ATTN: I do NOT own Ghost Hunt or the Characters associated with it. If I did well... lets just say the story would have ended differently and Vol 12 would exist in English translation.

Anywho lets get started! NO Beta so sorry for any mistakes but focus on the story and enjoy! :)

IT WAS YOU

****RECAP****Midnight. He sighed before turning, placing a guiding hand on the small of her back. "Let me walk you to your room. It's late and we have a meeting in the morning." She met his sideways glance and nodded. She couldn't think straight when he touched her. Walking towards her room she glanced down at the soft material swallowing her. His coat smelled amazing, she wanted to wrap herself up in it and never let go. Even if he was a jerk, he was still caring. His hand never leaving her back he escorted her to her door. ****RECAP***

CHAPTER 3:

An endless depth lay before her. Mai didn't know where she was. Turning in a circle, only being able to see herself in the black world, she tried to move around looking for clues. There was nothing. Not a speck of light or color. Nothing, but she could hear something. A distant pulsing. Mai debated calling out, to who she didn't know, before pausing. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, the base of her spine tingling. Her body tensing, she whipped around, knowing she wasn't alone anymore. But she couldn't see anything. Her eyes scanned the area around her. Whatever it was, it was watching her. The ink-like surroundings pulsated and moved as if something was trying to get out or, a worse thought, that black void, itself, was alive. A sharp pain in her stomach had her dropping to her knees, arms gripping her sides as she cried out, and then her senses were assaulted. A flash of pain and something warm and wet gathered underneath her. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, the pain and flashing images drowning her. "MINE!" Stabbing pain erupted once more as she doubled over and coughed. She couldn't breathe. Was she being attacked? She saw a flash of silver, something metal? An image flashed again, dark hair blinding her vision. A dream, this is a dream. She needed to wake up and fast. The pain was overwhelming, she couldn't think. A scream ripped through that darkness. It was deafening. The pain, gut wrenching. Mai sobbed, that living blanket of darkness closing in. She gave into it, slumping into the warm pool of liquid beneath her.

Light. She could see light. The sunlight streamed in between the curtains leaving streaks of gold across the ceiling. She lay there watching particles of dust float, bathed in the golden hues of the early morning sun. It was a dream. Trying to reorient herself into the world, she took stock of each finger and toe, grounding herself. As she moved from her feet, to her legs, and then up she felt an uncomfortable twist in her stomach. Throwing the blankets off she rushed to the bathroom pushing past Masako before depositing whatever was left from last night's dinner into the toilet. Laying her sweat coated forehead against the cool porcelain of the tank, while leaning against the wall, she tried to breathe. Her chest hurt and throat burned. She could feel Masako hovering in the doorway.

"Are you alright Mai?"

Through the haze of her jumbled thoughts Mai pieced together Masako's question. Limply holding a finger up from the arm balancing on her knee, she groaned, "J-just need a sec… Dream." It came out disjointed and almost a whisper. Her throat was burning, she must have been the one screaming. She watched as Masako nodded in understanding and walked out of sight. This wasn't the first time Masako had been witness to the aftereffects of Mai's dreams. Not having the energy to move just yet Mai watched as Masako came back in and moved around the bathroom. She had yet to dress for the day, still in her matching camisole and satin pajama pants. Jolted awake by something wet and cold, Mai realized Masako was crouched in front of her.

"I have the shower going if you can manage. I also laid out clothes. Wash yourself and then we will head down to breakfast. You need to eat and get something for your throat." A quiet command.

Mai allowed Masako to dab her forehead, cooling off and coming back together just enough to wash. With help she stood and made her way to the shower. Too exhausted to be embarrassed with Masako's assistance, she tried to make sense of her dream. She hadn't been able to process much through her pain but could remember a few things that had stuck through the haze. Some type of metal, dark hair, screaming… oh the screaming, and the pain. Oh no, she was getting sick again. Deep breaths Mai, distance yourself from it. Just take in the facts. She was going to have a case soon and she had a feeling she knew where, or who, it was coming from. Sighing, lost in her thoughts she: washed herself, brushed her teeth, and exited the shower. Surveying the clothes laid out for her, jeans and a cream sweater, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked awful. She dried off and pulled on her jeans and then her sweater, grimacing at the movement stretching her sore muscles. No way they wouldn't notice at breakfast. She honestly didn't have the energy, let alone the voice, to handle their questions. Exiting the restroom, towel drying her hair before pulling it into a claw clip, she went to her bed, sat down, and slipped on her flats.

Masako stood from the end of her bed and called quietly, "Come on. We're already late." Masako was also in jeans and a deep blue sweater. Mai had been surprised the first time she saw Masako not wearing her signature Kimono. Masako had scoffed at her and explained that she wore them to become better connected with her abilities. She had been trained under priestesses and monks and while training she had to wear the kimonos. Ever since it became part of her practice; just as Monk, John, or Ayako wore their robes for exorcisms. So unless on the job Masako wore comfortable clothes like everyone else. It was part of her Public Image too so when she was doing anything in the field she wore one. This morning though Mai had a feeling she wasn't wearing one because Mai had hogged the bathroom. She couldn't find the energy to feel guilty however. Standing Mai trudged after her into the hall and down to breakfast. She didn't have the capacity to do much else anyways.

—

Idiot Scientist. His brother had been right. He was an Idiot Scientist. He could still feel her skin, soft and cool under his fingers. He'd caught glimpses of her time during their separation. Snippets of what she felt and unimportant things from her days, like cooking or locking her door. It was the reason he avoided touching people. Psychometry has always been a burden on his mind. Watching the lives of those who were missing or dead wasn't a pleasant task. Mostly because more often than not they were always dead. Lin had worked with him to find ways to lessen the effects it had on him or to have more control over the visions after a particularly rough vision he'd had. He had been tasked with finding a family's child. The result was the same as many others. The child was dead but the way they died had left Oliver in the hospital for a few days. When he suffered some of the injuries the child had Lin had all but demanded he learn. He had only accomplished the task of distancing himself once entrapped in one or, if he could manage it, just skim the surface of the memories and pick out snippets of information or emotion. He did his best to steer clear of the latter. Emotions never helped him solve things. They just lead to distraction and illogical actions. Like last night. He had acted illogically and allowed the distraction of his old coworkers to overwhelm him. He had taken one look at her and been drowning. It wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't touched her so freely, and if he was honest with himself, it wasn't that he'd touched her that drove him to his current migraine. No it was a combination of the illogical thoughts he'd had, the almost need to know she was really there, the serenity it brought him, and his childish mentor. Madoka hadn't dropped the fact that she spotted him and Mai together last night, not only in the conference hall but escorting Mai to bed. She had teased him relentlessly. He would have holed himself up to contemplate what he had gathered last night if Madoka hadn't come in and practically shoved him to breakfast.

They were placed at a round table, he sat across from Lin and Madoka with his father on his right. The two empty seats on his left had occupied too much of his attention for the past 10 minutes. They were late and based on the expressions of those seated with him, he wasn't the only one to notice.

"Do you think they're alright?" Madoka asked no one in particular, concern written on her face.

"Mai had a habit of being late. I'm sure they are fine." Lin answered. Madoka bit her lip and looked at Lin's watch again.

"It's been 12 minutes already since the agreed time. I know I told them 9. Maybe one of us should go check on th-"

"Good morning, sorry for the delay." Masako cut in, taking the seat next to Lin. What should have tipped him off was that Masako wasn't dressed in a Kimono. That was the first clue that something was off. Then he watched Mai as she dropped into the seat next to him. She leaned back in her seat and didn't acknowledge anyone. The second clue. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She shifted and pain danced across her face before she quickly hid it. Something wasn't right. Leaning closer, ever so slightly, He took in her wet hair and distant look. The third, much more obvious, clue. He understood then why the two women were late.

Speaking low, so as to not scare her, he asked, "Dream?" Her eyes flicked to him, pupils dilating, she nodded. He moved back and looked to Masako, intending to learn more, before Madoka spoke up.

"Mai, are you alright?" Everyone's eyes were on the ghost of the bright woman they knew.

Masako answered in her stead, "She had a dream, which I'm sure relates to whatever request Dr. Davis has of us. She had quite the violent reaction to it this morning. Before you ask, no. She hasn't given me any details. What little I did get from her was garbled. It's like she's lost her voice."

He could recall times, when he still lived in Japan, that she had experienced traumatic post-cognitive dreams, or when her clairvoyance overwhelmed. The most prominent being from the case of Urado. If he remembered correctly she'd also astro-projected during that case. He could understand the burden of abilities. He may not have ESP but his PK was a burden by itself, especially without his relay connection with Gene, that coupled with his psychometry he had been forced to learn to separate himself from this dark world at a very young age. When he and Eugene were still at the orphanage he'd been the outsider, the loner. Gene with his extrovert personality had made fast friends but the more their abilities developed the more out-casted he became. They had struggled to find an adoption match because of his personality, he had always been realistic, and their abilities. Strange things had always happened around the twins. Objects flying across the room, Oliver's PK at work, or the way Eugene would talk to no one, claiming to see those who had died. Martin and BSPR had been contacted after so much activity. When Martin had discovered the two boys and the orphanages problem he called Luella up and next thing he knew they were adopted and carried the surname Davis. His thoughts were interrupted by the waitress asking if they were ready to order. Flicking his eyes to Mai again he answered, "Yes, I'll have a Black Tea and a vegetable omelet," Pausing for a moment before gesturing to Mai, "She will have miso soup and a Green Tea." Thankfully they had the foresight to request a more diverse menu at the Hotel for the conference. He ignored the looks from those at the table as the waitress finished taking their orders.

"Well, I asked you all here this morning because I have a proposal." Martin continued, giving Mai an apologetic glance, "as I'm sure you're both aware, I want to ask for your assistance with a case." Giving a strained smile and nod of forgiveness Mai took a sip of her tea the waitress had just placed in front of her, relaxing back into her chair. "I received the request from an old colleague of mine. He recently purchased an old abandoned Mansion in Japan. He had the place renovated and minor things had occurred but nothing that stopped work. The real issues didn't start till he and his family moved in. I thought with you all being based there, as well as knowing the culture and language better than us here in England, you'd be a valuable consult." Martin paused as they all received their food.

"Maybe we should continue this conversation upstairs. We wouldn't want anyone to overhear." Masako took a spoonful of her soup, she had ordered one similar to Mai's, before giving Mai a questioning glance.

—

After nursing her throat with the tea and soup, she nodded to Masako, her throat still sore but the pain was ebbing, albeit slowly. "I agree," still sounding slightly horse, she addressed Martin, "We will happily hear you out, but we do have others we work with just so you're aware, and they will be accompanying us." Martin smiled brightly at the women.

"Excellent! Now let's eat before our food gets cold." Having paused the meeting they all discussed their current works. Martin finally got to drill Mai and Masako about their show. Asking about how their talents worked together, as a group, to solve the cases. Masako fielded a majority of the questions she could, trying to give Mai the ability to soothe her throat. Madoka informed Martin that this group worked with Oliver before he left Japan, which led into a discussion of their past cases. Mai's throat was immensely better after breakfast, the tea and soup being just what the doctor ordered, literally. She covertly thanked Oliver for his choice, in which she received a nod and smirk in response. She could practically read his thoughts, "Of course it helped." Jerk. Mai's eye twitched as the waitress took their plates away.

"Why don't we head upstairs to our room, we have a sitting area we can use to discuss the details of this case and plan our next steps moving forward." Masako rose from her seat, everyone following suit, and led the group to our room.

They were seated in the living room area of the suite. It was an airy space with white walls and high ceilings, trimmed with detailed crown-molding, and tall glass windows opened to a balcony. The space retained its ornate historical aesthetic with the furniture decorating the space. There was a three-seater couch with two matching tall-backed chairs and a large wood coffee table in the center. Across from it was a large flat screen, framed to resemble a painting, that was centered between two doors, one leading to the bedroom and the other a bathroom, the living room was adjacent to the kitchen. Mai had cut from the group to make tea for everyone, old habits die hard, while filling the kettle she watched them converse and get comfortable. Martin sat in a chair as did Madoka. Lin chose an ottoman next to the coffee table and pulled out his laptop, where did he get that thing from, Masako sat on one end of the couch while Oliver took the other. He had pulled out his staple little black book, seriously where did they keep those things, while Martin produced a file folder. Okay, it had to be a British thing to just randomly procure things out of thin air. Turning from the group she placed the kettle on the stove, then she was moving to lay out some cups. Thankfully she had gone out of her way to get some as well as tea when they had first arrived. Intuition at work again she supposed. She had wondered why she grabbed so many cups when she and Masako had gone to the local market but decided not to question it. Now she knew. She also had a feeling that whatever case Martin brought to them would change things. How and what she couldn't be sure. She just knew things wouldn't be the same after this meeting. Her dream probably pertained to whatever haunting Martin's colleague was experiencing anyway. Sighing as the kettle whistled she moved and poured the steaming water into each cup. She had worked hard to get control over her abilities and life after everything, then he came back into her life and everything flips upside down. She felt like that hopeless-romantic, high school girl again, especially after last night. She had been so thrown by his mere presence let alone his touch… They had never interacted like that before so she was walking in unknown territory and she didn't like how out of control she felt. Removing the leaves that had been steeping she laid out a plate with some cookies and biscuits. Hearing snippets of the quiet conversation from those seated she placed everything on a serving tray and carried it over.

"Yes well, the wedding is this coming May. We would love for you all to come!" Mai overheard Madoka as she walked up and placed the tray on the table. Bending down she grabbed a cup and cookie, making her way to the couch she internally cursed Masako as the only seat available was between her and him. Debating for just a moment whether it's worth the questioning looks to sit on the floor she moved to the open spot on the couch and sat down in defeat.

"I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say congratulations and that we would love to attend." Masako smiled toward Madoka and Lin. "I'm sure they won't be surprised but very happy for you two."

Mai snorted into her cup, "Like Yasu and Bou-san would miss the chance to party and see the stoic Lin get married."

She met Lin's eyes over the rim of her tea, a hint of a smile on his face, as Madoka laughed, "Those two would certainly make things interesting!"

Speaking low enough that only Mai heard, Oliver scoffed, "Those two, and Miss Matsuzaki would definitely be a show in and of themselves."

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye she took a sip of her tea, her throat feeling immensely better she spoke in kind, "It's Mrs. Matsuzaki now."

He looked to her then, legs crossed and notebook in the hand propped up on his knee. "I'm honestly not surprised those two married. They bickered like a married couple."

"I seem to recall two others who did the same." Madoka placed a finger to her mouth, a smile pulling at the corners, her brows furrowed in faux contemplation, before flicking her eyes between Mai and Oliver. Lin glanced at the two as well before Martin cleared his throat.

"It has been great catching up but let's get started before the final lectures start in about… two hours." Looking up from his watch he opened the manila folder in his hands. Martin wore glasses perched on his nose with green eyes, framed by smile lines, and silver flecked brown hair. He was in great shape and well polished. Looking every bit the professor that he was. Glancing back up to the group he began, "As I had mentioned this is a case from an old co-worker and good friend of mine. He recently purchased an abandoned mansion in Japan. He had the place renovated and minor things had occurred, tools going missing and random things falling, but nothing that stopped work. The real issues didn't start until he and his family moved in. They have experienced cold spots, power outages, disembodied voices, and Jack said his son has endured more. Stating that objects have been thrown at him, his things going missing, and water turning red, like blood, on him. The most recent development, and the reason that Jack contacted me, is the markings that have appeared on his son." Moving upright from his reclined position in the chair Martin laid a photo from the folder on the table. It pictured a young man with hand prints around his neck, as well as one on his upper right arm and lower left. Mai paled at the dark color of the bruises, outlined in an angry splash of red and purple as if still fresh.

Mai jumped as Oliver quietly asked, "I was going to ask if they had checked the electrical and HVAC systems… But these marks suggest otherwise. Do we know when or how he received these?" His voice was alarmingly close, when he had moved. He was inches from her leaning forward to analyze the photo. So close… she could see the lines between his brows and around his eyes. Mai reminded herself to breathe and turned to Martin as he answered.

"Jack said he had been awoken one night, around 2 am, by his son, Akio screaming and some crashing sounds. He recounts finding his son pinned to the floor, furniture knocked around and small items scattered everywhere. He couldn't see anything but his son's face was turning blue when he ran in and whatever it was disappeared leaving his son passed out on the floor. The bruises had been inflicted at that point and time. After that is when he got into contact with me. BSPR has already taken the case but I would love to have you two ladies on the case with us. But I do understand if you all can't." Martin laid the file on the table and leaned back, resting his ankle on his knee and glanced between Mai and Masako. Oliver had followed his fathers lead, resuming his previous position, eyes on Mai.

Masako seemed to be debating it, understandably, they didn't have anything at the moment but their team hadn't been told if they were going to be renewed or not. That meeting was next month. So they could take the case. Glancing at Masako, confirming they were on the same page, she looked to Martin. Straightening her back, while ignoring Oliver's burning stare, She smiled at Martin, "We'd love to join BSPR on this case. Like I mentioned earlier we do work with a few others, as long as that's not an issue we just need the time and place!"

"Wonderful! It'll be splendid to work with you all and your other team members. If they are anywhere near as talented as you two." Martin happily replied.

Setting her tea down Masako nodded, "yes, we are happy to help. If I'm honest we probably would have been sucked in anyways. I'm sure Mai's dream has something to do with this haunting." Masako wouldn't meet her glare. Sadly, she was probably right. She usually had dreams before starting a case. She still had normal dreams every now and again but it's like her esp tracked down the hauntings, almost as if it was a bloodhound hunting a fox, so more often than not Mai found herself walking through the memories of their next case. Sighing, she looked to Masako in betrayal and prayed to whatever god there was that no one asked, at least not yet. She wanted to write it in her journal and actually work through what she felt before explaining it to anyone. She liked to have it straightened out and making sense before sharing.

She knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth, "Mind telling us about this dream Mai?" Mister calm, cool, and collected had his hand propped on the arm of the couch, hand ghosting his jaw, while the other rested on his crossed legs. She took in the man before her and looked for the cues she had learned all those years ago, the on-coming headache nose pinch, the sigh of irritation when she was being particularly stubborn, the slouch in his shoulders after a long day in the office, the arrogant smirk he gets when he knows he's won, his small smile when he apologized, the impatient finger tapping, of which he was displaying currently. They stared each other down as he tapped his finger against his leg, the corner of his mouth ticked upwards in a smirk. UGH, how she had ever dealt with him before she had no clue, once the charm of his looks wore off he was a struggle to deal with. Who was she to talk, she's probably just as stubborn as he is. Sighing, she tried to buffer, "I would love to share, I don't want to withhold important information." A snort from Oliver, jerk, "I didn't really get anything. It was an onslaught on my senses. I usually write in my journal after a dream but this morning went a little out of the norm. All I got was pain, images, like photographs taken by a toddler, and something wet…" She trailed off. She didn't really have anything for them. She's not even sure if she forgot anything. She could remember the pain, though now a distant ache, was excruciating. She couldn't tell if it was emotional pain or physical. It could have been both but all she knew with certainty was that whoever those memories belonged to had suffered.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Madoka asked, "Do you remember the images?" Lin added, "And where you experienced the pain." Mai tapped her chin in thought before nodding, "I do remember a few but not all of them. The pain was overwhelming and made it hard to focus on much else. It radiated in my stomach area." She held a hand to her stomach, a grimace on her face in remembrance. "I saw dark hair shrouding my view in one, then something metal glinting in another. Oh, there was this ear piercing scream too. Though that could have been me with the way my throat was when I woke up…" she came out of her thoughts when no one said anything. Silence had fallen over the group at the information of the case before them. As if the activity level wasn't already worrisome before arriving on the property, she could only speculate how much worse it could get once they arrived and pissed the ghost off more.

"I'm presuming one of your team members is Yasu?" Oliver broke the silence not looking up from whatever was written in that book of his.

"Yes, he is. Do you have a request for him?" Masako gave him a blank look, already knowing what he wanted.

"If possible, I'd like him to look into the property's history and any possible incidents of note that took place there." Not even acknowledging who had responded, still in his head already trying to solve a puzzle without all the pieces. Mai shook her head, the same old Naru.

Mai smiled, this really is starting to feel like old times, "I can send him a message today and let the rest know about the case. I just need the details. We are heading back to Japan tomorrow afternoon at around 2."

Standing up she gathered the cups, placing them on the tray, before carrying them to the kitchen counter. She hoped everything would go over well with the group. She didn't think they harbored any ill feelings towards Lin and Na- Oliver , ugh not again. She dropped her head in exhaustion, she gave up, as long as it's internal and she doesn't actually call him that to his face. She could live with that. Old habits really do die hard. She placed the used kettle and cups in the sink and began the process of washing them. She'd send an email at lunch today, she needed to grab her journal too. Thinking about her dream again she wasn't sure she wanted to know what this poor ghost had been through. She didn't even know half the story and she was already feeling for the poor soul. She was pulled out of her thoughts when a freshly rinsed cup was pulled from her hands. Her eyes following the hand to find the culprit she paused, Naru was drying the navy blue cup with a dish towel. Finishing he opened the cupboard to his right and placed it in before turning to her. He lifted a brow, eyes bright with amusement, and held out a hand. She stared at his hand, what did he want? Sliding her questioning gaze up, meeting his, he smirked, "The next cup." Her eyes widened in realization, ignoring his stupid smirk and amused tone she continued washing and he dried.

"Everyone left to prepare for today. The final lectures begin in 45 minutes. I wanted to make sure you knew that the case starts October 1st. We will be meeting you all at the airport the day before with the equipment." Placing the kettle on the stove he handed her the towel before turning and leaning against the counter beside her, arms crossed.

Drying her hands and hanging the towel she considered him. She could have gotten that information from Masako but he knew that. She didn't know why he felt the need to tell her himself. She just knew she was glad he did. He seemed to want her alone a lot. Like last night. She could feel her face heat up as she remembered all the stolen touches. How close he had gotten. What his coat had felt like draped over her, warm, and it smelled wonderful. She couldn't place it, it felt like it was just out of reach. A finger softly tapped between her brows before it pulled away. Her blush deepened when she realized she had totally spaced out on him. "Sorry, just thinking. But we will meet you all at the airport. We have an extra van we can use for the equipment. If that works for you all?"

"That's fine. We should head toward the conference hall. That is if you were interested in seeing any of them. I have to meet with Martin and Lin to make some preparations for the case." Oliver glanced at his watch, "they start in 20 minutes." Straightening, he walked towards the door.

"I'll pass on today. I'm exhausted and honestly still sore from my dream. I'll see you later?" She needed a good nap but before that she needed to review her dream. Not even realizing what she said, she was in shock when he smiled at her, really smiled, "See you later, Mai." Then he was out the door. Her cheeks burned. So not fair. That smile should be criminal. She headed towards the bedroom ready to get her dream on paper and take a nap. Hopefully it was a restful one.