Disclaimer: All characters in Ghost Hunt are the creation of the Goddess Ono Fuyumi-sama.


Lin headed outside to the van, hoping Mai wouldn't be so reckless as to wander off when they had yet to investigate the house. He was relieved to find her leaning against the side of the van. Her arms hung limply at her side as she stared blankly at the ground.

"Taniyama-san," Lin called out.

She raised her head upon hearing his voice, a look of uncertainty on her face, but she remained silent. Lin came to stand in front of her. He quietly searched her face as she stared up at him.

"Would apologizing be enough to fix this?" he asked.

Mai pondered his question for a moment.

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"I really wasn't agreeing with Naru," he tried to explain.

"I don't want to talk about that anymore," she replied calmly.

"But I want you to understand," he tried again.

"I understand," she said, maintaining her calm demeanor.

"Do you?" he questioned.

Mai looked at him seriously. She was quiet for a moment.

"Maybe I don't," she finally admitted.

"Tell me," he urged.

Mai averted her gaze, softly exhaling. She pushed away from the van, moving to walk. Lin followed behind her.

"I suppose you're just looking out for me," Mai announced.

"It's more than that," Lin confessed.

Mai stopped a little ways off from the cliff side, staring out over the water. It was mid afternoon and there was a warm breeze. She stood with her back turned towards him.

"What is it then?" she asked.

Lin struggled to find the words. How could he tell her all the things he was thinking? At this moment, she completely consumed his mind. If she wasn't his soulmate, then he didn't care who they were. He didn't want there to be anyone else for him or for her. Soulmates be damned, he wanted Mai.

"Sometimes, I just want to say to hell with this past lives business," he confessed.

Mai tensed, but didn't immediately respond.

"But why?" she finally asked, turning towards him.

"All this waiting, all this searching. It all means nothing compared to how I feel towards you," he admitted. "You understand, don't you?"

Lin looked at her searchingly, but she refused to make eye contact.

"Please…" he gently pleaded.

Mai closed her eyes with a mournful expression and shook her head.

"I don't know," she denied. She wouldn't admit the truth to herself.

Lin hung his head, feeling resigned. He clenched his hands tightly at his side.

"I can never be enough for you," he acknowledged in defeat. "You want him, whoever he is."

Mai shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't explain the pain his words brought on.

Lin quickly looked up to Mai when he heard her start to cry. He stared at her helplessly, unsure of what to do. He hated that he was the reason she was crying. Making a decision, he quickly moved to hug her to him. She immediately returned his embrace.

"Shh," he soothed. "You only have a responsibility to your own feelings."

"And I keep lying," she lamented. "I wish I could stop lying, but I'm terrified by the intensity of these feelings."

Lin tightened his embrace, sighing at the sorry state of their relationship. He always felt like they were on the edge of progress, but now he knew she longed for someone else.

"You and I," he remarked, "we're stuck in this state of purgatory, aren't we? I want you and you want him, but where is he?"

"Please don't say that," Mai begged. "You really don't understand."

"And I wish I did," Lin admitted. "Though, I wonder if we'll ever understand each other."

She hid her face against his chest, never wanting to let go.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled against him. "It's my fault. It's all my fault."

Lin pulled back, bringing her hands to rest in his. Seeing that she was still crying, he reached up to hold her face and gently wiped her tears away.

"You don't need to apologize to me," he murmured. "You don't owe me anything."

"But, I just..." Mai couldn't find the words to express herself. She wanted to make him understand her feelings, but she didn't understand them herself. There was a fear she couldn't shake.

"There's no need to explain yourself," he gently asserted. "This friendship is enough for me."

Mai nodded, closing her eyes. She sighed when Lin enfolded her in his arms again.

'Someday I'll overcome this fear,' she promised herself.

~oOo~

Lin and Mai quietly walked back to the base, an air of melancholy surrounding them. Naru turned to look at them when they entered the room.

"What's going on?" Naru asked.

"I really think Taniyama-san needs to rest," Lin told him.

Naru looked at Mai, but she kept her gaze fixed on the ground.

"Fine," Naru consented. "Rest on the couch for now."

She nodded, walking over to the couch. She slowly laid down, resting on her back. Lifting her arm, she brought it to rest over her eyes. Sleep soon overtook her.

~oOo~

Mai was dreaming of that temple again. The air around her was heavy and charged. It was sure to storm soon. She looked at the man in front of her, feeling sad.

"We have obligations to the family," she said. "It doesn't allow us the freedom to be together."

"Come away with me," he begged. "I'll break the contract and from here on age as you age."

"You can't mean that," she responded.

"I do," he answered. "I wish to give all that I am to you."

"I won't let you forfeit your immortality for me," she argued.

"But don't you see? Immortality means nothing to me," he asserted. "I would die a thousand deaths to spend one lifetime with you. An eternity without you is not living."

She found it hard to argue with him.

"How could I refuse you after that?" she asked.

"I don't expect you to," he admitted.

She smiled warmly at him.

"You're rather confident, aren't you?" she remarked.

"How can I not be when I know you love me just as I love you," he confessed.

"Jun..."