A/N I listened to Fall Out Boy's song 'Thriller' around 97 times during the latter part of this chapter. The name of this chapter is a lyric of that song. All rights go to the owner. *Note* The lyric is not talking about what it gave me inspiration for, however, the lyric seemed to focus me on the part of the chapter that I applied it to.

I still don't own Ghost Hunt.

The outdoor air in downtown Shibuya was cold against Koujo Lin's exposed face as he walked inside the Shibuya International Airport. Madoka's flight from Britain had arrived some forty-five minutes before, sometime between Lin's nightmare and his confrontation with Naru. Lin figured that the pinkette would have several not-so-pleasant words to say to him, once he met up with her, due to the lateness of his arrival.

Refusing to allow thoughts of an angry Madoka to cloud his already muddled mind, Lin realized that he had avoided thinking about the dream that he had had while back at the office up until that point, when he could no longer push the thought down. He had saw his entire family dead, piled atop one another on the kitchen table of the house that had before, held many fond memories for the Onmyouji. Now, Lin could only bring himself to feel discontent towards the place. Though the location of the dream itself was not the worst part of the dream, nor the most emotionally scarring to the dark-haired man. First place in that regard went to the fact that the only member of Lin's family that had not been dead on that table, was none other than his only sister, whom was currently missing, Lifen Lin.

In the dream, which if Lin was being completely honest with himself- was actually more a nightmare, Lifen had appeared to him atop the pile of corpses that were their immediate family. She had proceeded to jump down from the mound of bodies, directly in front of her brother, and then stab him in the shoulder with a knife that he had not realized that she was holding.

Lin had awoken due to a voice yelling his name, and a sharp, uncomfortable, and repetitive jab in his shoulder, that felt strangely like the 'knife' had in his dream. In his shock from the chaos of his reverie, Lin had reflexively, due to his training in the martial art of Kyusho-Jitsu, nearly strangled Naru, who had been poking and speaking to him in an attempt to awake him from his seeming nightmare.

After a vaguely heated exchange of words, Lin had left the office to pick up Madoka from the airport, after Takigawa had alerted him to the fact that the pinkette's flight had arrived some thirty minutes before, during the Onmyodo and Naru's initial altercation.

Lin was waiting for Madoka now- standing in the passenger luggage line of the terminal where the pinkette's plane was supposed to have landed. She did not appear to have arrived within the premises yet. Lin guessed that she had went to the restroom, after deciding that leaving the area would be an alright move to make, seeing as at the time, her escort had failed to arrive in a timely fashion.

Realizing that he might have a moment to put his thoughts to ease, Lin considered calling his mother- after all, it was just a dream, right? His mother, brothers, and father still had to be alive and well. If not, someone would have contacted him by now. Weighing his options, Lin decided that easing his mind would be his best bet- driving with a clouded conscience was never a good idea.

Although the rational part of Lin's brain told him that he had nothing to be concerned about, that his family was okay, and he was just letting his emotions get the best of him, the black haired man's heart still beat furiously against his ribcage as he pulled out his gray phone. He pressed the power button on the side, then promptly brought up the contacts menu, and then finally clicked on the contact named 'mom'.

For the first three unanswered rings, Lin felt hopeful that his family was unharmed. Though as soon as the forth ring sounded, and his call remained unanswered, the Onmyouji felt his composure slipping away, as if being sucked down a high power drain. After the fifth ring, his mother's voice came on the line, and for that one instant, Lin felt his worries disappear. That was until he realized that he was hearing only his mother's voice-mail recording. She hadn't picked up her phone.

Lin coughed as he felt his throat becoming thick. His natural reaction to upsetting circumstances. Forcing himself to breath, Lin ran a hand through the thick fringe covering his right eye, in an effort to give himself something else to focus on.

The action jarred a near forgotten memory in Lin's mind. One that happened when he was no more than six years old. He had been worried about something long since resolved, and had come to his mother for comfort. She had given it to him, of course, though had still sensed her son's fear. He had been brushing his hand through the black lock of hair that had begun to grow over his blind right eye.

Since he was young, that had been his tell, so to speak. Whenever her middle son had begun to distractedly fiddle around with his hair, Lotus Lin had always known, without a doubt, that something was on his mind.

Lotus had grabbed Lin by the hand, pulling him closer to her, then locked him tightly in a motherly embrace. Shocked, Lin had began to cry into his mother's warm coat, with sensations of comfort and warmth eventually calming him down.

Lin hadn't realized that he'd closed his eyes until they popped open, and he was again standing in the airport terminal. 'Right, Madoka.' He remembered, glancing around his surroundings warily. Lin wasn't exactly sure of how much time had passed while he had been in his reverie, though it didn't seem like Madoka had showed up.

Just as the thought fled him, a force knocked into the Onmyouji's back, and he stumbled forward slightly. Reflexively, the dark-haired man began to slip into a Kyusho-Jitsu stance, instinctively preparing to defend himself from his unknown assailant. Lin's lean muscles were tense, and he felt his back stiffen with the fierce discipline of his martial arts training. He was well aware that he needed to be absolutely ready fight if this was the bastard who had taken his sister.

His adversary felt the change in his posture as well. Proof to that testament was given in the form of a high pitched, distinctly feminine squeal that suddenly sounded from directly behind Lin. The slightly startled man spun around, his hands still in front of his chest defensively. Accusing slate-gray eyes met a pair of soft, rose pink ones.

Lin registered who he was locking eyes with after a moment of silence. Registering that there was no immediate threat and relaxing would be the prudent action to take, he lowered his hands to his sides and finally, properly addressed Madoka.

"Ah, I apologize for my reaction- I must admit that you startled me slightly. Hello, Madoka," said the once again stoic Lin. Madoka relaxed as well- for a moment, she had thought for a moment that Lin would not realize who had bumped into him, and would injure her before it dawned on him who he'd attacked. Relief spread through the pinkette and she giggled slightly. Lin glanced at her in confusion, however he said nothing- most likely deciding that he really didn't need to know what she thought was so funny about their prior predicament.

Ceasing in her laughter, Madoka simply smiled at Lin. The dark haired man didn't return the gesture. He simply began to fiddle around with the buttons on his black dress jacket. Sighing at her failed attempt at being friendly to the deadly stoic man, Madoka finally replied back to her escort's earlier greeting.

"Its nice to see you, Lin. You look well- how long has it been? Six months, right?" The pinkette asked, counting forward from the month of Eugene's funeral. Lin blinked at the question, before beginning his own calculation.

"Something like that," he replied after a moment. Lin did not really wish to be reminded of the demise of the other Davis twin at a time like this, when the death of his own family could be looming. Fidgeting uncomfortably with the thought prominently in the front of his mind, Lin's mind wandered back to his previous attempt at calling his mother, how her voice-mail had given him so much hope- albeit temporarily, only then to have all hope crushed in an instant. The black-haired man uncontrollably flinched at the upsetting memory, and the ever perceptive Madoka took notice. The pinkette's brow furrowed slightly in concern.

"Lin, are you alright?" she asked quietly, "for a moment there, you looked like you were in some kind of pain," Madoka found herself reaching towards him with an outstretched hand. Seeing the action, Lin met her gaze. His gray eyes were cold, emotionless even. Seeing the dark expression in his stare, Madoka thought better of her well meaning intention of physically comforting him, and quickly lowered her hand. She had no idea that the look in Lin's eyes was not because of her- had no inclination of the horrible dreams that had been plaguing him, and now seemed to be carrying over into his waking life.

Stiffening and turning his head away from her, Lin answered, although the need to was now most likely redundant.

"I'm perfectly fine," he muttered, more to himself than to Madoka. He was of course, lying through his teeth, although he thought it best to keep up the appearance of having his emotions in check. He gritted his teeth together at the prevarication- a part of him, however miniscule it may have been, wanted to be truthful with Madoka. However, the larger, more dominant part of him did not want to admit his fears and worries to anyone, especially not to her. Not yet, and maybe not ever. "we should be getting back to SPR soon. We wouldn't want to cause everyone undue concern with a prolonged absence."

Not waiting for an answer, the tall, black-haired man turned around and began walking in the general direction of the exit to the crowded airport. Madoka trailed behind, for some reason feeling as though she had been slapped. She couldn't put her finger on what made her feel that way, however she guessed that it had to do with how Lin seemed to not trust her enough to tell her what was bothering him, even after all of these years. It didn't seem that the tall Onmyouji would ever forgive her for what had turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life. Not that she deserved to be forgiven, after all. She had more or less broken a younger Lin's heart, after feeling like he had rejected her. It had taken her years of maturing to realize that his 'rejection' had actually been him trying to be smart about the situation they had found themselves in. He'd been trying to protect her, not make her feel unloved.

She had been a fool- a young girl foolishly in love. Her misunderstanding of the past seemed to have cost her the love of her life. There hadn't been a day since the event that Madoka hadn't wished that she could go back to that day, with the understanding she had now, and tell Lin that she respected the decision he had made. But as she had heard so many times, you can't remake the past; you have to make the best of your future. The pink-haired woman hoped that there would be a day when she didn't have to regret her mistake, and could move on with the future. This memory was the only thing that her optimistic outlook on life could not faze- perhaps with time, that too would change.

"Madoka, you're coming to SPR with me, correct?" a deep voice asked out of the blue, jolting Madoka from her thoughts. It was Lin, who was now standing in front of the sliding doors that were the exit to the airport. The petite woman had stalled a few feet behind Lin, and hadn't moved in several seconds.

Realizing that Madoka was not paying enough attention to answer, Lin led the way to the car, and was just about to open the trunk when a startled gasp made him whip his head in Madoka's direction. The Pinkette had a look of horror on her face, one that made Lin's stomach turn uncomfortably.

"What is it?" he asked frantically, fearing the worst from her answer. However, what Madoka had to say almost was enough to make Lin lose his composure.

"I left my luggage inside!" Madoka said, her voice near hysterical. Lin sighed irritably, before lifting up the suitcase in his hand.

"I got it off the return while you were zoned out. You're holding your purse if you weren't aware- somehow, you managed to keep a hold on it and not allow it to get stolen on the way out," The stoic man replied, dropping the luggage into the back and slamming the hood back down. "get into the car- we really should be getting back." Lin added, getting into his side of the car for added emphasis.

Obeying obediently, Madoka got in as well. Lin turned the keys in the ignition, and the car roared to life. Neither spoke as Lin drove down the rode, and entered the crowed highway. Lin drove in silence, and Madoka was lost in thought.

Lin wanted to talk to her- to tell her that he was no longer angry with her for their past. He had wanted to tell her that every time he had seen her since that fateful day, but had never had the ability to do so. Whether it was cowardice or fear of not being forgiven, he had never had the mental strength to bring the matter up. Not that apologizing would make any difference in their relationship, but it would make Lin feel like he had done all he could to make amends, instead of him feeling like he had made a half-assed attempt.

Lin was about to say something that he had wanted to say for years, but was cut off by a forceful impact on his side of the vehicle. Another car had broadsided the front end of his car. It had been going about seventy-five mph. Lin was flung sideways, and despite the seat belt around him, the Onmyouji's head slammed into the window.

Lin's vision began to rapidly go black, and he realized in silent terror that he would be unable to even attempt to fight for control over the vehicle that was quickly spinning out of control. Lin was slipping faster into unconsciousness- he could no longer see the road, nor feel his body laying sideways in the seat. He had time for one final thought before the impenetrable darkness overwhelmed his senses completely. The thought was for Madoka's well-being, rather than his own. 'Please Madoka, don't die' he begged in his mind, before passing out.

The car continued to swerve in between the lanes, as other cars attempted to maneuver out of its range. With no guidance from a driver, the car ran into the metal road dividers forcefully. The vehicle flipped over the railing, and hit the ground, continuing to revolve across the asphalt several times, before coming to a harsh stop in the middle of the road. But the damage wasn't done yet. Another driver coming from the opposite direction had not realized that there was a vehicle in the middle of his lane. He drove straight into the already wrecked vehicle going at about sixty mph. Lin's car was rammed out of the road, and into the no parking lane.

Two bodies laid still among the remnants of broken glass.

…

…

Kazuya Shibuya paced irritably across his office floor. Lin and Madoka had yet to arrive, and as much as Naru hated to admit it, he was beginning to become worried for their sakes- too much had happened recently for concern not to arise over the whereabouts of too people who were considerably late. And it was unlike Lin to be late in the first place- he hated leaving Naru unguarded, after all, everyone had become more protective of him after the death of his brother. No one wanted to bury the other Davis twin.

Starting his tenth walk across his spacious office, Naru waited silently for the door to his office to open- waited for Lin and Madoka to be standing there, one with a stoic expression and the other with a goofy grin.

Five minutes later, Naru got his first wish; the door was flung open forcefully to admit an out of breath Takigawa, who held the cordless office phone in his hand. His expression told Naru everything he needed to know.

" . .Crash. Lin an- and Madoka ," The Monk said, nearly gasping for breath. Naru froze in his tracks, his already pale face draining of color.

"Where are they?" the researcher's voice was low, and he wondered if he had spoken loud enough for Honshou to hear him. Somehow, the monk did did hear the low question directed at him.

"Still at the accident scene- the EMT called to the scene was the same on who loaded Lin into the ambulance when he hurt his leg. He recognized him and managed to find out where he worked- he called as soon as he found us," he replied, regaining some of his lost breath.

"How bad is it?" Naru asked after a moment, not really wanting to know the answer, but feeling the need to ask nonetheless.

Monk flinched at the question. "I really don't know, Naru," Something in his tone told Naru that he was being lied to, but he didn't have the presence of mind to push the issue.

…

…

EMT's worked tirelessly to stabilize the two victims of the car crash. The man who had been pulled from the wreckage was bleeding from a large wound on his head- most likely from where he had hit it on the window. He had passed out from the force- and the EMT guessed that he had a severe concussion. The EMT working on Lin was a young male in his early thirties- he had been the same one who had stabilized Lin after he had broken his leg.

That injury was tame compared to what the EMT was seeing now; Lin obviously had been through the ringer. Knowing that he needed to remove Lin's jacket and shirt physically hurt the young medic. He knew that Lin was probably severely injured from head to toe- he didn't need to proof to believe that.

Unfastening the buttons of Lin's black coat, the medic removed the garment carefully and allowed it to stay sprawled out underneath the Onmyouji. The EMT's eyes instantly fell on the pools of blood that were forming on Lin's white dress shirt.

Steeling himself, the medic unfastened the shirt, and ran his hands over Lin's sides, feeling his ribs. He must have hit a particularly sensitive area, because Lin shot up from his position on the mat. The force must have aggravated all of his injuries, because the dark-haired man screamed in utter agony, and his feverish gray eyes met the EMT's worried blue ones.

The medic carefully attempted to coax Lin into laying back down, but the injured bodyguard would have nothing of it.

"Madoka," he slurred, blinking slightly in obvious confusion. Lin sank forward slightly as a sensation of vertigo swept over him; black dots swam before his eyes, and the sound of the ocean roared in his ears. He was vaguely aware that he was about to pass out again. "Madoka kee- keep her safe," Lin muttered, his eyes closing again, and his full weight tumbled forward into the EMT's waiting arms. The medic lowered the unconscious man back onto the mat.

It was obvious that Lin had several broken ribs, if not many other broken bones. He had also shown obvious signs of a concussion- slurred speech, disorientation, dizziness. The man would be on bed rest for weeks, no doubt about it. But the worst of it was that the medic had no idea of how bad off the woman, Madoka, was. He hoped for Lin's sake that she was alright.

….

….

Twenty minutes later, Lin had been loaded into one ambulance, and Madoka in another. Lin laid on the gurney, an IV stuck into his vein and a breath mask over his mouth. A heart monitor had also been attached to Lin. He had seemed to be stabilized. Until the ambulance had made its way halfway to the hospital, all had been silent, other than Lin's labored breathing under the breath mask.

But suddenly, a sharp gasp rang throughout the small ambulance back, and the heart monitor began to beep, as Lin's back arched against the gurney.

"What's going on with him?" one of the younger medics asked, spooked out of his wits.

"He's seizing, probably due the head injury he sustained when he hit it on the window," the senior medic replied, walking over to Lin and gently moving his head to the side, to allow any excess saliva of other fluids to escape from Lin's mouth and not choke him. "it should resolve itself in a moment," he added, seeing the whitening of the younger medic's face. "You had medical training, didn't you? Calm down and use it,"

The younger man nodded quietly. "I'm sorry, its just that this is the first time that I've seen this up close,"

The senior medic nodded, his hard eyes softening a bit. "I understand- but it'll get easier. Just try to calm down, kid. The seizure shouldn't affect the patient too much- probably will just aggravate a few of the existing injuries. It'll be over shortly," sure enough, three and half minutes later, Lin's body seized convulsing, and the Onmyouji laid flat on the gurney, his breathing labored.

That he hadn't woken up during the ordeal, was a miracle in itself- he would feel like hell when he awoke. There was no need for him to hasten into the pain.

Fifteen minutes later, Lin was unloaded from the ambulance and taken to the critical care unit. Several x-rays and stitches later, he was transported to a recovery room, and tucked into bed. It wasn't long after that Naru and the rest of the Irregulars arrived at the hospital, although only Naru was allowed to see Lin due to the one visitor policy in place at night.

The paranormal researcher stared at his unconscious bodyguard- Lin had gauze wrapped around his head. His left arm was in a sling; he'd dislocated his shoulder. Lin had several broken ribs on both sides, and quite a few pulled muscles in his back, as well as in his neck. He had sustained a severe concussion from the force of his head slamming into the window, which would most likely have many unpleasant side effects of its own.

Lin had more injuries that Naru did not care to recount in his head; he assumed that they would all surface sooner or later after the Onmyouji awoke. The doctor had also informed Naru that Madoka was not much better off, but was also stable. The raven-haired teen decided that he would check on her later. For now, he had allowed Mai to be the pinkette's one visitor.

Sighing in frustration after a moment of pacing, Naru remembered what it was that he needed to do; the hospital staff had not known who else to call about Lin's accident, so Naru had promised to take the task upon himself. He already knew who he was going to call. He grabbed Lin's phone that had been left on the bedside table, and cut it on. The screen had a small crack running through it, but otherwise, seemed to be alright.

Naru flicked through the speed dial, until he found the name that he needed. He held the phone up to his ear and walked towards the door, his back to the unconscious man in the bed. It took three rings before the person on the other line answered the call.

"Koujo," a pause ensued, and Naru thought that he could barely hear someone yawning on the other line; it appeared that the researcher had awoken Lukida from his sleep. "why the hell are you calling at this hour?" Noll sighed, for it had to be done.

"This is actually Kazuya Shibuya- I'm calling.. about Lin," he muttered. He was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath from the other end.

"What about him? What happened to Koujo?" Lukida asked, intense anger coloring his words. He already had one sibling to worry about; he sure as hell didn't need another.

"He was in a car wreck. He was pretty severely injured- several broken ribs, a concussion, and other injuries. The doctors say that he should make it, but I still thought that you'd like to know about his current condition," there was a long pause before Lukida regained his voice.

"Yes, thank you for calling. Draidyan, Nazuke, and I will be traveling to Japan to see him very soon. I believe our parents would like to stay home just in case there is some new development regarding Lifen. I'll see you soon, Mr. Shibuya," Lukida said, hanging up the call- Naru had heard the man's composure slipping through the cracks, and understood completely why he had gotten off the phone so quickly.

Sighing again, Naru situated himself in the guest chair by Lin's bed. He eventually curled up in the chair and fell asleep. At some point during the night, a nurse covered the young researcher with a sheet.

Kazuya Shibuya slept restlessly.

…

…

Three tall men boarded a plane along with the other passengers. It was a flight from Hong Kong to Shibuya Japan; a place that none of the three men were familiar with, but a place that they very urgently needed to go, nonetheless.

Koujo Lin, their brother- two of the men being older than Lin, and one being younger- had been in a car wreck. He wasn't at risk of dying as far as they had heard, but he would not be well when he awoke. The brothers knew that as soon as he was able, Lin was going to bombard them with questions whose answers they couldn't provide; they didn't know who took Lifen; they didn't know where she was likely to be; they didn't know if she was even still alive.

They didn't know anything about her disappearance, and it hurt like hell. They all only had the one sister, and she was missing, and there was nothing that the brothers could do about it. And now, after all of the emotional turmoil of the last few days, which if they were being completely honest, felt like an eternity, now they had been forced to tell their mother that one of her sons had been in a car crash, and none of them knew if he was truly alright or not.

The waiting only made it harder, and the three men had about four hours left of it before they could see their brother. The only thing that comforted them was the knowledge that their brother had not been killed in the crash, and that, even though it was a risk to his health, Draidyan had the power to heal injuries, at the expense of losing some of his own energy.

It was not the best, nor the most promising method, but it was an available option if Lin's condition took a sudden turn for the worst.

Without the knowledge that even if his health deteriorated, all hope was not lost for Lin, the brothers didn't know what they'd do. Most likely be damn near worked up enough to have nervous break-downs.

In silent unison, three brothers decided to sleep until they got to Shibuya; they would most likely be in for a long day when they got there, and it was best to go ahead and rest up.

…

…

~Five hours later~

Koujo Lin shifted restlessly against the white hospital sheets that he had been laid upon; the Onmyouji had yet to awaken from the drugs that had been injected into his system, however, the nurse who had been in charge of his care had assured the four people in Lin's room that it should not take much longer for him to regain consciousness.

The nurse had said that he would also feel quite ill a few minutes after waking up, due to the side effects of the concussion and drugs circulating through his blood stream.

The nurse had left them to their own devices after instructing them that if her help was needed, to not hesitate to call. Everyone in the room was worn out; Lin's three brothers from jet lag and Naru from sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital chair for several hours.

None of them had much patience; they were all worried about the injured man in the bed, and how bad off he would be once he awoke. Although it was scary, each was anxious for Lin to wake up, so they could have proof that he was not going to die.

Luckily, they did not have to wait long, for Lin stirred in the bed not twenty minutes later. Lin blinked his slate gray eyes open, and his gaze immediately fell on the visitors in his room. One of them he had expected to see, but the other three made him question whether or not he was dreaming. Nazuke was the first to be at his brother's side.

The rebellious youth had been panicking; that had been obvious to the others, but for Nazuke's sake, they had remained silent on the matter. But seeing him rush over to Lin made them wonder whether or not they should have given him some sort of comfort.

They didn't have time to ponder the question before Lin's groggy voice could be heard in the room.

"Nazie?" he asked uncertainly, addressing Nazuke with the nickname he had been given when the siblings were young.

Nazuke managed a half-smile. "Kou, its good to see you awake," the twenty-two year old said in response. Lin continued to stare at his younger brother, taking in Nazuke's 6'3 frame, familiar sapphire blue eyes, black hair and red hair styled in spiky layers. It was all familiar: Lin realized that he was definitely looking at his real brother, and not a copy. Or at least, he hoped that this wasn't the shape-shifter who had been causing him trouble.

"What are you three doing here?" Lin asked, including his two older brothers into the conversation. Upon being addressed, Draidyan and Lukida stepped forward, and smiled at their injured younger brother.

"We came to see you; Kazuya here called Lukida and told him that you were hurt. We flew here on a plane last night. We've been here for about an hour, waiting for you to wake up," Draidyan said, covering his mouth as he yawned. The oldest of the brothers was tired; incredibly so. He had only managed to sleep on the plane for about an hour, before turbulence and fear for his injured brother and missing sister engulfed him.

Nazuke and Lukida hadn't slept much better, though they had gotten slightly more sleep than Draidyan. The three were all worn thin, in both patience and energy. They would have to leave the hospital soon to get some rest, unless they all wanted to end up in the hospital along with Lin.

After a moment, Lin seemed to accept Draidyan's answer. "I see. That explains why you all look half dead on your feet. I'll assume that I can attribute you appearances to jet lag?" The Onmyouji asked, smiling slightly.

The smile remained on his face until a sudden, heart-wrenching thought made him cringe. "Madoka, she was in the car with me. Is she alright?" Lin asked, fear almost breaking his composure and leaking into his voice.

Naru, who had been standing next to the wall with his eyes closed, spoke for the first time since his bodyguard had awoken.

"Madoka was injured, though you have no reason to worry. The doctor says that she was injured nowhere near as badly as you were. I'm not sure if that last bit of information will offer you any sort of comfort, but its the truth," said the researcher seriously, "the doctor says that you can see her as soon as you both are feeling a bit more well," he added, guessing Lin's next question.

Lin relaxed against the mattress, suddenly feeling drained as another, painful thought crossed his mind.

"What about the driver of the other vehicle?"

Sapphire blue eyes narrowed angrily in Lin's question, and Nazuke's fist clenched at his side. However, his anger was not directed at Lin. "Which driver?" he asked, sarcasm venomously dripping from his words. Lin's gray eyes narrowed as well, though not in anger, but confusion.

"Excuse me?" Lin asked, shock adding an unintentional bite to his words. Nazuke blinked, seeming to come out of his infuriated reverie. The youngest of the brothers sighed, and ran a hand through his red and black streaked hair. Seeing that Nazuke did not want to be the bearer of bad new, Draidyan took it upon himself to give Lin the exposition that he was requesting.

"Lin, your vehicle was hit twice, by two separate automobiles. The driver of the first car, has yet to be found. The damaged vehicle was found abandoned a bit up the road, but the driver was nowhere to be seen. There were no trails of blood suggesting that the driver had escaped on foot. Quite frankly, its as though the driver simply vanished. As for the driver of the second car, he is in similar condition to Madoka, and should make a full recovery," Lin's oldest brother stated, leaning towards him and squeezing Lin's shoulder.

Lin was stiff as he did so- either in shock or pain, and Draidyan was forcefully reminded that his younger brother had just been in a potentially life-threatening car crash. He stared at Lin's face, however the Onmyouji seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "Lin, are you with me still?"

Lin blinked suddenly, before focusing on Draidyan's face. "I'm here, I simply had several questions going through my mind at once,"

Draidyan understood completely; Lin had nearly lost his life, and was now finding out that the driver who had originally caused his accident, had disappeared without a trace. He was bound to have many questions that he was not asking for answers to.

"Care to ask us the questions on your mind? We might know the answers," Lukida said gently, deciding for the first time in awhile to join the conversation.

Lin shook his head, causing a sensation of vertigo to come over him. He closed his eyes in attempt to cause the feeling of dizziness to abate. Despite how he felt, Lin decided to continue the conversation, if for no other reason than to preserve his sanity; the questions in his head needed answers, before they became overwhelming to him.

"Most of the questions in my head are ones that I only I can truthfully answer. I have a hypothesis as to who caused the wreck, though I need opinions on the matter before I come to a definite conclusion," Lin admitted. He would have said more, however, he could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness once again; the drugs that he had been given for more than potent enough to keep the Onmyouji laying down for a good while.

"What is your hypothesis?" Draidyan asked after a moment, as Lin had not said anything else after his previous announcement. Lin managed to open his eyes and lift his head up, making eye contact with Draidyan for a moment before re-closing his eyes.

"I'll tell you later; drugs are kicking in- I'm about to go out again." As Lin said that, he could feel his head rolling to the side as his muscles relaxed. The last thing that he heard before fading out was the sound of the door to his room closing.

…

…

Lin awoke surrounded by complete darkness. The scent of sterilization encompassed his senses. It took a moment for his memories to return to him, though once they did, he only had one thought on his mind; the desire to fill his need to see Madoka.

The doctor had told Naru that he would be allowed to see he when both of them were healthier, though the Onmyodo didn't want to wait that long. He felt the need to see the pink-haired lady, if not for only a moment, to prove that she was alive.

Resigning himself to the task at hand, Lin reached to his right in the darkness of the room, his hand groping for the switch to the lamp that should have been on the bedside table. Lin found the switch after a moment, and the light flickered on, illuminating the tidy white-walled hospital room.

Lin removed the blanket from his torso using his good arm, then gingerly pulled his long legs out. He was wearing a hospital gown. The stoic man wanted to shake his head in disapproval, though refrained from it; the concussion made it difficult to move his head very much without making himself feel dizzy and sick.

Sighing in pain and frustration, Lin managed to pull himself off the bed, and rise to his full height. Pain burst behind his eyelids as pressure in his head threatened to overwhelm him. Lin breathed harshly for several seconds before the pain alleviated enough for him to gently lift his head up.

It was not until a moment later that Lin remembered the monitors hooked via wires to his veins. If he pulled them out, an alarm would go off, and most likely alert the on-call doctor, and wake up all of the other resting patients in the process. Lin couldn't risk detection if he wanted to see Madoka unhindered.

Weighing his options, Lin decided to call Draidyan. He knew his oldest brother well enough that he was certain that even if Lukida, Nazuke, and Naru, and the Irregulars had gone back to SPR to rest, Draidyan would have stayed. He was most likely in the waiting room, waiting for visiting hours to start again.

Lin reached behind his back for his cellphone laid on the bedside table. He grabbed it, and flicked through his contacts until he came to the one he needed. It rang only twice before Draidyan answered.

"Koujo?" Draidyan's groggy sounding voice came through the line, uncertainty seemingly coloring the thirty year old's words. "why are you calling this late? Are you alright?"

Lin sighed deeply. "I'm fine, though I have a preposition,"

Draidyan was silent on the other line for a few moments, before answering. "May I take an educated guess as to what that preposition entails?"

"I'm not stopping you,"

"No, I guess you aren't. But you want me to help you see her, don't you?" Draidyan asked, a knowing tone replacing the underlying tired one.

Lin stiffened slightly as the truth was thrown into his face. He had always known that Draidyan was smart, and kept a watchful eye on his younger siblings, however Lin had 'grown up' many years before. He had assumed that he and Lukida were out of the stage where Draidyan felt the need to watch them like a hawk.

Apparently, he had been very wrong, and there was no hiding the truth of the matter from his oldest brother any longer. "Yes, I do want to see her. I just have to see for myself that she is alright,"

Draidyan didn't respond to Lin's honest answer for awhile- long enough that Lin began to wonder if Draidyan had hung up without his knowledge. Just as Lin was about to say something, Draidyan spoke up.

"I'll do my best to help you get out of the room, but you should realize that you're connected a monitor- I'm not sure if its mobile,"

Lin glanced at the monitor in front of him; it appeared that if it was unplugged from the wall, that the machine could be transported out of the room. "It appears as if they are, though I'm not positive,"

A second lapsed.

"Alright, I'm on my way. Should be there in three to five minutes," a beep sounded as Draidyan disconnected the call.

Moments passed and the door to Lin's room was gently opened. A disgruntled Draidyan stood in the doorway, his black hair in disarray, and his black leather jacket wrinkled. He didn't hesitate as he carefully closed the heavy metal door, then walked over to Lin. It was in this moment that Lin realized that he was holding two articles of clothing.

"Figured you'd want to be slightly more.. covered then they have you now," he said, smirking as he took in Lin's hospital gown. Irritated, Lin grabbed the pants and undergarment from his brother's grasp, and dressed himself.

When he was finished, Draidyan stared at him, as if he was trying to see the inner workings of Lin's body. "How do you feel?" he settled on asking.

Lin blinked at the question. "I feel fine," he answered, gritting his teeth about the lie. However, Draidyan was no fool.

"And how do you honestly feel?"

"Like hell," Lin answered truthfully, "I'm both mentally and physically drained; I have something after me and I have no idea what it is, but I know that there's a damn high chance that its what took Lifen,"

Draidyan sighed warily. "I know what is physically draining you, but I only know parts of what is affecting you mentally. Care to enlighten me?"

"Dreams," Lin answered simply. "I've been having terrible dreams about Lifen. In the last one, it appeared as though she had killed the rest of you, and then stabbed me, although that last part might have been influenced by an outside force," seeing Draidyan's questioning look, Lin laughed humorlessly. "Naru was jabbing me in the shoulder, trying to wake me up. My Kyusho-Jitsu kicked in, and I responded by nearly strangling him to death,"

Draidyan stared at his brother, his face frozen between amusement and horror. "You make a living in part as a bodyguard, yet you nearly kill the one you're assigned to guard? Anti climatic, wouldn't you say, dear brother?"

Lin stiffened. Sarcasm. He was definitely hearing sarcasm in his brother's voice, and it made him angry. Lin did not allow his anger to seep into his voice.

"This is a serious situation, in my opinion. It amazes me how you still have the audacity to speak so sarcastically about our predicament," Lin realized that he hadn't sounded angry- but severely condescending.

Draidyan, despite the harsh words directed at him, simply smiled, and his silver-gray eyes twinkled from behind his glasses, even in the dimness of the room. "Audacity, eh? What if I told you that I wasn't being audacious at all, but trying to use humor to diffuse the tension?"

The look in Lin's eyes told Draidyan that he had no intention of solving the riddle of what Draidyan was trying to say. Draidyan removed his glasses from his face, and preoccupied himself for a moment by cleaning them on his black shirt, then returned them to their previous position. "What I mean is that after the dreams that you've been having, and the general worry for Lifen and your own safety, as well as those around you, I highly doubt that you have been able to relax much lately. You're tense with fear, yet your too damn stoic to show it,"

Lin stared at Draidyan, before cutting his gaze to the floor. 'How can he always read me so well? How does he know exactly what I'm thinking?' Lin thought to himself, seeking an answer to questions that after twenty plus years, Lin had still not gotten any closer to figuring out.

Draidyan smirked again. "I'm not the mind-reader in the family- you know all too well that Nazuke can read minds when he applies himself. I simply have a great sense of intuition; I've known you since we were children, Koujo. I understand the basic principles of how your mind works,"

"I realize that, though sometimes I wish you weren't quite so accurate," Lin replied, meeting his brother's gaze again. "You make me see the truths that I'd often rather avoid." Draidyan smiled- genuinely this time.

"I'll take that as a compliment." a pause ensued, then, "you still haven't told me your hypothesis from earlier,"

Lin nodded. "I realize that; I'm not saying anything until I can have a meeting with everyone involved- the other members of the research team included,"

Draidyan shook his head in aggravation, but didn't complain. Instead he turned his attention to the machine Lin was hooked up to. "If you pulled the wire out, an alarm would go off and alert the doctor, and I assume that you don't want that. I believe that I can unplug it from the power outlet without setting of an alarm, because it should be equipped with a backup battery," Draidyan didn't wait for Lin's approval, instead he went straight to the outlet and unplugged the cord. No alarm sounded, and Lin sighed audibly in relief.

"Thank you, Draidyan,"

"Not a problem, Koujo. I wrapped the cord around the machine, so it shouldn't drag. You're good to go,"

Lin was about to leave, before he decided to show a rare moment of affection towards his oldest brother. He turned towards the older man and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Draidyan responded by squeezing Lin's good shoulder gently.

"I'm admittedly, a tad afraid of hugging you right now. I'd rather not have you writhing on the floor in agony," Draidyan chuckled lightheartedly, and Lin found himself smiling slightly before grabbing hold of the machine that he was connected to, and leaving the room.

Once in the darkened hallway, Lin walked past each door, reading the name-tags of the patients inside until he found the one labeled 'Mori, Madoka'. Breathing deeply, the dark-haired man pushed the door open, stepped inside, and carefully shut the door.

He turned towards the bed, and saw what he had been looking for. Madoka laid in the bed, pink hair pushed behind her, and covers pulled up to her chin. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

Lin couldn't help but feel disappointed; he had been hoping to hear her speak for further proof that she was alive, however, he did not wish to wake her up.

Not sure of exactly what else to do, Lin walked next the bed, and stared at the pinkette's sleeping face. She was as beautiful. In fact, she was so beautiful that Lin found his hand caressing her face gently as she slept. Sh was still as beautiful as she had been when she was seventeen, when her and Lin's relationship had been ended.

Lin rubbed careful circles into her face, not really understanding what he was doing. Seconds passed before he glanced at Madoka's face again. Only this time, a pair of pink eyes stared up at him.

Lin stumbled backwards in shock; so Madoka hadn't been sleeping. He was a fool- a damn fool for not making certain. What had he been doing, anyway?

Madoka appeared startled, yet she reached for the stunned Onmyouji's wrist, grasping it in an iron-clad grip. Lin attempted to turn around and leave the room, however, with Madoka pulling his arm and him being fairly far away from the monitor he was hooked to, Lin felt the resistance, and allowed himself to be pulled forward. He assumed that he'd be able to catch himself before coming closer to Madoka, but he was wrong.

Lin landed above Madoka, his good arm beside her head. The impact jarred his injured shoulder, and he winced, but didn't cry out in pain. Instead, he took in his suggestive position above Madoka.

Madoka noticed it to, though instead of pushing him away, she reached up and began brushing Lin's hair from his blind eye. The half-blind man stiffened, and was about to pull away, until he felt lips against his own.

Madoka was kissing him, and took only a moment for him to realize that he was kissing her back. Hidden, painful memories assaulted Lin, and he fought to force them back into his subconscious to where they belonged, but to no avail.

The memories just kept coming- images of one of the defining moments of Lin's life. He couldn't deal with it. Not then, and maybe not ever. It was just too damn much.

"What the hell are you doing?" an infuriated voice yelled, and Lin cringed, because he realized that it was his own. He had broken the kiss, and cried out. He was angry, furious even. Madoka had kissed him after what she had done in the past.

It wasn't right- she didn't have the right. Who was she to confuse his head so much? He didn't know what he wanted to. He had thought that he'd gotten over the past. It had been a hit and miss, and he hadn't been able to do anything about it.

But after being kissed by Madoka again, Lin was no longer sure about anything. He became vaguely aware that Madoka was speaking to him, with tears in her eyes, but Lin couldn't bring himself to care.

He grabbed the machine hooked to his arm, and fled the confines of Madoka's room, not even bothering to make sure that the door didn't slam shut.

He'd had enough shock for one day.

A/N Everything that happens in this fic will have a purpose eventually; Lin's headaches from Chapter 1 will eventually be explained, as will the past that Lin and Madoka are not yet revealing, and Lin's relationship with his dad. Once again, most of the information about Lin in my fic is my own head-canons, and should *not* be taken as anything more outside of this fic. However, their purposes in my fic are to flesh out Lin's character more, with a backstory that shows why he acts the way he does. I might start NaNoWriMo with this fic along with one of my close friends. I'm not sure yet, but chapters might start coming more frequently.

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