Welp. It's been a decade since I've done anything over here. I got bit by the fanfiction bug again. We'll see how this goes.

As Lin is my favorite Ghost Hunt character (don't ask me why, couldn't tell ya), he will be the one flung through the wringer. Always nice to see the pillar of strength have to struggle, and not just because he's surrounded by literal children. And as far as I'm aware, I have no plans to focus on romantic pairings. If it happens, it happens, but I'm personally more interested in the case and all its dangers.

I have a general idea of where this is going, but the details pop up spontaneously. I'll do my best to rein in my love of ridiculous curveballs. I already took the liberty of removing a ridiculous curveball from my previous story from a decade ago. I also have work and other stuff related to being a functional person in society, so I can't guarantee my commitment to this story. I'll only promise that I'll write so long as I enjoy doing it.

This is also on AO3, in case you prefer their general reading format.

.o0o.

Mai was dreaming. She had to be dreaming. There was no other explanation. She was in a surgical room in the hospital, watching from the observation level as Ayako cut into Lin, awake and howling in agony. She hadn't even bothered to unbutton his vest and shirt; she just sliced him open from sternum to navel.

Ayako was in full scrubs, facemask over her mouth, and latex gloves over her hands. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She had her back to Mai, but every now and then, Mai caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were cold and without a hint of recognition of her or the man on the table that she was butchering alive. Lin was tied down by several leather straps and four metal cuffs around both his wrists and his ankles. There was even a strap around his neck, securing his head to the metal beneath him.

Ayako inserted her fingers into the gaping cut she had made, and with effort, she pried Lin's abdomen open. Despite the harsh overhead fluorescent, the wound was dark with blood. Lin screamed. Mai covered her ears. She was probably screaming too, but she couldn't hear over the sound of Lin's cries.

Mai awoke with a snap, her own screams now the loudest thing in the room. Her hands were cupped over her ears. Her heart was racing. She realized quickly that it was her own lucid screaming that had awakened her. She rolled onto her side, panicked sobs drenching her pillows. Why on earth had she had a dream like that? She had never once heard Lin scream like that. How did her dream know that was even the he'd sound like? She didn't want to know, but now, she would never forget.

Mai glanced over to her clock. It read 3:39. There was a long three-hour wait before sunrise, and a long six hours before Naru expected her to be at work. Too long. Too long to think about what she had seen and why she had seen it.

She looked next to her clock, where her cellphone was. She had the entire team's numbers in it, except for Madoka. Without thinking, she reached forward and snatched the phone off the nightstand. She held it in both hands, feeling how cool it was in her palms. She needed to call Lin. She needed to hear his voice, a voice that wasn't screaming in agony. But it was four in the morning. She didn't want to disturb him and Naru with a stupid dream. But this was incredibly important. She just saw one of the team torturing her teammate. She couldn't hide that. For their sake, not hers. She called. Naru picked up.

"This better be important," Naru said, voice thick with sleep and annoyance.

"I had one of those dreams," said Mai.

"What happened?"

"It was… Ayako doing surgery on Lin. He was awake. And screaming. And I—I can't get it out of my head. It was so horrible! It won't stop—!"

"Mai, Mai. Mai?" Naru soothed as Mai began to sob again. All annoyance was gone from his voice. "Lin's fine."

Mai hiccupped. "He is?"

"We'll be in the office at six. Meet us as soon as you can."

"Naru, wait. I don't think I can go back to sleep."

"I didn't think you would."

There was a pause.

"Naru? Hello?" Mai asked. She heard a hushed series of muffled whispers. She didn't have to wait long for a response.

"Mai?" It was Lin. He was alive. His tone was even, not distressed. Mai realized that Lin must have come in to check on Naru. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry to wake you."

"Don't be. What was your dream about?"

"Naru didn't tell you?"

There was a beat. Of course Naru didn't tell him.

"We'll be seeing each other soon. Unless you want to tell me now," said Lin.

There was no need to rush this. Not now, after she had confirmed that he was still alive. "It's okay. It can wait."

"All right."

Mai heard rustling from the other end. Naru's voice came through.

"Anything else?"

"No. See you soon."

The phone clicked without another word. Mai had half a mind to berate Naru for his rudeness, even though he could no longer hear her. But then again, she did wake him up at four in the morning. Horrifying psychic dream or not, it was no fun being awakened before sunrise. She supposed she could let it slide. For now, she got up and put on the kettle. Instead of going for the tea, she brought out the hot chocolate. This was a night that tea could not solve.

Naru and Lin stared in horror. Naru's brow was furrowed, and his eyes were wide. Lin's face was more or less frozen stoically, but the fact that he was hardly breathing gave away his discomfort. Mai couldn't meet their eyes. Ashamed that she brought them such distress.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't apologize," said Lin. He was wearing a vest today. Mai wished he wasn't.

"But…"

"I'm fine, Mai. Nothing has happened to me, and I will do my best to see that it doesn't."

Mai flinched. She closed her eyes, only for her mind to assault her with visions of Lin restrained, face wracked with torment. A hand on her shoulder grounded her. Naru was next to her, staring into her eyes. Mai buried her face in her hands.

"Do you need the day off?" Lin asked. Naru turned toward him.

Mai shook her head. "Every time I close my eyes, I'm back in that nightmare. I need to stay here."

Naru took that moment to interject. "If you're going to stay here, make yourself useful and make tea."

Mai stood up and walked robotically toward the kitchenette. She stared directly at the water pouring into the kettle, and then she put it on the fire. She jumped when Lin's soft voice called her name from close by.

Lin offered no physical reaction to her surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine. Don't apologize. Did you want some tea too?" Mai reached into the counter and brought out an extra teacup.

"You're distressed," said Lin.

"Yeah, I guess." Mai held the teacup close. She kept her gaze down, away from Lin's vest. The red tie running down his chest reminded her too much of blood. Lin knelt down in front of her, bringing his eye level to hers.

"Mai, can I touch you?"

Mai nodded. Lin took her hand and guided it to his chest.

"I'm right here. Unharmed. You're here. This is real, right here, right now."

Through her hand, Mai could feel Lin's heartbeat. She could feel the vibration of his deep, calm voice. She sniffled. She nodded. She would have wrapped Lin in a hug and let the larger man fold over her, but Lin was not one for contact. This in and of itself was remarkably intimate for the Chinese man. Mai wondered when exactly they had become close enough for Lin to comfort her like this.

The kettle whistled. Mai pulled away, and Lin stood up. Mai opened her mouth to ask about the tea when the door opened, making its little bell jingle. Lin put a hand in front of Mai, stopping her from going toward the new arrival.

"I'll handle this. You take care of that."

Before she could protest, Lin had stepped away. Mai poured the tea, listening to Lin greet the clients.

"Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research. Please come in. How can we help you?"

She had a cup out for him and Naru, and she poked her head around the corner to check how many guests had entered. She froze when she saw them.

Two men in business suits stood facing Lin. Their eyes were cold and harsh, just like Ayako's in her nightmare. No.

One of them spoke, monotone. "Yes, thank you."

They walked toward Lin.

No. Stay away from him. Don't touch him!

Lin took a step to the side, getting out of their way. Her mind went on overdrive as her heartbeat raced.

The two men lunge at Lin. They grab him and force him down, slamming him chest-first into the ground. One presses his head into the floor while the other twists his arm behind his back so hard that he dislocates Lin's shoulder. Lin's mouth opens in a scr—

The two men passed Lin and sat side by side on the sofa.

"Miss Taniyama, please get Mr. Shibuya."

Lin's (unharmed, calm, peaceful) voice snapped her out of her vision. She shook her head. What the hell was that?

"Yes, of course. Would you two like tea?"

"No thank you," said the left man with a tone even more clipped than Lin on a bad day. Mai all but darted into Naru's office.

"Naru, clients," she said.

Naru stood up, chair scraping the floor behind him. Mai opened her mouth to say something about her vision, but Naru held up his hand to stop her. His face was serious, but it lacked the usual annoyance that came with her naïveté. Naru passed her, entering the main room. Lin was at his computer, already taking notes.

"Mai, tea."

"Right," said Mai. She didn't want to have to cross the room. She didn't want to pass those men with their cold, sin-filled eyes. Her feet carried her anyway. The one on the right, the one closest to her, tracked her movement until she was past the point where his neck could turn to follow her.

"What brings you in?" Naru asked, refocusing their attention. Mai graciously slipped away.

"I am Dashi Nakamura, and this is Akira Saito," said the man on the left. He was now wearing a pleasant business smile that read completely rehearsed. Nothing, not even the wrinkling of his eyes, could hide the coldness that Mai saw. "We are land developers with old property to demolish, but before we can do so, we need an exorcism."

"Hire a priest," said Naru.

Mai glanced at him, as did Lin, but only momentarily.

"We don't do closing rituals," Naru continued.

"You hunt ghosts, do you not?" said the one on the right—Mr. Saito. "We have evidence of hauntings. Writings on the wall, in blood. Drains flooding with no logical explanation. Foul odors—"

"Do you have anything except your word?" asked Naru. One of the men reached into his breast pocket, but before he could produce it, Naru spoke again. "Frankly, your case doesn't interest me. We will not be taking it. Now if there's nothing else, please leave."

Naru and the two men stared at each other for a good ten seconds. Mai and Lin watched, ready to spring into action. The tension was thick enough to fog up a window. The two men stood up. Mr. Nakamura offered a slight bow and a "Thank you for your time," before they both made for the door.

Lin opened it. Mai watched, breath stuck in her throat as she waited for the next vision of Lin being attacked, but it didn't come. Perhaps it was because she couldn't see their eyes. The door closed, and they were gone.

For several seconds, nobody moved. Mai opened her mouth, but Naru held up his hand, signaling for silence. The three of them stood like that for several more seconds. And then:

"Mai, I asked you for tea."

Mai blinked. Was that really going to happen next, after that bizarre encounter? Still, she had a job to do, tea to brew. When she came out, Lin was back at typing, and Naru was nowhere to be seen. She dropped off a cup at Lin's desk—

"Mai!"

Mai jumped as Lin snapped her name. She looked over, realizing that her hand was tilted too far. She had almost dumped the tea on Lin's keyboard—a potentially expensive mistake. Lin reached over to steady her now panicked hand. He took the tea and put it down safely next to him.

"Oh, sorry Lin!"

Lin sent her a rocky stare, not so much a glare, but it was enough to convey his displeasure and his concern. "Are you all right?"

"Uh. Yeah." She wanted to tell him about the eyes. But not yet. She had to tell Naru first. She absently drifted away from Lin's desk and moved toward the office door. She entered and placed the cup down on Naru's desk.

Naru looked up at her over his binder. "What is it?" he asked.

"Still no thanks?" Mai responded.

"You clearly have something on your mind. Say it."

"Why didn't we take that case?"

Naru slapped his binder shut. "Didn't anyone teach you not to ask questions you know the answer to?"

"Wh-wha? I don't… Why didn't we take it?"

"If you're seriously confused as to why we didn't take that case, you are stupider than I thought."

A small bubble of rage grew in her chest. The nerve of this boy. "Enlighten me," she bit out.

Naru made a motion with his hand. "Close the door."

Mai turned to close it, but Lin was already passing through the doorway and shutting it.

"Their case was a ruse. Bloody writing, flooding drains, foul odors, those are classic haunting symptoms that anyone can look up. Their names. They have some of the most common surnames in Japan. It would be like walking up to someone in England and introducing yourself as John Smith. They were trying too hard to appear amateurish. There was not a genuine thing about them. I knew it, and so did you two."

"So what were we walking into then? If we had taken it?" Mai asked.

"I don't know. But it's not my job to find out," Naru said.

Mai glanced around. "Isn't that literally our job though?"

"My job is to keep the team safe, first and foremost. I saw how you reacted to them. With the nightmare you had last night, and the way they were acting, I didn't want to take any chances. Now Lin, did you manage to pull the footage?"

Lin nodded. He handed Naru to small sheets of paper that Mai hadn't noticed before. She craned her neck to see. It was a still frame from their security camera, one focused on each mystery man's face. Mai flinched when, once again, she saw their empty eyes. Naru's gaze flicked up to her.

"What do you see?" he asked.

Mai shook her head. "Their eyes are cold."

"Hostile?"

"Like… they won't hurt you for fun, but they don't care if they have to."

Naru nodded. He looked at Lin. "Hide those."

Lin nodded and folded them into his pocket. He walked out of the room. He closed the door. A metaphorical nest of spiders scrambled in a flurry in Mai's stomach. She almost expected Lin to suddenly scream from behind the closed door, but no such thing happened.

"Mai," Naru said. Mai turned to her. "It's easy to get caught in 'what ifs,' especially after all you've experienced. It is imperative that, as the highly intuitive psychic you are, that you don't start confusing anxiety with psychic guidance. If you do, I can't trust you in the field. Nobody can. Get a hold of yourself, for all our sakes."

"I don't know how," Mai said. "And I don't know what's going on, why I had that dream—"

"It will likely reveal itself in time. Until then, there's nothing we can do. Now try to get some work done."

Mai left Naru's office. She glanced over at Lin, who met her eyes. His stare was cautious and concerned, but there wasn't much he could do to help her. Mai looked down at her own desk, facing the wall. A hot cup of tea was sitting next to her pile of files to sort through. She looked back at Lin's desk, where the sound of typing had resumed. Lin's cup of tea was still by his arm, which meant that he must have brewed this one fresh for her.

"Thanks, Lin," she said.

Lin sent a gentle, comforting smile her way and nodded. He turned back to his computer, re-burying himself in work. Mai turned around and did the same. She found it easy after a while, resting assured that as long as she could hear Lin's rapid-fire typing that he was okay. But what if that was just an illusion, and he had actually long since been taken? She glanced over her shoulder. Lin was still there. She recalled what Naru told her. Anxiety was not her friend. Paranoia was to be avoided. The accuracy of her gut feelings were vital to the team, and she couldn't let them down. But… she had never dealt with this before. This panic would tear her mind apart, if she wasn't careful.

"I… I need help," she said.

Lin stopped typing.

"My mind is driving me crazy," Mai continued. "At this rate, I'll be absolutely good for nothing. If I can't tell my fears from my feelings, I'll be nothing but a burden!"

"It's not helping you to scold yourself for going to fearful places," Lin said. "May I suggest meditation?"

"Meditation?" Mai echoed.

"When a thought comes to you, just let it go. Don't shove it down or try to fight it. And certainly don't scold yourself for having intrusive thoughts. Just refocus on your breathing. Something solid and concrete. The thought will pass."

Mai inhaled. She let it out slowly, simply paying attention to the coolness of the air as it filled up her lungs. She nodded. "I feel a little better."

"I'm sorry I can't be of better help," said Lin.

Mai shook her head. "None of this is your fault." She turned back around. She had gotten through half her files. The room returned to an amicable rhythm of typing and rustling papers. That was until the door opened again. Both Mai and Lin turned toward the door, faster than usual. In came Ayako, her face troubled. Her eyes were still warm and familiar, but that was of little comfort to Mai. Just seeing Ayako again brought spiders to her stomach.

Ayako must have noticed the tension. "Is something wrong?" she asked in a quiet voice, the one she used only in somber moments.

"Oh, no," said Mai. "What brings you here, Ayako?"

"My family's hospital has been having a ghost problem that I've been unable to deal with alone."

Mai's eyes widened. A hospital?

On cue, the door to Naru's office opened. "What kind of problem?" asked the boss, stepping fully into the room. Lin resumed typing in the background. Ayako made her way to the sofa.

"Patients have been reporting being observed from outside. All rooms have windows, and according to reports, there have been lines of shadowy figures staring into the windows from a distance. They were never close enough to get a full description."

"What about staff?" Naru asked.

"Staff has it the worst. Only during the night shift, if they pass by a window, many of our nurses and doctors have seen these figures out of the corners of their eyes. But they report a feeling of general malignance. Not overt hostility, but as one nurse described it, that feeling you get when staring down a dark alley at night."

"How long does a specter stay visible once seen?" Lin asked.

Ayako shook her head. "For patients, as long as they keep eye-contact. For staff, they only catch glimpses. Once they try to focus, the specters vanish. We tried looking over security footage, but our cameras aren't good enough to look outside. And we can't get a warrant for traffic cameras. When we tried to use our own cameras, the apparitions remained unseen."

Naru then asked, "Have there been any other phenomena?"

Again, Ayako shook her head. "None of the usual stuff. Not even a flickering light that couldn't be fixed with a new bulb. It's almost as though the spirits are stuck outside."

"But no one has been attacked going home?"

"Not by ghosts."

"What have you personally experienced?" Naru continued.

Ayako nodded, shifting her gears. "Right. Well, nothing at first. All I had were reports from others. After the reports began, I and other staff members went out to where the patients reported being watched from. We couldn't find any signs of disturbance, which meant there weren't any human trespassers. I performed a pacifying ritual, as well as an exorcism. We have very few trees still conscious, but I was able to call on their aid. Even after my ceremonies, the reports did not stop."

"They survived your exorcism?" Mai asked.

"More like they weren't even there to experience it. It was like I was performing for an empty house."

Naru folded his arms. "Are you suggesting that your spirits are coming from somewhere else?"

"I don't know. Do ghosts commute to hauntings? Is there such a thing?"

A humorous image of a bedsheet ghost carrying a briefcase at a train station floated through Mai's mind.

"Not that I've heard of," Naru said. "There are some spirits who wander, and there are some spirits that are stuck in loops and patterns, which could contain bouts of travel. But a ghost on a routine commute is something I'm not familiar with in the slightest."

"Do you think you can help?" Ayako asked.

"Before we do, there is something you need to know."

"What?"

Naru looked straight at Mai. Mai gasped. She knew she would eventually have to tell Ayako, but she didn't think she'd have to do that today.

Ayako looked at her, noticing the worry in her expression. "Mai? What is it? What's wrong?"

"I… I had a dream."

Ayako reached out to touch her. Mai shook her head. Ayako stopped.

"She had a dream last night that you were torturing Lin."

Everyone turned to Naru. Ayako's face was split between confusion and stupor. Her eyes darted around the room, quickly landing on Lin and just as quickly looking anywhere else. "Wh-what do you mean? Like… henpecking or Spanish inquisition?"

"The latter," said Lin.

Ayako turned back to Mai for explanation.

"It was you, but it wasn't you," said Mai. "You were doing surgery on Lin, but he was still awake. Your eyes were so cold. It was like you didn't even know it was Lin, and you didn't care you were hurting him and he was screaming so much—"

Ayako brought Mai into the hug that she had been desperately wanting all day. She sobbed into her jacket. Ayako looked up at Naru. "What is this about?" she asked as softly as she could.

"We don't know," said Naru.

Ayako turned towards Lin. "I would never…"

"I know," said Lin. "I have a theory that our placement in her dream was symbolic."

Ayako nodded. "That crossed my mind. But it still must have been disturbing." She looked back at the distressed girl in her arms. "So I take it you won't be able to help then."

"There's more," Lin said. "Earlier today, two men came in and asked for us to take a case in condemned property. We all noted that something was off about them, and Naru turned them down."

Lin stood up and paced over to Ayako. He produced the images taken earlier. Ayako looked them over and scowled. Despite the fact that the two men were smiling, she could still tell that they were fake.

"I don't like their eyes," she said.

Mai pulled away from Ayako. "They're the same eyes that you had in my dream."

Naru's head whipped toward Mai. "That part you didn't tell me."

"I thought I did. I told you—"

"You told me that their eyes were cold, and that they wouldn't care if they had to hurt someone. You did not tell me that this was exactly what you saw in your dream. Details like that are important, Mai."

"Do we know who they are?" Ayako asked.

"No," Lin said.

"Naru sent them away," Mai added.

"Did you try to look them up?" Ayako asked.

"They have extremely common names," said Lin.

"I doubt those were their actual names," Naru said. "We need to stay on our guard. As for your case, Ms. Matsuzaki, this is going to be difficult. Not just because of your ghost's parameters, but also because of the legality of working and investigating in a hospital."

"Of course," Ayako said. "Considering how badly things have been going, I'm sure many of the staff and patients would welcome your presence."

"Yes, but just remember," Naru said. "Activity can increase drastically once the experts show up."

Ayako nodded. "I'm familiar with that. Hostiles get nasty when you're close to catching them."

"So you know the risks. I'll call Monk and John to be on standby, and I'll see if Masako's available."

Naru returned to his office, leaving Mai, Ayako, and Lin behind. Lin was focused on his typing. The room was still thick with tension. Mai thought back to what Lin had theorized—that he and Ayako were representations of something in her dream. She didn't know whether to be relieved or alarmed at this revelation. Thinking even further back, she had had representative dreams in the past, though usually with Gene cast in some yet unclear role. Mai stole a glance at Ayako and Lin, both wrapped up in their own worlds. It had been a while since Mai had spoken to Gene, but that would be a decent place to try and find answers. Until then, Ayako needed her, so she would apply herself as she always did for a case. Nodding to herself, she stood up.

"Okay, what's our plan of attack?" she blurted. At Ayako and Lin's confused stares, she realized that she had only verbalized the last part of her thought process. "Err… for the hospital case?"

"Well," began Ayako, but Naru entered the room again, interrupting her.

"Get the equipment ready. Masako's not available, and Monk and John are on standby." He looked at Lin, who nodded and stood up, closing his laptop. "Mai, help us load the van. Miss Matsuzaki, please call anyone at the hospital who should be forewarned about our arrival. First, we should make sure we're actually welcome to do everything we need to do."

"Right," Ayako said, pulling out her phone. Mai, Lin, and Naru loaded the van, and the three of them followed Ayako's car to her hospital.