plan.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sunday 9:14 am, Mai's hotel room

Mai was sitting at a small desk in her hotel room trying to understand the subject of the paper she was trying to write. Her English Literature teacher was making them write an essay on the novel 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding. It was probably one of the most disturbing things Mai had ever read and she just couldn't figure out how to formulate her take on it, without it sounding like she was a prude.

Deciding to make a cup of tea, she got up and filled the electric kettle the hotel had provided in the room's small kitchenette. The hotel also offered several different kinds of tea to make, but Mai never went anywhere without some of her own special blend.

Just as she had filled the kettle and turned it on to start boiling, there was a knock at her door. Mai went over and looked through the peephole. None other than Naru himself was standing outside her door. She opened it wide.

"Hey Naru. What's up?"

He looked at her in a strange way she couldn't decipher. "I was wondering if we could talk for a bit. Do you have time?"

A little surprised but pleased that he had actually asked instead of demanded, she stepped aside to allow him entrance. "Sure, come on in."

He nodded and stepped inside.

"Normally I wouldn't ask, but.." He turned to look at her. "Do you want a cup of tea? I'm making one already."

A wave of something akin to excitement shot through Oliver. He didn't let it show on his face though. He nodded again. "Tea would be fine."

Mai smiled. "Great. Make yourself comfortable." She went over to prepare the cups. "Hey, have you ever read 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding?"

"Yes." The disdain was clear in his voice. "Don't read it. It's terribly moronic."

She laughed a little at that. "I agree. And it's disturbing on so many levels I can't even count it. Unfortunately I have read it. My English Literature teacher is making us write an essay on it."

"I feel bad for you. Couldn't he have found something a bit more interesting?"

"Apparently not. Got any suggestions I could give him? Or maybe just for me?"

Oliver thought for a moment. "'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini. It's a rather good read. A bit tragic but much more realistic."

Mai placed the finished cups of tea on the small table between the two armchairs in which Naru had placed himself. She took the other chair. "I'll look it up later. Thanks." She said with a smile. "So, was there anything in particular that you wanted to discuss with me?"

Oliver took the tea in his hands and inhaled the sweet aroma. 'Calming'. "Yes. I had a visit last night from Gene."

Mai stopped with the tea almost to her lips. Her eyes met his. "What?"

"We used to be able to communicate through mirrors. And now he comes and talks to me once in a while."

Mai looked down into her tea. "So he really hasn't moved on then." She stated sadly.

"It would seem that he has something to do before he can do that. You didn't know?"

She shook her head. "I wasn't sure. Since his body was found, I've only ever seen him once. That was.."

"Three years ago. I know."

Mai looked up. "You know? He told you?"

Oliver nodded again. "Don't worry though I won't ask you to speak of it. I understand now why you didn't want to. I just wanted you to know that I know what happened."

Mai nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I also wanted to say that.." He hesitated a bit. "I'm sorry I was so harsh with you about it."

For a moment Mai wasn't sure if she was hearing him right. Naru was apologising to her. And she knew that Naru was serious because this was not something he did often. She gave him a soft smile. "I accept your apology."

Naru took a sip of the now slightly cooler tea. The taste of Mai's special blend spread in his mouth and he needed to hold back a sigh. He could feel the care she took in making the tea. This was exactly what he had been missing. A soothing warmth spread over him.

"And also.. Thank you for not leaving Gene behind. From what he told me, you were extremely level headed in that heated situation and did some very quick thinking. I was impressed." And mortified but he didn't need to tell her that.

Was this really Naru sitting in front of her? First an apology, then a thank you and now praise? She was a little nonplussed. What was she supposed to say?

"Uummm.. Thank you. That's high praise coming from you. Although, you don't need to thank me for going back. I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't." Her cheeks felt warm and she stumped the urge to fan at them.

"I know. But I want to. He is my brother and I already lost him once. So thank you for not letting me lose him a second time."

"I'm glad to have been of help. But I must admit. If I had realised sooner what the spirit was doing and gotten everyone out of there, then neither he nor John would have been in any danger."

"Don't do that. Don't take the blame on yourself, that is so like you. If you hadn't been on the case with them, then they probably wouldn't have figured it out at all, and then John and possibly more would have died. The blame for what happened doesn't lie with you Mai."

Her cheeks flared even more. "Thank you Naru. That actually makes me feel a little better."

The silence that spread between them wasn't at all awkward. Actually it was rather comfortable. Oliver was trying to find a way to bring up the subject that Gene had told him to inquire about, but he wasn't really sure that now was the right time for that. So instead he opted for something else.

"What are you wearing tonight?"

Mai nearly spat out her tea. "Excuse me?"

"For the Banquet. What are you wearing?"

"Uuuhhh.. A dress?"

Naru looked at her like she was stupid. Well what was she supposed to answer? Why was he even asking her?

"What kind of dress, Mai?"

"A blue one?"

"What shade of blue?"

"What sha.. Why are you asking? Why do you want to know this?"

"Show me the dress."

"What?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. She flailed her free hand in defeat and placed her cup on the table. Then she got up, walked to her closet, and pulled out the dress bag that held tonight's gown. She unzipped the top and showed him a long sleeve of cornflower blue material.

Oliver drained his cup, savouring the taste, then got up to stand next to her.

"Pretty. It'll look good on you."

That was the third time he had made her blush and he revelled in it. He liked that he could make her do that with just a few words. He smirked and turned to leave.

"I'll pick you up at six, be ready to go then."

He heard a low "Alright.. Wait what?" And then he closed the door behind him.

Mai just stood there like a stunned deer. Then she threw the dress on her bed and janked the door open. Naru was already in the elevator pressing the buttons.

"Naru. Wait. What do you mean 'I'll pick you up at six'?"

"It's a fairly simple concept Mai. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Then he gave a smile. A true smile that Mai had only ever seen once before. She halted in her stride towards him and the elevator doors closed between them.

"He just… Why, he just…"

Turning around she walked to Yasu's room and banged on the door much harder than was necessary. Yasu opened the door in a hurry.

"What is it? What happened?"

"Naru was just here." She exclaimed and walked past him into his room.

Yasu closed the door. "Well, are you okay? What did he say?"

"Well, he.. And the dress.. And then he said.. And he smiled.."

Yasu looked at her like she had lost it. "Okay. I did not understand any of that. Sit down, breathe and walk me through what happened."

Mai sat in an identical armchair as the one she had just vacated in her own room. "We talked for a little while and it was actually not unpleasant. Then out of the blue he asked me what I was wearing tonight for the banquet. And after he weirdly requested to know what colour my dress was, I showed him and he told me.." But Mai could not believe that he had said that and wasn't even sure that it wasn't some sort of hallucination. "And then he said he would pick me up at six. What does he mean by that?"

Yasu couldn't help but laugh a little at his friend's obliviousness. "Well, Mai. I think it means he'll pick you up at six o'clock tonight."

"But I'm going with you. He should know this."

Yasu looked at her sheepishly.

"What?"

"Uuh, you see. Madoka just called."

"No."

"And she just told me to come to her office and take a look at some old casefiles she thinks I'll find interesting, and.."

"No."

"She said to bring my tux because we'll probably lose track of time so I might as well get ready there."

Mai groaned and put her head in her hands. "Alright well then I guess it's fine then." She pulled her head up. "But that doesn't explain why he needed to know about my dress."

"He's probably going to match it somehow."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because you're going as his date."

Mai scoffed. "No I'm not. He's just picking me up."

"You are so oblivious it's adorable. Mai. He's picking you up for an event his father is hosting. You'll be walking in together. Prof. Davis told us that we would be sitting at their table as sort of guests of honour. So you'll probably be sitting next to him all night. And after yesterday's action of him dragging you out of the lecture hall, everyone is going to think that the two of you are a thing. You are most definitely going as his date."

Mai stared at her friend in disbelief. "And the matching part?"

"It's customary for a gentleman to match the colour of his date's dress somehow. Say the colour of his tie or the handkerchief in his breast pocket. Or something like that."

Mai couldn't believe this. It wasn't like he had asked her to go with him. And it wasn't like he had asked her out. But on a technical level. She was going on a date with Naru. A date with Naru.