Guys, be excited. I love these next two chapters. I had fun writing them, and I hope you have as much fun reading them, too. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. If I did, Mai's dream would come true. Except, you know, only the good part. Not the bad part. You'll see.

She was at a party.

There were musicians playing and bright lights and the sound of laughter and the clinking of glasses. The mansion had been decorated beautifully, with exquisite ornaments and a large, elegant dining table.

She was dancing - did she even know how to dance? - with someone tall and pale and dark-haired. It wasn't Gene, she could tell. Naru's hand was on her waist and her hand was against his shoulder and his eyes danced.

Mai blushed and looked down. What on earth was she wearing? She didn't have the curves or the money to wear something like this, but there she was, in a sleeveless, floor-length, sapphire dress that hugged her so well she actually looked good. Maybe Ayako had bought it for her.

She looked around at the other couples dancing and smiled. They all looked so happy, but none of their could compare to her own. Naru was hers and he was holding her and his infuriating smirk was just for her.

"Mai!" someone shouted, and the party lights flickered. In between the flashes of darkness, Mai suddenly saw a dark, decaying room. The smell of rot and dead things was in the air. The couples were old, ugly corpses, and Naru - Naru wasn't Naru anymore. He was pudgy and old and smiling at her like a maniac.

But then everything went back to how it had been, and Mai was content.

"MAI!" someone shouted again, more insistently this time, and the room flickered once again. Annoyed, Mai looked around for whoever was spoiling her night, and spotted Gene frantically making his way through the thick crowd.

Naru put a hand to her cheek. "Ignore him," he whispered, and Mai felt weak right down to her toes. His eyes were hot and bright. "He's only jealous."

Mai felt a smile spread across her face as he danced her away from his twin until they reached the edge of the circle and broke away from the others. Naru pulled her down a deserted hallway and then stopped. Mai looked at him expectantly.

"Me or Gene?" he whispered secretively, smiling as if he already knew the answer.

Mai put her arms around his neck. "Only you, Naru," she breathed into his neck.

They kissed.

"MAI, STOP!" Gene yelled, and the two broke apart.

"Go away!" Mai snapped at him, angry that he had made them break off their kiss. She turned back to Naru and smiled at his expression. He was hers, and she was his.

"Mai, look!" Gene cried, and grabbed her by the arm.

The hallway became dark and rotting, and Naru was the thing she had glimpsed when the lights had flickered in the ballroom. He was snarling and grinning widely. Rotting teeth, hollow eyes, bulging lips. Mai screamed and kicked him away in revulsion and terror. What had she been kissing?

Gene pulled on her arm, but the other man still had Mai around the waist. Gene kicked him in the chest and tugged Mai out of the rotting hallway. He dragged her into a nearby closet.

"Gene-"

"Mai, listen to me. The house is going to try and trick you, play with your mind. Don't get confused, okay?"

"How will I know?" Mai asked, terrified.

"Ask questions, anything personal that the other person should know if they were really themselves and-"

There was a loud banging on the door. Gene looked in the direction of the door and squinted. "Mai, you have to go back. I'm going to send you back. Stay safe, please."

He put a hand over her eyes as Ayako had done not so long ago, and she was falling, falling through layers of dark and light until she slammed into her body so hard her knees buckled. Someone caught her around the waist and helped her stand.

"N-naru?" The dream fresh in her mind, Mai pulled away from him and stumbled backwards down the dark hallway. The door to their base was wide open behind Naru, or whatever was in front of her. If she ducked under his arm, maybe she could get in there.

"Yes, thank you for reminding me of my name," Naru said, though his tone was a little confused. "Mai, what are you doing?" he asked as she continued to inch backwards.

"N-nothing." Mai trembled. He had moved and now she couldn't duck under him anymore. Maybe if she screamed, Lin would wake up. John said he woke quickly. Lin would restrain Naru. Or, if the Naru in front of her wasn't Naru at all, her scream would bring the real one out running.

"Then come back inside," Naru said, cutting off her train of thought.

"No!" What if it was a trap? What if the door was not to their base? After all, she hadn't opened a door to the hallway last night.

"Mai," Naru said, clearly irritated. When she didn't reply or move, he reached out for her arm.

"No, don't touch me!" she shrieked, backing up further as fast as she could. Her back slammed into a wall behind her. Dead end.

Naru yanked his hand back fast, as if he had been burned. Mai could tell she had startled him thoroughly by the way his breathing suddenly became uneven. He shoved his hands deep into his jean pockets - he had slept in his jeans? - and backed away from her a little.

"I won't," he said softly. Mai thought he sounded a little anxious. "Just...come back inside. You were sleepwalking."

It kind of made sense, and the confusion in Naru's face and his jerk reaction to her scream made Mai want to believe him. Then she remembered Gene's words and forced a blank face.

"Where did we first meet?" she asked.

"Mai-"

"Answer my question!" she commanded. What if the spirit didn't know and attacked her for it? What then?

Naru frowned, but he answered her. "Your high school. I took a case for your principal."

"What was I doing?"

"Telling ghost stories with your friends."

"Who was the culprit."

"Your classmate, the poltergeist."

"Why did-"

"Mai!" Naru exploded, his patience worn out. Mai winced. "I don't know what you saw in your dream, but we need to get back to base before some spirit possesses you, or me, and the other gets hurt. I don't want a repeat of this evening."

When Mai hesitated, he sighed heavily and stood to the side so he no longer blocked her way to the door. "Do you want to look inside and make sure it's alright?"

Mai decided enough was enough. Naru had been extremely willing to give her answers, and she didn't want to annoy him any further. She rubbed away the gooseflesh on her arms. "No, I'm-I'm fine."

She followed to the door and looked inside before going in. Everyone was still sleeping, and since she didn't see any duplicate Naru sleeping as well, she reasoned that she had made the right decision. Naru went to the kitchen and she went in after him. He put water on the kettle and waited for it to boil. Mai sat at the dining table, at a loss for what to do. Usually it was her making the tea.

Naru brought her a cup and sat down next to her with his own. "Mai," he said suddenly. "Are you cold?"

Mai hadn't realized she was shaking until he pointed it out. She shook her head and tried to control it as she sipped her tea. It was too sweet, but she didn't mind.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked when she had gotten through half a cup. She nodded, expecting him to ask about her dream, but he didn't. He continued to drink his own. When he was finished, he set his cup down and said, "Mai...I would never hurt you."

Mai felt heat crawling up her neck and looked into her teacup. "I know," she whispered. "It was just - I mean the house - well, you see-"

"Mai, just relax," Naru's calm voice cut through her panic and struggle, and she felt herself physically relax into her chair. "Just take a few breaths. Not like that - deep breaths."

Mai sucked in a breath and tried to hold it in to make it look like she was breathing deeply. Naru shook his head and she swore she thought the corners of his mouth twitch. She stared at his mouth, trying to get it to twitch again and maybe - just maybe - smile through sheer willpower. She didn't know she was breathing regularly again until he spoke.

"Mai, I'm flattered that you staring at me helps you calm down, but could we maybe get on with your dream?"

"What? I wasn't - You self-absorbed jerk!" Mai resisted the urge to pour her tea all over him. "For the record, you're hideous!"

Naru rolled his eyes. "Do you want to tell me now?"

"Well, we were at a party and-"

"We?"

Mai flushed. She hadn't meant to tell him. "Yes - I mean, you were there, too." She skipped the part where they had been dancing. "It was in this mansion, except it was really nicely decorated and stuff. Then I heard Gene calling for me and the entire scene changed. I think he was showing me what the mansion really was like because it became old and dirty. Who I thought was you was someone else. Then it went back to being all pretty again.

"We...went somewhere and Gene came after us and when he grabbed my arm, I saw the thing that was pretending to be you again. We hid and he told me the house was going to try to trick me. When I woke up I didn't know if it was you or not," she finished lamely.

Naru nodded. "We'll have to be careful from now on. It seems as if the spirit can invade people's sleep."

They sat there in silence for a while. Mai reflected on how nice Naru was when they were alone. He lost his icy voice and his face wasn't so hard. He was more inclined to answer her questions and explain things to her without all his sighing and insulting. It was almost as if he took off the ice prince mask he wore for everyone else and showed her a little of who he could be. Maybe if they were alone long enough, all of it would fall away and-

"Mai, you should get some sleep. I don't pay you to sleep on the job."

"Naru!"

A few hours later...

Mai woke up once more that night after a horrifying nightmare. She was lost and Masako was chasing her and she fell down a deep well, her bones shattering as she hit the bottom. She lay there in agony until Naru appeared at the top of the well.

"Me or Gene?" he asked, and when Mai couldn't move, couldn't open her mouth to tell him she had never loved her brother, he put the well cover on and Mai was left alone in the darkness.

When she awoke sweaty and gasping for breath, the first thing she saw was Naru, leaning against the wall opposite her, arms crossed over his chest, eyes vigilant, posture lazy. He was watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"Just a...nightmare," she whispered, answering his silent question.

Naru nodded. "Go back to sleep, Mai."

Mai drew in a shaky breath. "Naru?"

"Yes?"

Mai's heart pounded. She suddenly wanted to ask him. She wanted to confess again, despite the disaster of last time. She wanted to beg for a straight answer. She wanted to know.

But what came out of her mouth was different - for better or for worse.

"Thanks for saving me from Monk when he was possessed."

"It was nothing."

"Nothing?" Mai looked at him incredulously. "You fainted!"

"I can't have a dead assistant."

Mai smiled and pressed her face into her pillow so her boss wouldn't see how red it was. She knew what he meant. "We were all worried for you yesterday," she said, her voice muffled. "Ayako's angry for the same reason. It's called being concerned."

Naru grunted noncommittally. "Go back to sleep, Mai," he repeated.

Mai remembered what John had said about Naru's sleep habits. "You should too. Have you slept at all?"

"I'm watching for the spirit," said Naru, ignoring her question.

"I'll watch while you sleep."

Naru rolled his eyes. "You fall asleep during the day. How am I supposed to trust you to stay awake at night?"

"Naru-"

"Mai, I am about to threaten your paycheck."

Mai huffed and put the pillow over her head. "You are threatening your health."

"Mai…" Naru trailed off warningly.

"All right, all right. I'm going to sleep." When Naru set his eyes on the window, Mai watched him until her eyes became heavy and sleep overpowered her.

The next day...

"Mai, tea."

Mai sighed and trudged to the kitchen to make a fresh kettle. It had been a trying morning for them all, to say the least. Naru forced Ayako to make charm after charm in light of Mai's dream. Masako had walked in on Mai using the bathroom and they had gotten into a heated argument, after which John stuck a paper on the open bathroom door that read vacant on one side and occupied on the other, to flip as needed. Monk had burned a pancake and the air was so stuffy the open windows did nothing.

To say they were all miserable was an understatement.

Mai put the tray of cups on the table and took the first cup to Naru, who did not thank her. She was taking the second cup to Lin when - clumsy as she was - she tripped over Naru's chair and splashed tea in Lin's lap.

"Oh my gosh, Lin, I'm so sorry!" she cried. She looked around for the tissues she had found on his desk the day before.

Lin stood up, and he was angry, angrier than Mai could ever have imagined. "Sorry? It's too late to say sorry! My pants are soaked and my leg is scalded!" He had her wrist in one hand and he was squeezing it painfully. He shook it.

"How can you be so stupid?" Lin roared.

Lin never raised his voice.

Lin never grabbed or insulted anyone.

Lin never lost his temper.

Mai was so terrified from seeing all these firsts and being at the receiving end of this ugly side of Lin that her knees shook and her mouth trembled so hard she couldn't speak, she could only whimper under his glare.

What was wrong with him?

So guys. Maybe this isn't the best time to ask, but I have to ask. I want to upload an image for this story, but I'm not exactly sure about something. Fanfiction says not to upload an image that isn't mine or not copyrighted, so...what do I do? Can I upload some random image I find off Google or no? Anyone with the experience want to help me out please? Anything is appreciated!

And let me know how much you like the chapter! A lot? A little?

For next time: SOMEONE SAVE MAI! I know what happens and I'm still anxious! Good thing Naru sits right next to Lin...