Story: Stolen Voice

Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt . . . but I will soon. *evil laughter echoes throughout the room*

Author's Note: I know that a lot of you wanted me to write my sequel to 'A Child's Wish': 'Black Spell of the Past', but something tells me that I'm not ready to write it just yet. I think I need some time before I understand Gene enough to write it. So please wait patiently.

P.S: I'd like to thank all those who have read my stories up until now: dreamaker401, Chibi-Kyuubi-Chan, xSapphirexRosesxFan, crazylittlecheezer, twighlightangel61090, Aktaiy and so many others. I'd also like to give thanks to Roxius, HoneyBearChibiPandaSmexBree, Natsume11, Nekothorn and Enma An. All of you guys have always been there for me and encouraged me to write my stories. I am grateful to you all. Thank you.

Chapter 1

Mai was running as fast as she could. She was late to work . . . again. "Seriously, I must be the best runner in the entire school, having to do this everyday," Mai moaned mentally as she turned around the corner, finally getting the SPR building into sight, "Finally, I'm almost there." She sprinted up the stairs and threw the door open, panting hard.

"You're late," Naru was standing at the doorway of his office.

"How the hell did he know when I would get here?" Mai gawked at the boy.

"Will you stop staring like an idiot and get me some tea?" Naru walked into his office without waiting for an answer, leaving Mai seething.

"Why that arrogant bastard," Mai glowered as she set the kettle and waited for the water to heat. She looked up as a thought struck her, "Wait, could he have possibly been waiting for me? . . . No way! That guy doesn't think of me that way. I need to stop think like this." She shook her head slightly, grateful when the whistle of the kettle caught her attention. She poured the tea into three cups, letting it simmer for 30 seconds before carrying them out of the kitchen.

First she stopped at the table, setting one cup down for her before continuing to Lin-san's room. "Lin-san, can I come in?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Mai walked into the small room, seeing Lin-san on his laptop as usual, still not looking away from the screen as he typed. "I brought you tea, Lin-san," she called out cheerfully.

Lin-san looked up at her as she handed him the tea, a small but grateful smile gracing his lips. "Thank you, Mai."

"No problem," Mai grinned. After working with Naru, she had grown to appreciate thanks as the boy would never acknowledge her in any way. But now due to that, Mai made sure to give them to all those who did something for her, making her already-constant manners even stronger. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, thank you," Lin-san shook his head.

"Alright," Mai nodded, "I better go get Naru his tea." She groaned with a pained expression, making Lin-san chuckle. Mai smiled at the sound, "You should laugh more often."

Lin-san raised his eyebrow, "Why is that?"

"Eh?" Mai was taken back. She hadn't expected a question. "Well, it's good to smile. It makes you happier," she stuttered out an answer, making it up on the spot.

Lin-san studied her for a few moments before smiling as he murmured almost to himself, "You two are so alike yet so different."

"Huh?" Mai looked at him questioningly.

"Someone I knew before told me that I should laugh more as well. I asked her why she thought that. The reply I got was quite interesting," Lin-san laughed lightly at the memory.

"He must have really liked this person," Mai smiled before asking aloud, "So what did they say?"

"The exact same thing you did," he said bluntly. Mai blinked in surprise. From the way he had acted, she would have figured this person had acted differently. "But," Mai looked up, listening closely as the man continued, "The way they said it was different: nonchalant and casual. Though, they did add one thing after they said those words."

Mai raised her eyebrow, "What did he say?"

Lin-san's lips twisted into a smirk, "Unlike you, they decided to add, 'At least that's that what those who care would say.'"

Mai blinked a few times before bursting into laughter, "He said that?"

He chuckled, "And when I asked them why they had told me to smile more in the first place, their reason was, 'Because it's amusing to see others' reactions.'"

Mai giggled, "Well, it is rare to see you smile. When I saw it for the first time, I was pretty shocked."

Lin-san smirked, "I don't think 'shocked' is accurate enough, seeing as you and the others looked like you were about faint"

Mai blushed, "I guess our reactions were kind of extreme." Lin-san raised an eyebrow, making her correct her words, "Fine, fine: really extreme."

Lin-san chuckled before looking at her with a smile, "You two are similar in some ways, but completely different in others."

"Like?"

"Well, you are similar in the way you both rush out to help others without any care for your own well-being, never realizing how much others will worry about you."

Mai huffed, "Well, I'm so sorry for caring."

Lin-san chuckled, "Yes, but that's about where you become different. You apologize for running off without telling them. However that person of my past never would. They would only apologize for making the others worry, but never apologize for running out and not telling them. That one always made sure we knew that they did not regret it and would not apologize as that would be lying."

"He sounds incredible," Mai sighed before smirking, "He could probably stand up to Naru."

"There's no question about that," Lin-san laughed.

But as though on cue, Naru's irritated voice came through the wall, "Mai!"

Mai groaned, "Oh, now I'm going to get it. I've got to go, Lin-san." She rushed out of the room.

Lin-san watched her with a knowing smile. Even he could tell that despite her complainants, she still had feelings for Naru and didn't actually mind his lack of manners – too much. Even Lin-san was surprised when he had found out that Naru thought the girl loved Gene instead. Anyone with eyes could see that the girl had feelings for the boy who was alive, not the one who wasn't. When he had first heard about what Naru had said, Lin-san had briefly considered punching the boy. He couldn't help it: the girl had grown on him – all of the SPR team had. No matter how much he had tried to keep his distance, they had somehow made it through his barriers. However he still kept his feelings to himself – he always had. Only the person that he had told Mai about just now had ever been able to tell what he was feeling. Lin-san looked up at the ceiling, "When will I see you again?"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Mai knocked on the door, "I'm coming in, Naru!" She walked in quickly, knowing from his previous words that he was waiting for her.

"I don't appreciate that not only are you late to work, but also late with your job," Naru told her coldly.

Mai sighed. She had expected this, "I was talking to Lin-san."

She didn't notice that Naru's body had tensed up when she had said that, "Why were you talking to him?"

Mai raised her eyebrow, "I'm not allowed to talk to him?"

"You already do not do any work. I would prefer if you didn't hinder Lin as well."

Mai glowered at him, pushing down her anger, "He was just telling me about an old friend of his because I had said the exact same thing as him while delivering the tea. The story took a little while so I was late with your precious tea. Next time I'll keep in mind to ask Lin-san to wait for a moment so I can give you your tea before listening to the story."

Naru looked back to his folder. She didn't realize that he didn't want her talking to Lin at all – or any other guy for that matter. But he kept his emotions to himself, saying that it was simply because he didn't want her slacking off even more than she already did. He noticed she was still standing there with an angry frown on her face. He smirked inwardly. He knew what she was waiting for: he also knew that she wouldn't get it. "How long are you going to stay there like an idiot?"

Mai felt a surge of anger building up in her, but she pushed it down again. "Patience, Mai, patience," she told herself mentally before speaking out loud, "Am I asking for too much when I ask for a simple 'thank you'?"

"As someone who has done nothing, yes."

Mai couldn't keep her anger down any longer, "Why you narcissistic jerk?" She stormed out of the room, fortunately missing the smirk that had appeared on Naru's face.

"Ugh! Why does he have to be such a jerk all the time? I know that it's not part of his genetics since Gene turned out just fine. Honestly, why couldn't I have fallen for Gene instead?" Mai growled as she fell onto the couch before sighing, "But I guess the reason I fell for in the first place is because he's like this . . . God! What kind of reason is that? Naru is right: I am stupid . . . Naru would have just loved to have heard my thoughts . . ."

"Excuse me?" Mai bolted up at the sudden voice. She looked around wide-eyed, her gaze searching for the source of the sound before settling on a young woman. She was a fairly attractive woman in her mid-twenties with auburn hair and matching eyes. Her eyes danced laughingly, her lips turned up in an amused smile as she watched Mai's reaction.

Mai moaned, "You scared me!"

The woman chuckled, "I suppose working as a ghost hunter makes you jumpy, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it," Mai sighed, making the woman laugh. Mai looked at the woman questioningly, "So are you here for a consultation?"

Immediately upon the mention of it, the woman's eyes dimmed a bit, her smile wavering. She nodded, "Yes, I am. My name is Fujita Kirimi, an English teacher at the St Seika All Girls Academy. There have been . . . 'incidents' at the academy that have led us to believe the reasons are more than normal."

Mai nodded understandingly. She could tell that Fujita-sensei was worried about whatever was going on at the school, "My name is Taniyama Mai. Why don't you sit down? I will go get my boss, Shibuya-san." The woman gave the younger girl a gratifying smile, which Mai gladly returned before she walked over to Lin-san's room, warning him first before heading over to Naru's office.

"Naru?" Mai knocked, calling out softly.

"Come in."

Mai poked her head in, "There's a client here by the name of Fujita Kirimi from St Seiko All Girls Academy. She says strange things have been happening at the school so she wants to ask for our help."

Naru nodded, closing his folder, "Alright. I'll be there. Make some tea."

Mai frowned at the lack of 'please', but decided not to say anything as there was a client there. She quickly nodded and closed the door gently behind her. She turned to Fujita-sensei, "He'll be here soon." The woman nodded and Mai walked over to the kitchen to prepare the tea.

Naru came out of his office just as Mai carried the tea into the room. Lin-san was already on the one-seat couch, his fingers poised over his laptop. Mai set down the tea for everyone, Fujita-sensei and Lin-san giving a small smile, while Naru just ignored her as he opted to question the client instead, "So what is your reason for coming here?"

Fujita-sensei nodded, "As you probably already know, I am Fujita Kirimi from St Seika All Girls Academy. We have had incidents happening throughout the school."

"Such as?"

"Well, sometimes doors slide open and shut by themselves. A few have even gotten trapped within the rooms. Windows have shattered. Objects have moved, seemingly on their own. And at night we can hear someone singing. Some students have claimed that they saw a girl on this small hill behind our school at such occasions, singing to the moon."

"Anything else?"

She sighed, "At first we thought it was just a prank by some students even though it seemed so unlikely. But this last thing is what convinced us."

"What happened?" Naru raised his eyebrow slightly. Mai took it as a note that he was interested.

"Some of the girls have lost their voices."

"This is not unusual." Mai could almost feel his irritated disappointment.

But Fujita-sensei shook her head, "You don't understand. It's not the same as any illness or anything. Right before they lose their voices, a blackout occurs and a girl appears. She goes over to the girls and says, "Your voice is mine," before touching their throat. After that the girl disappears and the lights come back on: only now the girl who was touched can no longer speak. Others have seen it happen as well."

"Is there anything these girls have in common?"

"Other than their beautiful singing voices, no."

"Do the appearances of the girl on the hill and the girl stealing the voices match?"

"Yes. And that's the worst part. The appearances match a girl from our school who committed suicide near the end of the last school year so about 6 months ago."

"And this is when the incidents started?"

Fujita-sensei nodded. Mai looked at Naru, "I hope we take this case. If it's a real spirit, the fact that she's appearing in front of other humans says she might be dangerous. After all, spirits tend to be shy."

Naru seemed to agree, "We'll take your case. My team and I will be at your school in tomorrow at 10:30 am. Please prepare a room we can use as a base as well as three rooms for us to stay in: two for three and one for two. Mai, call everyone and tell them to be here at 9:00. You will need to be here at 8:30." Mai nodded.

Fujita-sensei smiled relieved and nodded, "Thank you very much! We'll have your rooms ready by the time you get there tomorrow." Naru nodded and went into his room. Lin-san did the same. As soon as they left, Fujita-sensei turned to smile at Mai, "Thank you, Taniyama-san. Your presence was very comforting when I was here. I look forward to seeing you once again."

"Eh?" Mai blinked, taken back before grinning, "No, don't worry about it. Call me Mai."

Fujita-sensei smiled, "I can see why you were named 'Mai.' It means 'dance': something that holds beauty – much like you."

Mai blushed, "Oh, no! I'm not beautiful at all!"

Fujita-sensei laughed, "I beg to differ. I know of many boys who would just love to get a date with you."

"I doubt that. But my parents both loved to dance," Mai hastily changed the subject, "That's why they taught me. They told me that whenever they started yelling, I should tell them, 'Dance!' so they could express themselves and understand what the other was saying while conveying what they wanted to say. So whenever I have a problem, I dance and I can feel their presence nearby, as though they're saying that they're still by my side even if they're no longer by my side."

Fujita-sensei smiled, "They sound like wonderful people."

"They were," Mai smiled reminiscently.

A few moments passed in a peaceful silence before both of them jumped when Fujita's phone started ringing suddenly. Fujita-sensei quickly picked up the phone, conversing shortly with the person on the other end before hanging up. She smiled apologetically at Mai, "Sorry, it seems the principal wants me to get there as soon as possible."

"It's alright," Mai accompanied the other woman to the door, "We'll be seeing you tomorrow, right?"

"Un." Fujita-sensei nodded, "Good-bye, Mai."

"Good-bye, Fujita-sensei," Mai grinned at the woman as she left. Mai closed the door gently, "Looks like it's time I called the others." She walked over to the couch and picked up the phone to dial Bou-san's number.

Long time no see! Sorry about the long wait. I'll warn you in advance that I won't be able to update fast. It may take me weeks to update now especially since my mom's trying to stop me from writing. But I shall persevere to make it! Man, it sounds like that that legend where the Milky Way is the bridge on where the star-crossed lovers, Chuc Nu and Nguu-Lang are allowed to meet once a year on the seventh month. However, this time, I will be the one building that bridge. And I hope you guys will support me: it actually does help. Kay, my dear star-crossed lovers? ;P