The Holes in Our Hearts

Chapter 8: When Lin Doesn't Drive

"Excuse me," Grim interjected as the foursome headed off to the van that Lin usually drove, "do you mind if I drive? I can just follow behind the others. Something tells me that those two have a little story to tell you."

Naru, Lin, and Mai all jumped at this random suggestion. However, Mai and Naru caught on to what he was trying to say easily enough. It was obvious that he thought there was a very valid reason for letting Lin in on the current chain of events. It was also fairly evident that Lin should not be driving when his world was turned upside down. However, despite all these logical reasons Naru stilled bristled at the thought of the pompous Grimlock trying to take control of a team he had always managed very effectively.

Meanwhile, Mai could see the conflicted emotions passing over the faces of the two men next to her. Naru was obviously displeased about being ordered about, and Lin absolutely detested the idea of having anyone besides himself drive the van. They were both alpha male personalities, so having another dominating male giving the orders was a direct attack against each of their leadership capabilities. 'Well what can you really expect from a trio of guys? They would probably continue this indefinitely until one could prove to have superior amounts of testosterone.' It couldn't be helped. Mai had to do something.

"Alright! That sounds like a fantastic idea. It was a good idea to accommodate for Lin. Naru and I had actually made arrangements regarding this sequence of events this morning so props for being proactive." It was a slim compromise at best: everyone knew it. However, everyone there had a certain amount of respect for Mai so they all looked at each other and accepted the postponement of their testosterone duel.

Soon enough, they were all seated and on the road. "Now then," Lin growled, his displeasure at the situation still quite evident, "What is so important that you had to entrust a rookie to driving the van?"

Mai and Naru shared another significant look. It seemed they had been doing it a lot more since the arrival of Grim. With a slight nod of her head Mai consented that she was willing to let Lin in on her secret on Grim's advice. Mai took a deep breath and then began, "Lin, I have a long story to tell you…"

And so the tale began. Similar to her description to Naru previously Mai described who Grim was, why he was there, what had happened to her, and the threat that Ash now presented. However, when it got to the part of the war that had destroyed her home with the hunters, Mai skipped over the details. In part, it was due to the fact that remembering the night she lost her family in such a brutal way was painful. Unfortunately, there were some details she had not quite comprehended herself that needed to be clarified before bringing up the story to others.

Lin, completely oblivious to Mai's inner turmoil over her memories, was looking a little pale and was beginning to understand with vivid clarity why his companions had not wanted him driving. 'Although to be perfectly fair,' Lin thought to himself, 'This Grim kid at least appears to be cautious. He must have one hell of a power to be able to see my Shiki that easily, but he seems to genuinely care for Mai and is doing everything he can to keep herself. I still can't really trust him though. Someone that powerful can't just automatically earn my trust.' It was around this time that Mai began looking at Lin with great concern on her face. She knew that her story was rather hard to believe and for all she knew Lin had either snapped from the shock of it, or he didn't believe her and was concocting a way to get her and Naru psychologically evaluated.

"Um…Lin…I know it's a lot to take in. Are you okay?" Mai worry was now beginning to border on hysteria. Lin had said virtually nothing since she had launched into her tale and the possibilities for his reaction were beginning to run rampant in her mind. Naru too, having seen the concern on Mai's face and the uncharacteristic silence of Lin as he was being directly addressed, was beginning to worry.

Lin, snapping out of his revive with a literal jerk, quickly replied, "Well Mai, I always knew that you were a unique young woman. I just had no idea how unique. Thank you for telling me. I believe you and I want you to know that I will do whatever I can to help you against this Ash person. I'm also assuming that since you wanted to talk about this in a van with just a few of us that you are not prepared for the others to know."

"That's right." Grim, never taking his eyes off the van in front of him on the road finally decided to join the conversation. "As Mai told you, I am a fully trained hunter and am prepared to do anything to keep Mai safe. The reason why I pushed for you to be let in on this at the present time was in the fact that you can command the Shiki."

At this statement Naru blinked in amazement. "Lin, did you tell him that you could command Shiki?"

"No."

"Then would you mind telling me how he knows about them?"

"Well to be frank, he can see them."

"WHAT?!" Naru barely contained his emotions from exploded in something much worse than a slightly raised voice. First this jerk shows up in his apartment, harasses Mai, makes Mai pass out, leaches into his team, gave his team orders, and now he can do something no ordinary human had ever been noted to have done. It was all just too much. Naru's stress levels were already over the top with the danger that was being presented to Mai, but having a guy that had more experience than he did running around was just enough to make Naru's indestructible composure crumble slightly.

"That's right Leech. Shiki are fairly common in the world of hunters. We are all trained to see them and fight then directly. In this case, having some extra eyes on Mai will give us an advantage when it comes to protecting her. " Grim's satisfaction in showing off in front of his competition couldn't be missed by a stone statue.

Naru, not one to give up so easily, said, "then explain why Mai can't see them!"

"Well maybe the Leech has a brain after all. That's easy enough to explain. She has only recently acquired her memories. It will take a little time before she will be able to start seeing the things all around us and having her brain accept them as reality. For most normal people, there is a filter of sorts in the brain that takes images of things that belong in the world of the Others and converts them into something that fits into your mundane view of the world. Now that you all know the truth, it is only a matter of time before you can turn off your filter. Mai has been living with that filter running in full gear for a long time now. While she may have access to the memories, she hasn't truly accepted that they happened yet. Once she does, the filter will be removed and she should be able to regain the "sight" that she had when she was a hunter. After that, I can resume her training and she can work to become a formidable enemy for Ash."

This last statement caught everyone in the van with shock. "Wait a minute Grim," Mai interrupted to banter between the two teenagers, "are you assuming that a day will come when I will have to kill Ash. You make it sound like I'm trying to destroy him. I just want to be left alone to live in peace."

"Mai," Grim replied with a very sullen expression on his face, "your loving and caring nature are two of your best qualities. However, you have never met my brother. You do not know of the horrors that dwell in his heart. He would gladly destroy you without a second thought. His ultimate goal is probably to see this world you cherish so much burn at the hands and chaos of the Others. There will come a time when if you want to protect yourself and those around him, you may be forced to kill him."

"Well that will just have to be avoided. Regardless of how inhumane he is, he is still human. I have no right to take on the role of God." With that final statement from Mai the car grew quiet. Everyone had so much to think about. In the span of 24 hours, their worlds had been turned upside down and the people they had been the previous day would never be seen by the world again. When regarding matters of the supernatural world, there are some things that once learned will change a person. And there are some things that once learned, a person may never forget despite how much he or she may want to.

After a long period of silence, Grim broke the quiet. "Mr. Lin, are you sure that gentlemen that is driving the other van knows where he is going. We appear to be going in circles around this neighborhood."

"Oh it figures. Monk is driving that van and he couldn't find his way out of his own house. Stick with him, I'll give him a call and see what's happened." As always Lin demanded punctuality almost as much as Naru did, and hated to be driving around lost in an unfamiliar area. Lin picked up his mobile phone and dialed the adjacent van. "Well congratulations Monk, you can't find the neighborhood because when you got on the highway you got on going South. The house we are looking for is North of SPR! Just pull in that parking lot over there. I'll be driving the rest of the way and you can just follow me." With that Lin hung up and muttered to himself, "One day they'll learn to just let me drive without interruption or surprise substitutions."

After a brief trade off in the parking lot, the cars were back on the highway going the opposite direction. However, Lin and Grim had gotten so sidetracked over being lost that they had failed to notice that two of the passengers had long since given up in keeping track of their location. In fact, Mai had drifted off shortly after the conversation with Lin had concluded. Unfortunately, her nightmares from the memory overload the day before were still with her and she had begun flailing all over the back seat. Naru, sitting approximately three feet from her, was the only one to notice. So he did that only thing his huge IQ could come up with. He scooted over a seat, put his arm around Mai, and held her until her breathing quieted and she drifted off into a peaceful sleep. In fact, Mai became so peaceful that Naru, having had only minimal sleep the night before was more than content to allow himself to dose, entwined with the girl who mattered so much to him.

Several hours later, two black vans full of several people who were less than happy about Monk's chosen scenic route pulled up a gravel driveway. The house in front of them rather deserved the title of mansion. It was a huge old fashioned Victorian house that had the perfectly manicured lawn and maintained estate one would expect for a house of its size and splendor.

"We finally made it." Lin pulled into the driveway and stretched, relieved to have finally accomplished arriving at the correct house. "Alright, everyone out. We've made it." It was at that moment Lin and Grim noticed the two that had curled up together in the backseat. Both looked perfectly relaxed and content to stay there. Lin couldn't resist thinking, 'finally. At least they can acknowledge how they feel when they are both asleep. They make the perfect couple.' That was, until he looked at Grim. The green eyes that had shown so watchfully before now overflowed with anger as the youth took in the sight of Mai and Naru in the back seat. It was no question who the anger was directed at. Grim was practically seething at Naru for daring to think that it would be acceptable to cuddle with Mai.

'Well this is sure going to be interesting,' Lin thought as he watched the trio. 'Mai, I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, but I pray the day never comes that the love these two have fro you destroys you.'

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. I'm just amusing myself and others with my own twist to the plotline.

Author's Note: Oh my goodness. How long has it been? Months by now. I am so sorry for not updating sooner. I wish I had a better excuse but all I will say is that the world has not looked favorably upon me and my family this year. Due to circumstances it has been really hard to find the time to write. However, my resolution for the coming year is to finish this story by updating frequently. I have some great chapters in mind so look for them in the future. (Some may already be written and just can't be posted yet because they are out of order chronologically . .) Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, and elected to follow or favorite my work. It means so much. As always, reviews are welcome. Merry Christmas everyone!