Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.

Tripping

By Club Bahia

The closest metaphor to his feelings for Mai was tripping.

Naru had only tripped once. He was about seven or eight years old (and already unnaturally sharp) and was running distractedly towards his house. Naru never saw the mischievous little rock that stuck firmly to the ground, the tiniest of all peaks waiting calmly for his ever-approaching toe. He had shouted in surprise when it happened, throwing his arms to protect his face and scratching them rather nastily in the process. The greatest casualty, though, was his ego and, ever since, Naru had been extra-careful when moving, lest the experience be repeated.

And yet, despite all the precautions he had raised, Naru had missed that little rock on his path that was Mai. It was like she was waiting for his toe as well, as he naively ran towards his disgrace. Her energetic demeanor, sincere smiles and the occasional arguments between them eroded his fortitude until he was back to around seven or eight, unnaturally sharp but merely a child, and the time for falling came. His heart tripped on her charm, and Naru was plummeting, inexorably, to the ground.

However, unless you trip towards something soft, pain always follows. And it was so painful, realizing her feelings were channeled to him because he was the physical image of the true holder of her love. Naru guessed Gene's place in his little metaphor would be the laughing person that witnessed the other fall. Smiling, forever laughing, at his living twin's misfortune. Then came the scratches and the bleeding, watching as she confessed and he clarified her mistake (honestly, Mai could be so stupid), waiting to comfort her and beating his ego to a bloody pulp.

He left for England to nurse himself back to health. Those inner scratches were stubborn, determined to leave ugly scars behind, and Naru knew they achieved their goal beautifully. So beautifully, by the way, the blue-eyed youth just had to go back for more. During the entire trip back to Japan, Naru received looks from Lin that clearly inquired just what the hell he was thinking, looks that Naru pointedly ignored. And then they landed, and he searched for her...

And he was tripping again.

***

Read and Review!