And now, it is Lin's turn. I love Lin, he is great. And I am sure that despite the apparences, he loves Mai very much (in a fatherly way, of course). Here we go, then!

As usual, feel free to tell me if you spot any mistake. I had to nurse a sick but very energetic child while being sick myself last week...So I will blame the lack of sleep for any inconsistency!

And obviously, Ghost Hunt doesn't belong to me

"…ama-san. Taniyama-san?"

I jerked up in my seat, realizing that someone was talking to me. Lin's stern face was staring at mine, an almost imperceptibly cocked eyebrow indicating that he wanted an explanation to my current inattention. Well, I was prone to this sort of things, according to my boss who was always glad to remind me that I had the attention span of a goldfish. But my look must have somehow disturbed Lin enough to make him wait for an answer to his unspoken question.

I flashed him a forced smile, that I hoped seemed natural enough, and scratched the back of my head, embarrassed.

"Sorry Lin-san, I was daydreaming, he he. Do you need me for something?"

Lin stayed quiet, his features not moving but his uncovered grey eye boring into mine. His piercing gaze made me gulp involuntarily. I averted my eyes, rearranging some pens spread on my desk to give me countenance. The Chinese onmyouji wasn't an unkind man, but he was still intimidating. Being caught slacking off at work didn't make me feel at ease. At all.

"Taniyama-san," his low voice started.

I braced myself for the terse scolding or the reproving glare that was probably going to happen any second. Instead, he asked flatly:

"What is bothering you?"

My mouth opened slightly in surprise. Could it be that he had ESP in addition to his other skills? It was almost frightening how he was able to tell accurately what was going on my mind. I eyed him suspiciously before sighing.

The truth was, I had been a little disturbed for the past few days, and my very observant colleague had probably noticed my strange behavior. But I was still a little taken aback by the fact that he bothered to ask about it. We weren't really close, and my timid efforts to lessen the gap between us hadn't been really rewarded. For instance, I never managed to make him call me less formally Mai instead of my last name. Well, I guessed being of Japanese descent and having sent him in the hospital for our first encounter hadn't helped on that matter.

Lin was patiently waiting, his tall frame towering over my desk. I smiled sheepishly.

"Well, am I that obvious?"

"…"

I groaned a little at the lack of reply. As Naru had once stated, I was very easy to read. That earned a small amused smile from the sorcerer.

"What is the matter, Taniyama-san? I can tell you are preoccupied."

Yes I was. But I hadn't any intention to bother Lin with such small matter. I waved dismissively.

"Not much, in fact it is probably me being paranoid."

Once again, he didn't voice anything, but his glare was clearly telling me 'spill the beans'. I wondered briefly about his strange ability to speak without words. Was that a part of his training as an onmyouji? Whatever, his persuasion skills, or should I say his cold intimidating gaze, were totally effective on me. I complied to his silent injonction reluctantly.

"It is nothing of importance, really. It's just…"

I hesitated a second. How to phrase it without sounding preposterous?

"Well, I keep seeing the same person everywhere I go."

OK, said like that, it didn't seem really worrying. I hastily clarified my point.

"I mean, I noticed this person was very frequently in my vicinity. I saw him on my way to school, around the office, too. It's like…"

I laughed awkwardly.

"I know it is more probably someone living and working in the same area as me, but…I don't know, it makes me feel uneasy. I am starting to think I was followed. I told you I was paranoid," I added nervously.

Lin stern features were unreadable, but his stance stiffened imperceptibly.

"How many times?" he asked.

"Uh?"

"How many times did you see that person?"

I tapped my chin lightly with a pen, frowning in concentration to recall the occurrences.

"Well, I think I saw him eight times last week. Three for the past two days."

"I see. Was it a person in flesh? Or anything else?"

I sighed. Of course the onmyouji would think of a paranormal explanation.

"It is not a spirit, Lin-san. Besides, I am no medium. No, it is a middle-aged man, you know, the normal glasses-wearing office-working type. Not a suspicious person or anything," I added immediately, seeing my colleague's displeased slight scowl. "It is just…mere coincidence I guess."

The unsure tone I used was betraying my opinion on the matter. I hated being prejudiced again people, but each time I spotted the unknown man, I felt my skin crawl. It wasn't fair, since he never spoke to me nor did anything, but I couldn't help it. I was inexplicably wary of his presence.

Lin didn't seem much convinced himself. The more I spoke about it, the less I was, too.

"Eleven times in the span of two weeks is a little too much for a coincidence, Taniyama-san."

Shoot, hearing the most down-to-earth member of the team state the fact that I was probably stalked didn't help me to settle down my worries. I paled noticeably at his words, unable to turn a blind eye anymore.

"You…you think so? What am I supposed to do, then? I can't possibly report him," I muttered to myself, "it would be awful if I were mistaken."

The laconic man mulled things over for a few moments before giving his opinion in his baritone emotionless voice.

"I suggest you take another path from school or home for the time being. That would be enough to determine if these encounters are deliberate or not. If you still spot the same person in an unusual place, then we will take action."

Leave it to Lin to find a measured and reasonable answer to any problem.I addressed him a relieved, albeit a bit shaky, smile, taking solace in the 'we' he had employed. Having the man backing you up was a comforting thought. Yes, I felt a little better.

"That's right, I'll do that. Thanks for your advice, Lin-san."

He graciously nodded. That was the equivalent of his 'you are welcome'. Before leaving, he gave me a last recommendation.

"Taniyama-san."

"Yes, Lin-san?"

"Don't try to speak to that man by yourself."

In other words: be cautious. No need to tell me twice. I bobbed my head up and down fervently. Reassured that I had taken his words seriously enough, he retreated in his office.

"Lin-san, here is your tea," I chirped while cautiously putting down a scalding cup on his desk.

Lin nodded his thanks without even looking at me.

"Aaaand," I added warmly, undeterred, "there is a little extra!"

I placed a plate full of hand-made cookies next to the hot beverage. This time he stopped staring at his computer to look at the cookies, then at me. His unflippable face wasn't betraying any of his thoughts, but I was sure he was surprised and secretly pleased with my little present.

"Thank you, Taniyama-san."

Yes, definitely pleased. I grinned inwardly. I was becoming good at reading his mood.

"No problem, Lin-san. It is my pleasure."

I was heading to my desk when his low-pitched voice stopped me.

"Taniyama-san?"

"Yes?"

"About the man you kept seeing. Did it happen recently?"

I smiled brightly at him.

"Nope. It was an odd coincidence, it seems!"

His stance relaxed imperceptibly.

"Good."

The finality in his tone told me that our conversation was over. Indeed, he turned to his computer once more, totally ignoring my presence.

I left, quietly closing his door. I had wowed to myself to make the onmyouji a fresh bunch of cookies every week. Because I knew that he was the reason why the weird unknown man had stopped showing up around me.

Two weeks before, I had taken Lin's advices to heart, and had started to change route to go to school and to the office. But three days after that, the stalking had resumed. This particular evening, I had taken an incredibly long detour to go home, with many unnecessary turns, and had been very disturbed to see that the man had been indeed following me. No possible doubt left. Having no clue about what to do in these circumstances, but knowing that leading a suspicious man to my home where I was living alone was out of the question, I had walked through a commercial area, pretending to shop.

Then, suddenly, the feeling of dread had subsided. And I soon had understood why. I had been able to spot the man in the distance, and had found he wasn't alone. A huge silhouette had been standing menacingly before him, obviously threatening. A ridiculously tall dark silhouette, strangely very similar to that of my Chinese my co-worker. The middle-aged man had left, most probably cowering in fear.

I hadn't seen him even once after that.

Maybe it had be a coincidence for Lin to be there. Or maybe he had been following me to investigate the matter by himself. Whatever, he had helped me, and had kept silent about it, even. I was forever in his debt.

Finally I didn't care if he called me Taniyama-san or Mai. I didn't care if he hardly spoke. These were only details. I had learned that Lin had a silent way of caring for those few people who he considered close to him. This was how he showed his kindness.

He had watched over me from afar, like a protective shadow. I was one of the chosen few. That was all that mattered to me.