A/N: Hey! I was going to post this tomorrow, but I didn't know if I'd be able to. So, y'all get it a day early! Thanks to everyone who's read, followed, and reviewed! You guys are awesome!

CaitHawke4Ever - I feel bad for poor Mai, her relief was short lived. And though not a demon, Vlad will prove to be a monster just the same. Hopefully, Lin will be able to save her from his clutches in this universe as well. ^_- Thank you!

Damaged Forest Spirit - I'm sorry for leaving you hanging! Hopefully this next chapter answers some of your questions! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.

Language Key:

Regular = Japanese

Bold Italic = Chinese

Bold = English

Chapter 6:

The smell of earl grey and old books surrounded Oliver. It was quiet, with only the steady hum of the computer and the turn of a page breaking the silence. These sounds were joined by the occasional clink of his tea cup landing back on its saucer. The perfect early morning.

Beside his quickly dwindling tea, his computer sat. The screen still showed the empty, Japanese hotel room he'd been electronically communicating with for the last half hour. Ever since Madoka had called his human correspondent and interrupted their little meeting. He had half a mind to shut down the video call completely.

It wasn't Lin's fault. Madoka still hadn't seemed to grasp the full scale of the mission that loomed over his head. Or how long it would take. It was a difficult task with many obstacles that stood in his way.

Some of the obstacles Oliver could've easily removed. A key piece to the puzzle lay in his hands. Or more accurately, it sat on his desk atop of some papers, currently serving as a paperweight. Made of ribbon, the color was a faded blue. Teddy bears danced along the tattered fabric. The child's hair bow had seen better days.

It was the only thing they had connecting them to their sister. Well, other than blood. But if their previous experience was anything to go by, that was sometimes a thin connection at best. Through this small trinket of memories, however, Oliver was able to see her life now. He was able to see what she did; what she ate; how she interacted with those around her. He could see who she really was without the risk of her knowing who they were.

At least, that's how it initially started. After doing a few readings, he'd already become attached. Now, he mostly did it to check up on her until the day Lin brought her home. Which could've been sooner if he'd told Lin he'd already found her. But Oliver felt things would work out better if he left it alone. And they did seem to be progressing well.

Of course, it still wasn't fast enough for Madoka. As Gene was the only other person who was privy to Oliver's psychometric stalking, she wasn't aware of just how close Lin was. And it didn't seem like Lin was being very open about it either.

Though Gene had his own theory, Oliver knew Lin was being cautious. He didn't want to get any of their hopes up. Oliver figured he should probably tell him he already knew that he was on the right path. He had actually planned on it during this little chat. Then, Madoka decided that this was the perfect moment to carry out her interrogation. Now, he wasn't feeling as giving as he had been.

With a sigh, he snapped his book shut. He reached for his tea cup and downed the last of the beverage. As he sat the empty cup back down, his eyes fell on the old hair bow. His fingers itched to read it again. He knew from Gene that she'd gone out with a friend after her session with Lin. He wondered if she made it home safely.

His gaze flickered to the computer screen. He was still staring at the desk chair, empty excepting the jacket draped over the back. But that probably wasn't a permanent state. Any moment, Madoka would release Lin from her torture. While Oliver was mostly resolved to come clean, he didn't want it to be because he was caught in the act. He preferred it to be entirely of his own volition. Even if it was merely a matter of pride.

He'd been essentially left on hold for over thirty minutes. By all means, he had every right to end this meaningless video call. He had every right the moment Lin escaped to the balcony with his cell phone screaming in his hand. Had he actually been busy, he probably would have. Now was as good a time as any.

His finger worked at the mouse pad. Stopping as his cursor hovered over the End Call button. Then, he heard the sound of a slamming door coming through the speakers. He waited for Lin to reappear, but several minutes passed with no change. Then, the sobbing began.

His mind scanned the possibilities of what lay beyond the screen's view. It could be of a supernatural nature, a ghost who died in the room. Or it could something entirely human. Like a certain young woman who was starting to warm up to the room's current occupant.

"Hello," Oliver called out. The sobbing continued. "Hello, who's there?"

Silence fell. While he was grateful that the sobbing had ceased, the quiet was a little unnerving. He still hadn't determined whether the source was human or not. Although, had it been paranormal, Lin should've noticed it by now.

He stared at the screen for any signs of life (or lack thereof). After an antagonizing minute, something appeared. A petite woman came into view. Her steps were slow and her wide eyes darted around the room. Even with the grainy resolution, Oliver could see her shoulders shaking. Mai.

"Take the jacket off the back of the chair and put it on," he ordered.

She blinked at the screen. "Oliver?"

His eyes widened. She'd guessed it from the first words out of his mouth. "Yes, now put on the jacket and sit down."

She frowned, but did as he asked. Her movements were sluggish. "You know, you're really bossy."

"I think I have enough credentials to give me the right to be so. And if that fails to convince you, I can always fall back on my good looks," He smirked. His words were more of a distraction than truth.

She cracked a smile, but her eyes were still sad. "I don't think I've met someone so narcissistic before. I'm going to call you Naru-chan."

"If that's what you want," Oliver shrugged, the smirk fading from his face. He really didn't care what she called him. "Now, Mai, tell me what happened."

She pulled her feet up into the chair, curling into herself. Her eyes focused on something in the room he couldn't see. Her words barely reached his speakers, "What happened? Where would I even start?"

"At the beginning, I should think," Oliver prodded, managing to inspire a weak glare in his direction. He stared back patiently until she finally relented.

"You know about my post-cognitive visions, right?" He nodded. "Well, not too long ago, I had this vision involving these young women."

Oliver pulled put a notebook and started documenting her recollection. His eyes narrowed as she gave the briefest description of her vision possible. He could tell she was holding back and it didn't take much to guess why. There were various reasons why a man would murder young women, but more often than not their death wasn't his true purpose.

"Then, walking home, I heard his voice on the street," Mai continued, her eyes had long since avoided the screen. He straightened in his seat, fearing the next part of her story. "He called out to me. But I just kept going. I didn't stop until I came here. And when I looked out the peek hole, there he was."

Her body no longer appeared to vibrate. Her face, however, now had tear tracks. And her eyes were red and puffy, still shining with unshed tears. This encounter had been too much. Had she been a moment slower, she would've been at that monster's mercy.

Anger flared up in Oliver's chest. His skin buzzed with energy. He took a deep breath, trying to contain it. He couldn't afford to have a supernatural fit right now. Not while Mai still needed him.

"You're safe now," his words were soft. They held a calmness he didn't really feel.

She turned to him with another sad smile. "Yeah."

"Stay with Lin. Don't leave his side until we can figure out something to do about this," he was ordering her again. He didn't know how else to protect her. This was the best he could do from across the world.

"You are really bossy," she pouted. "Are you always this bossy?"

"When it comes to people's safety, yes," he informed her. She dropped the pout, choosing to watch him curiously. He stared back, noting the heaviness in her shoulders and the droop of her eyes. "Is there something you want to know?"

"There's a lot I want to know," she admitted with a rueful smile. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm sitting in my office at my home in England,"

"Were you guys born there?"

"No, we were born in America to an American mother and a Japanese father. When we were ten, the Davis family adopted us and we came to England,"

"So, English is probably your first language," she mused.

"Obviously," he grunted. "What's your first language?"

"Chinese," she grinned. "My mother didn't know much Japanese when I was born. I think we actually learned it together."

"Your father didn't teach you?" he asked cautiously. Although he knew a lot about her through his readings, there was also a lot she avoided.

"Not really," she frowned. "He never was around much. Even before . . ."

She trailed off, but he knew what she meant. Before he left. Before he abandoned another child. Before he set in motion the very events that would leave his daughter practically an orphan on the streets.

"Have you spoken to him recently?"

"Honestly, I haven't seen him since I was five," she sighed. "If anyone asked, I usually just told them I was pretty sure he was dead."

"But?"

She sighed again, her face betraying no emotion. Oliver mused that her current attitude was probably still the emotional shock running through her system. Had he asked her this at another time, her response was likely to be very different.

"I know he's still out there, somewhere. I have a trustworthy source that updates me whenever he pops up anywhere in Japan," she shrugged. "But as far as I'm concerned, my dad died a long time ago."

Silence fell upon them for a moment, before Oliver tentatively broke it. "If there was any possibility of your father having other offspring, would you be open to meeting them?"

Her eyes were more alert than they'd been for the whole conversation. She studied him in a way that made him wonder if she was close to figuring him out. "Like a little brother or sister?"

"Or older," he shrugged.

She wrapped her arms tighter around her legs as she thought. "An older sibling is less likely to be involved with him."

"Would that play a role in your decision?" he raised an eye brow at her.

She gave him a tired smile. "Maybe. But I don't know. I think - I'd want to meet them regardless."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not their fault their father's an idiot," Oliver fought back a snort. "But I think I'd want to even more so if they were older. And not just because he's least likely to be involved. Or maybe because of that. I'd just want to know if they're okay, if they're happy."

"Are you happy?"

"You ask a lot of questions," she pouted again, resting her head on her knees. Her eyes started to droop even more than before.

"I have a lot of curiosities," he quipped, keeping his tone even.

"You and me both," she mumbled, quickly losing her battle with exhaustion. Her eyes finally fluttered shut. Her breathing steadied out and her body relaxed. For the first time that night, she looked at peace.

Oliver watched her for a moment. His eyes took in every detail. Her reddish brown hair, a tousled mess from her experience. Her small frame, draped in the large jacket. Her fair skin. At the start of this conversation, she'd been startlingly pale. But her complexion seemed to improve as he got her talking. Looking at her, she appeared so delicate, so breakable. So vulnerable.

And now she had more than her brothers hunting her down. It was hard, knowing that her life was in danger and he was almost six thousand miles away. His only comfort was that he wasn't entirely helpless. One of the few men he trusted most in the world was right there with her.

The man in question finally surfaced after nearly an hour of being missing. When he came into view, whatever tension he'd undoubtedly felt disappeared. Shock and guilt took its place as he found Mai slumbering in his seat. His jacket was still wrapped around her. Without a word, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed.

Oliver waited until he had her settled before he spoke, "A man chased her into the hotel."

Lin sunk into the desk chair. A hand ran through his hair. His eyes were tight. "What happened?"

Oliver ran through what Mai had told him. He wasn't surprised to find that she hadn't mentioned any of it. He'd gotten the feeling she was usually pretty tight lipped about certain topics.

When he was finished, Lin's eyes flashed angrily. His jaw clenched. "Did she give you a description of what he looks like?"

"Not much of one," Oliver shook his head. "She only told me the basic information needed to explain how she ended up there. You could try to pry more out of her, but I doubt she'll be very forthcoming."

Lin nodded solemnly. It was likely he was familiar with the walls she'd erected. If she was this good at protecting her heart, Oliver was eager to see how well she guarded her mind with her abilities. But he was more eager to see the Mai that hid behind those walls.

Mai wasn't even surprised when she opened her eyes and found herself in Lin's bed. It was starting to become routine by this point. Even though, at first, she couldn't remember exactly how she ended up there. She'd accepted it as something that just naturally happened. She was pretty sure for ninety percent of their relationship, she was passed out. At least seventy-five percent of that time was spent in his bed.

What was surprising, however, was the suit jacket she was practically swimming in. And the warm hand resting on her waist. Though her back was to him, she knew it had to be Lin's. Logically speaking, it was his room (and she totally didn't recognize if from just one glance like a creeper or anything). She wondered if he even knew it was there.

It almost felt like his hand was an anchor, keeping her from floating off to uncharted waters. Or maybe he was the anchor and his hand was the rope. She wasn't really good with analogies. Either way, she was successfully docked under his weight.

He probably wasn't aware of it. He was probably subconsciously reaching out for the warm body that somehow wormed it's way into his sheets. His subconscious probably thought she was his girlfriend from back home. That was a cheery thought to start the morning with.

Suppressing a groan, Mai formulated a plan of escape. She carefully wiggled out of his grasp, using a pillow as her replacement. She held her breath as his brow furrowed, stirring ever so slightly in his sleep. She didn't relax until he did.

Once he settled, however, she almost couldn't look away. He was even more beautiful while he slept. His fringe fell over most of his face. It took every ounce of self-restraint for her to not push it aside. To not trace the outline of his strong jaw. To not feel the soft flesh of his lips beneath her finger tips.

She spun around quickly, her face burning from the impure thoughts. She needed to get out the room. Even if only to save what little was left of her virtue - and her self respect. She looked at the ground for her shoes, but didn't find them. Shrugging off Lin's jacket, she tiptoed around the bed over to the desk chair. As she placed the jacket over the back of the chair, she noticed her shoes laying haphazardly under the desk. Suddenly, memories of the night before came back to her.

Vlad found her. He followed her. She found solace here. She talked to Naru. She told him everything. Vlad was still out there. She wasn't safe.

Mai fell to the floor. Her fingers gripped the cool surface of the desk. Her breaths became shallow. Naru had told her to stay with Lin, but she knew she couldn't just force herself onto him. Besides, she still had work. She still had to leave this room and enter the very halls where he had been lurking. But first, she had to calm down and pick herself off the floor.

Breath in. Breath out. It's okay. You're going to be okay.

Slowly, she stood up again. One hand still gripped the desk, but she was mostly upright. She focused on breathing for a few more seconds when she became aware of someone watching her. Turning her head, she caught Lin's eyes just in time to see the panic in them turn into relief.

"What are you doing?" his words were groggy. He sat up, running his fingers through his hair. Mai watched, mesmerized, before she could formulate a response.

"Um, grabbing my shoes?" her statement came out more like a question.

Lin shook his head, he pierced her with a seriousness in his eye. "You can't leave."

"I can't miss work," Mai hoped her tone was convincing. She had to fight against him with a resolve she didn't really have at that moment. "And I still have to go to my apartment. I mean, I'm wearing yesterday's clothes. I need a change and a shower."

He stared at her, only stopping to briefly glance at the jacket she'd borrowed for the night. It seemed like he was considering her wearing his clothes, before thinking better of it. After a moment, he slid out of bed and asked her to wait. He grabbed some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

Mai sat down at the edge of the empty bed and slipped on her old, beat up sneakers. She was curious as to what he was planning. She was also curious as to why she was going along with it. Would she have stayed if there wasn't the possibility of a serial killer coming after her? Or was he a mass murderer? What was the difference? Maybe he was both. Maybe he was a serial killer who murdered in masses.

Mai shuddered. She only knew of four victims, but it wasn't difficult to believe there could be more. There was a certain confidence in how he led the girl Mai portrayed through the dilapidated building. He had a charm that earned her trust, causing her to ignore all the warning signs. She didn't think anything was amiss until it was too late. Until she saw the other girls who had disappeared earlier that night, all chained up.

Mai's fingers went to her neck. In a panic, she had sprinted for the door. But in his fury, he'd caught her. He smiled, soulless. He wrapped his hands around her neck. He squeezed tighter and tighter. His grin growing wider and wider. Until her world went black.

No, it wasn't hard to believe there were others. In fact, it'd be more surprising if there wasn't. But the better question would be, how many more victims would there be? And was she going to be one of them?

Mai's breathing hitched. Her hand now wrapped around her own throat, guarding it. She didn't want to go through that again. She didn't want to become another of his play-things. And she didn't want anyone else to, either.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Lin until he was standing right in front of her. He was so tall, she had to tilt her head back to look at his face. He was more awake now. His eye was more alert as it studied her closely. She wished she could say the same about her. All she could do was stare at him blankly.

Slowly, almost cautiously, his hand stretched out to her. His warm fingers gently pried hers off of her neck. He held her hand in his, caressing the back with his thumb. He stood there, quiet. Mai wondered which one he was more afraid of breaking - the silence or her.

"Are you ready?" he asked after a moment, his voice barely a whisper.

Mai blinked at him, "Ready for what?"

He smiled at her, but his expression was sad. With the hand that wasn't holding hers, he cupped the side of her face. Instinctively, she leaned into it. "Let's go get your things."

She sighed, giving up any dreams of fighting against whatever he had planned. She had neither the willpower nor the resources. "Yeah, okay."