AN: I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter it just dawned on me that I forgot to mention that Madoka left after the first day on the case which would be day two in the longer, because of the long wait.

Disclaimers: I don't own Ghost Hunt wish I did. But I don't. I own Shina, Aya, and Aya's shiki.

Never What it Seems:

Day 3

I don't quite know where I am usually when I appear in the dream plane I can tell where I am immediately, but this time things are blurry. I don't like it this time. I look around in a panic before I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. Looking back I see that Gene has come. Its odd calling him Gene, after all I have called him Naru for so long. I soon found out soon after Naru left for England that the man in my dreams was not the man I knew in everyday life. I thought that after Naru had given Gene his final resting place that he would move on yet he didn't. I discovered that on one of our past cases after Naru returned.
"Gene, what is going on here?" I asked him as he looked through the fog around us.

"It's dangerous here Mai. You have to tell Naru to be on his guard. The spirits are angry here and its clouding everything." Taking her hand Gene lead her through the fog and to what appeared a room. Standing right outside the room he pointed to the window where a fox glared in. Laying on the bed opposite of the fox's glare was Mrs. Dachi. Mai watched as she spasmed in pain before a dark veil covered her as she laid still.

"This is what happens Mai. You must get protective charms for all." Gene said as he held her shoulders. "Now wake up Mai."

~End of Dream~

Without realizing it Mai was pulled out of her dream. She lay in bed for several minutes before someone started pounding on the door. She sat up in bed as she heard the pounding continue throughout the hall. Mai and the others rushed into the hallway where the men along with Aya and Shina were gathering. They all stared at what appeared to be writing on the walls. 'You can't save her. She is ours.' Was written in what appeared to be blood over the walls.

Suddenly there was a commotion further down the hall. Aya looked down at Shina who clung to her side. As she looked down at her Shina visibly relaxed. Shina was not use to seeing things like she had in the past twenty four hours. Lin and Naru moved away from the group to see what the commotion was about while Naru told everyone to stay where they were until they could assess the situation.

"What is going on?" Mai questioned as she peered around Monk. She could see Mr. Dachi ranting and pointing to the door behind him. She thought it odd that he was out there without his wife. She looked up as she saw Shina move away from Aya. That was when she noticed Aya's eyes flicker in the light.

"His wife is ill and does not know why." Aya whispered as she held her hand out her shiki wrapping around her arm. Looking down at Shina Aya noticed that her hands were clenched at her side. Without another word Aya turned and headed into the base. The sun had already risen and she was in no mood to deal with melodrama which she was sure would occur. Leaning back in a chair she crossed her legs and sipped her herbal tea while she flipped through her notebook. She smiled softly as Shina returned with the others with her school work in hand. It was the only concession that Aya would give her. If she was to come on this trip she would be doing her class work that she missed. Usually Shina would stay with a friend until Aya returned. Sitting at the coffee table she opened one of her many textbooks and began to work. As Aya looked away she caught Lin's eyes. Eyes saying that there would be a talk later. Rolling her eyes Aya looked back at her notes. If it was her she would prefer to not go through that again. She could only take so much.

"The Paramedics have been called for Mrs. Dachi, but from what was said she slipped into the same thing that others have. She will most likely be transported to a local hospital and monitored." Naru said as he looked at the bedraggled group. "Did you all just roll out of the bed?" He asked in reference to their attire. The only ones that were dressed appropriately for the day were him and Lin and Aya and Shina.

"Naru… will she be alright? She seemed like a good person." Mai questioned softly. Naru remained silent. For once he was not sure about what was going on. There seemed to be too much activity in a mere twenty four hours.

"She should be fine Mai. There was a dark aura around her that I have seen before. Most of the time I see it around trees that have been polluted by an evil force. Once the pollutant was taken away the trees became healthy again. If we take that into account as long as we solve this case those who have fallen ill will recover." Aya stated simply as she flipped another page of her note book. Leaning over she picked up a pencil from Shina and made a note in the book. Looking up she saw that the others were looking at her. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just how can you see that when Masako was not effected at all." Ayako answered. Aya smiled slightly as she held her hand out and a white dragon like creature uncoiled around her arm. For once it was visible to all.

"This is one of my shiki this would be Kū, which is the element of Void. Void means that when properly attuned to this shiki I am able to sense my surroundings and act without thinking. Kū allows me to know what is going on around me." She said as she used her nail to gently scratch the underside of the dragon's chin. Lin turned slightly from his laptop to see her actions and a slight smile graced his features.

"Wow, that's amazing and it's so cute!" Mai examined as she moved close to Aya and gazed at the creature. Said creature continued to stare at her. The rest of the groups stared in awe at Aya except for the three that were familiar with shiki already. With a flip of her hair Ayako recovered first from the shock and scoffed.

"Honestly it looks like a worthless snake." She said as she examined her nails. Kū rose up off Aya's hand shrinking back with a hiss. Even Aya turned her attention to the miko.

"For future reference Miko I would advise you to not speak ill of those that will save your life." Aya said as she closed her violet eyes and uncrossed her legs. She stood as the shiki on her hand disappeared from the view of the others. Placing the notebook on the desk on the opposite side of the room from the others she walked out the door with Shina following her.

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Aya fumed silently as she walked out of the base and down the hall. She had to get away from those people. It was people like them that reminded her why she loved living at the temple. At least there she did not have to deal with others egos and pride. Shina followed silently behind her yet, Aya didn't care.

"I can't believe that woman. How dare she insult Kū, when he could very well save her life?" Aya shouted as she walked out of the resort and towards one of the many garden lakes. She hoped that by getting out of the resort and into the natural elements she would be able to calm down. Sighing she sat down on a flat boulder and looked out over the water. "Shina go on back inside I just need some time by myself. It's safer for you inside then with me now." Aya said not looking away from the water. Shina nodded even though she knew Aya could not see it. She knew that Aya needed time turning she ran back to the resort returning to the others.

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Ayako huffed as she took a seat on the couch. The room was quiet after Aya had left. She couldn't understand why the woman had such a problem with her comment. After all it did look like a snake. No one noticed how Lin looked out the window in time to see Aya running out into the gardens. Closing his grey eyes he turned back to his computer and began his work. He couldn't help but wonder what Aya was feeling.

"I don't see what her problem is. It did look like a snake." Ayako said after a while the silence was getting to her.

"I don't really think that is the problem Ayako. If it's anything like Lin's that shiki is close to her." Takigawa said as he rubbed his chin.

"It's not like mine." Lin said as he typed away never looking up.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Takigawa asked. Shina walked in at that moment and heard what had been said.

"Aya's shiki have been with her since birth. While most shiki do not have their own personalities others do. It depends on what class you capture. I don't know what Koujo-san's are, but Aya's are earth guardians, which are high class spirits that have their own feelings and personalities. It's not that she is close to them, it's that she knows their abilities and what they can do." Shina said softly as she sat back down on the floor next the seat that Aya occupied earlier. Mai sent a glare to Ayako which she ignored. "I would advise you to not irritate her. Aya is not a morning person and has trouble socializing with others. Oh, Mai could you hand me that book at your side?" Shina asked politely.

"You seem to know a lot about this type of things. How long have you been with Aya?" John asked looking down a Shina.

"I have known Aya a little less than a year after...I mean I have known her since she took me away from my parents about eight months ago." Shina said as she work on her school work. She prayed that everyone ignored her slip, but as she cast a look to the head of SPR she took note that he heard and judging from the tense posture of Lin, he had heard as well.

"Whoa, why did she take you?" Questioned Takigawa as he leaned over the edge of the couch that Ayako was sitting on earning him a glare from said priestess.

"It's not that my parents were bad parents or anything, it's just one day I saw her walking down the street and I made a comment to my parents about the shiki around her. Well my parents had a problem with me discussing my "gift" in public or around them in general and made it known. Aya had stopped when she heard my comment. She gave my parents her number and told them that my "gifts" were just that gifts and that they should not be disgusted with them.

A few weeks passed and things started to get worse. I was seeing the spirits in our home and my parents couldn't stand it. I begged them to call Aya, but they refused. So one day I went through their belongings and found her number discarded like it was worthless. I went to my room after that and locked myself in while I called her. Aya was surprised to hear from me, but I explained that things had gotten worse and that my parents had become almost violent towards me. I informed her that my home was haunted and that I was scared. I could hear her running and the next thing I knew she was asking for my address. I gave it to her not really caring why she would need it. She stayed on the phone with me the entire time. She told me after a while to go downstairs and to open the door. When I did what she said I saw her running up the steps. I was shocked she had actually cared about what was going on. My parents came out when they heard her talking to me in the entry way and they began fighting with her. She told them to more or less screw off. I had run up stairs to grab a bag of clothes and things like she told me to and when I came back down I saw my parents sitting there stunned. Aya turned to me and smiled saying that the house was clean now and that my parents had "kindly" given her care of me and with that we left. She was staying at a temple at that time and quickly started looking for an apartment for us. Once she had one we moved in and I found all my stuff in a room. She must have gone back as some point and gathered my belongings." Shina said softly as she retold the story. Everyone in the room was listening including Lin who had turned away from his computer to watch the girl. "She told me later on that while she had taken an interest in my safety so had a well known psychic researcher in England. She had contacted Dr. Martin Davis about what she should do concerning me and he told her that if given the chance protect me at all chance. "

"Alright if that is enough storytelling lets actually do what we came here for." Naru said stiffly as he turned his back to the group looking over at one of the monitors. "Takigawa and Ms. Matauzaki take the resort grounds check them for anything unusual. John take Ms. Hara and walk through the resort. Ms. Hara report if you feel anything. And Mai..."

"Yes, boss" Mai said standing up.

"Tea"

Mai sighed as she drug herself to the kitchen area while everyone else went their separate ways. She couldn't believe Naru All she ever did was make tea! That or check temperatures. Which meant again she would be stuck in a quiet room bored. Suddenly she brightened up. Wait a minute Shina is here now and I am sure Aya will be back soon and neither of them seem stuffy like Lin and Naru. Naru watched as Mai's moods went back and forth between depressed and happy. Mai however didn't seem to notice. It will be great to not be the only girl in the room. But, I know Aya and Lin's secret. This is going to be soo hard. Placing four cups on a tray she poured the tea and brought it out to everyone setting a cup in front of Naru she smiled."There you go, boss." She said before moving to sit by Shina.

Mai sat at Shina's side as the girl looked over her textbook. She rested her elbow on the coffee table and leaned her head on her hand. She hated being stuck in base it was always so stuffy and boring. Usually Lin and Naru were discussing the case or going over video footage only calling on Mai when tea needed to be made. Shina turned her head and looked at Mai who sighed for the fifth time.
"You seem bored, Mai." Shina said softly.

"Oh, no no no, I am not that bored. I mean I am use to this. Usually though I am getting temperature readings and what now. What about you, Shina? You still seem calm with all that is going on."

"It may seem like I am calm but I am actually pretty nervous. I have only been on one other case with Aya and that one was just a simple cleansing. I have never been attacked by a spirit before, but I know Aya will make sure I am alright. Even when she was away on cases she always left at least one of her shiki with me." Shina commented absently as she leaned against the chair.

"Wait she leaves a shiki with you, according to Lin that can leave her defenseless. We had this one case before where Naru was possessed and Lin left his shiki with him. He told us that it would leave him defenseless. But I guess that it wouldn't leave her totally defenseless if she only left one." Mai said as she tapped her chin. Neither of them noticed that the two men in the room were paying attention to what was being said.

"Yep, that is about it Aya said it wouldn't leave her defenseless which is a good thing because she was sick for a while. She usually leaves one of the others with me and not Kū. Kū is always at her side." She turned her head to the door as the door slid open and Aya stepped into the room. She appeared paler than normal. "Hi Aya, are you ok?"

Aya walked over to her laptop and booted it up. With a sigh she took a seat and turned to the two younger girls. Her eyes drifted to Lin and Naru slightly and saw them watching them. "Yes, Shina I am fine. My nerves and emotions are just on edge. It's probably from lack of sleep I will be fine."

"Would you like your tea?" Shina asked with a tilt of her head. At Aya's nod she stood and went to prepare the tea. She smiled softly as Mai stood at her side preparing Naru's tea as well. "You must be use to making tea, Mai-chan. He calls for it every hour it seems like." She smiled softly as Mai laughed.

"Yep, that is pretty much it. Most of the time I gather information and make tea. That and dream." Mai commented softly.

"Dream? Like precognitive dreams?" Shina asked paused in her actions.

"Um, yep I think that is what Monk calls it. I don't really like it because some of them can leave me afraid. I was killed in one of my dreams."

"I am sorry, Mai-chan. No one should be forced to experience death. Death is never a good thing and it is something that Aya has suffered many times."

"Wait, you mean Aya has precognitive dreams?"

"No no, forgive me. Aya is not that lucky. No she has always had death follow her. Her parents, her master, and…" Shina shook her head clearing it as the kettle whistled. "Oh, look tea is ready." She said softly as she poured the pale amber liquid into a tea cup for Aya. Mai on the other hand poured four cups full of the dark amber liquid. Mai had already figured out that Aya's tea was a mixture of herbs that acted as somekind of medicine. She wondered silently what Aya was suffering from.

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Soon the others returned from their assigned duties. Ayako and Monk were yelling at each other as usual apparently Monk had insulted her again. John and Masako just sat quietly on the couch. Once Ayako had beat Monk to a degree that she thought sufficient for his insult she grew silently as she noticed Aya sitting at a laptop viewing data. While everyone gave an account to what they saw, which was nothing, Ayako stood and walked over to Aya. Stopping at Aya's side she cleared her throat and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Look, I didn't mean to insult you or your creature. We need to put this behind us and work together on this case."

Aya turned slowly in her chair and looked up at the miko. She was not feeling well and did not want to deal with anymore drama. "Agreed, now if you will forgive me I need to finish reviewing the footage that Koujo-san has given me."

Ayako nodded and turned back to the others, but turned back to Aya as she heard a deep cough come from the woman. Aya stood slowly and turned to the others. "Forgive me, but I am not use to reviewing video. It has given me a small headache. I will be at one of the springs if needed." Aya said as she walked slowly out of the room. Shina looked up as Aya was walking out. Something wasn't right Aya seemed weaker than usual. There was the sound of a chair being pushed back that caught everyone's attention. Lin was standing in front of his work looking at the door.

"I will be back." He said as he left the room.

"Geeze, I wonder what that is about. I have never seen Lin care about anyone other than Naru." Monk said. The other's nodded in agreement.

"You have to remember, though that Lin and Aya have worked together before in the past. He probably is just concerned about her in a co-worker sense. I mean they are very distant with one another." John said providing the others with another view point. They had to agree that John's theory made sense. They had been very distant. Mai looked to Naru who was looking at the door. They were the only ones that knew the truth. Feeling eyes on him Naru looked to Mai, his expression somber as he shook his head. Mai sighed softly. This was going to be a hard secret to keep.

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"Aya!" Lin shouted as he ran after the woman in the halls. "Aya, stop!" What was wrong with her? Something was wrong, Aya was usually a lot calmer then she has been the last couple of days. Aya had often been compared to him. It was one reason why he had been able to get along with her with no issues. She was able to stand the silence that he often shrouded himself in, but the one thing that Lin had appreciated more than anything was that Aya herself. He had never seen a woman that could harness the amount of power that she did. Aya was equal to Lin if not more so. Even her shiki alone were amazing. He looked forward to how the other would react to those five. Reaching out he grabbed Aya's arm and pulled. He wasn't expecting her to fall against him, but he held her to him anyhow. He had never seen her this fragile. "Aya, what is going on? You have been avoiding me all day." He tightened his hold on her as she started to struggle. "Aya, stop and talk to me."

"There is nothing to talk about." She whispered softly.

"That's a lie Aya now start explaining" He barked out, she tensed in his arm making him regret that he snapped at her.

"I am just tired Lin." She said as she tried to push against his chest again.

"What else, Aya? I have wanted to talk to you yet you ignore me why?"

"Why should we talk? It's not like it would change anything. What has happened happened and there is no going back. We have to move on. It was the built up adrenaline that caused it that is the only thing I can think of. "Aya said as she began to shake the memories of that day flashing before her eyes.

~Aya stood at Lin's side as the priest was thrown back from the demon in front of them. Those that had hired them were idiots Aya and Lin could have handle this on their own, but no they had to go and bring in a defenseless priest. Aya put her hands together and began the chant to invoke the gods of the four corners. Her five shiki were out and surrounded her. They would never let their mistress fall. A sharp whistle sounded to the side of her and she knew that Lin had invoked his shiki as well. This was going to be a great ending. Working together their shiki surrounded the demon binding it. Lin stood at Aya's side ready to take over if she was weakened. Small demons began to spawn from the larger one and Aya was not capable of defeating those. She had to continue to concentrate on the spell that she was invoking to destroy the demon.
"Rin Pyo To Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zai Gyo"

She did not have to turn to know that Lin was the one doing the chanting. He was the only one that would know the chant. The priest, well needless to say he was unconscious which left Lin and Aya to defend him. Aya opened her eyes as she said the last words of her chant a bright fire engulfed the demon. Her shiki jumped back away from it and to her side while Lin's returned to him. As the bright light faded away, Aya breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that the demon had been destroyed. She smiled slightly as she felt Lin's hand on her shoulder. Their shiki dispeared as the owners of the home entered. Both of them were weak from the use of power and needed time to rest. After, accepting the owners thanks they both turned to return to their rooms. Aya turned to Lin to thank him for his help back there when she felt his lips pressed to her's. Her eyes widened in surprises as she was pressed against the wall, but she honestly did not care. She had always found Lin attractive. (AN: Slightly suggestive material ahead)

Lin ran his fingers through her long white blonde hair freeing it from its tie. He could not figure out what was wrong with him, but he had to touch her. He had to remember that he was alive and that it was thanks to this woman that he was. The rest was a blur of tangled sheets and limbs and whispered words of endearments. Near midnight a cell phone ringing cut through Lin's sleep. He rose up in bed and looked down stunned to find Aya laying at his side the sheet up to her chin as she slept in peace. He looked around the room and its state of disarray with clothes everywhere. It had not been a dream as he had thought it was when he awoke. No it had been reality. The ringing of the cell phone continued and he reached over and picked it up off the night stand. He had obliviously been in some state of awareness if he had remembered to take it out of his pocket and place it on the night stand. Looking at the screen he saw that it read "Noll." Flipping the phone open he spoke softly into the device. His brows furrowed as he heard his ward tell him that they were returning to Japan in the next day and that he needed to get back to England now. Flipping the phone closed he pinched the bridge of his nose. This was a mess. Standing he dressed and walked to the side of the room and wrote a quick message to Aya thanking her for everything and that he would contact her soon.

Aya woke the next morning to find Lin gone. She sat there in shock. Dressing she went downstairs and was told that he had left that night. Crushed she returned to her room the note that Lin wrote to her falling from the table and between the wall and chair. Aya never got the note and Lin never called. ~

"Aya I didn't leave without word. Naru called wanting to return to Japan, but I left you a note. So, I don't understand this hostility." Lin spoke softly. His voice was still devoid of most emotions, but it was easy to tell that he cared. Aya pushed against him looking up at him.

"You left a note?" She asked confused.

"Yes, I left a note on the table by the door. Did you not get it?" He asked looking down at her with his dark grey eyes. She shook her head and his confusion disappeared. This is why she was so angry, because she thought he had just disappeared. He had promised in the note to call her, which he didn't so technically he would have made a mistake anyways, but at least now he knew where most of the hostility came from. Yet, he could not shake her words that there were always consequences. That was a lesson an onmyouji was taught at a young age. To keep the balance of yin and yang there were always consequences concerning actions, whether they were positive or negative it was left up to the person. "Aya, I am sorry things turned out the way they did, but I don't want that to get between us. We were close in the past and I know we will need you for this case. I don't know how to make it up to you about that night, but Aya I will try. Just please do not be so distant. The others don't know how to act with you." Aya nodded as Lin held her away ready to return to base. But Aya held his sleeve. "What is it?"

"Ano…Lin…never mind. " Aya said as she let go of his sleeve and disappeared down the hall. Lin watched her as she left. She was heading to the gardens again it seemed instead of the springs.

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AN: I just realized how indifferent Shina is. Shina has a hard time opening up, but she will. Please rate and review. I love hearing your comments and I am open to any ideas. Does anyone think they know what is going on yet? Message me if you think you do. Need Reviews in order to update please.