Little Facts

Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt is the intellectual property of Fuyumi Ono-san and Inada Shiho-san. Copyrights go to Kodansha and J.C. Staff. No copyright infringement intended. This is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Author's note: Just to clear some things, this is set a couple of months after the Akumu Sumu no Ie series.

Fact 2. Gene

Mai's eyes opened slowly. She looked straight up and dimly noted that she could see faint glows of light floating upwards in the sea of black. She raised her hands up and looked at it, confusion marring her face at the translucent quality that her hands seemed to be emitting. She finally stood up to take a better look of her surroundings. Small balls of faintly glowing lights were everywhere. Only one conclusion came into her mind.

"Spirit realm." Her face scrunched up as she was more confused at her situation. "We're not on a case right now… so why am I here?" she mumbled to herself. "And where's Gene? Usually he's here when I wake up here…" Suddenly worried for Gene's welfare, Mai set out to find where his narcissistic boss' twin was.

"Gene! Where are you?!" Nothing. The silence of the place was the answer to her shout. Mai continued on, apprehension sitting in the pit of her stomach. "Where in the world are you Gene? Oh please don't let anything bad happen to him…"

"Gene!"

I could hear a voice calling out from far away; it was a girl by the tone of the voice, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. I stretched for a bit as I rose up from my lying position. It felt good to be able to stand up and stretch my legs as they were all stiff from being in the same position for a quite some time. When I was finished doing that, I returned to listening to the girl's voice. I noticed that it seemed to get closer to me. I also noticed that the voice sounded eerily familiar.

I walked towards where the voice was coming, and then it stopped. I wonder what happened. I took a deep breath then started trying to sense the auras of the things that surround me. As I am in the spirit realm, I was very much surprised to find an aura of a living being; and not only an ordinary living being, but the aura of someone dear to me.

"What is she doing here?"

"Hello?! Is anyone out here?" Being alone in the spirit realm was really creeping her out. It's not because she was sensing any kind of danger but because of the fact that she was the only being there. She continued walking until she spotted a small clearing ahead.

It was an oasis of sorts in the vast emptiness of the realm that she was in. From her view, she could see a Sakura tree on the side and small hedges lining the perimeter. As she neared it, she could make out small boulders scattered here and there underneath the tree. When she finally reached it, she realized that it was a small Zen garden. There was sand and gravel drawn with circular designs and small boulders of rock were strategically placed on it. There was a stone path leading to the other side of the garden where a patch of grass lays and where the Sakura tree was. There were also some small boulders on it which you can sit on.

Mai smiled despite of herself. She didn't know how it got there, but she was not about to complain after seeing only darkness and have floating orbs of light as a companion. She skipped on the stone paths leading to the other side and sat down on one of the boulders under the tree.

I continued to walk for some time before the first bouts of tiredness hit me. What I would give to have a place somewhere in this drab world for me to sit down. It would be nice if there was any garden around here. Maybe something like a Zen garden; that would really be peaceful. Plus a Sakura tree in blossom would be nice as well.

As I continued on, I spotted something on the horizon. I didn't think that it would actually materialize but the Zen garden that I was imagining moments ago was there in plain sight. I was correct in thinking that anything can happen in the spirit realm, if your will is strong enough to let it happen. Nearing it, I saw that there was someone sitting beneath the Sakura tree and I couldn't help smile when I recognized it.

Mai straightened out on her perch and she strained out her ears. She was sure that she heard something. Looking around her, she saw nothing but the calmness of the Zen garden before her and the sturdiness of the Sakura tree behind her.

Tap. Tap.

There it was again! She stood up and stood on the boulder she was sitting on to gain more vantage point in her view. Then she heard the crunching of grass behind her. She whirled around so fast that she lost her footing on the boulder she was standing on. She let out a scream and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the hard impact on the ground. It never came. Confused, she slowly opened them only to look up at soft dark blue eyes.

"Huh? What the hell?" Mai blinked owlishly then realization hit her like a ton of bricks. A hue of pink started forming on her cheeks and she was slowly becoming flustered. She could feel the arms holding her and the radiating warmth of the body that was enveloping her.

"I.. uh… G-gene!"

Gene smiled softly at Mai, amusement evident in his eyes. "A little bit of excitement we have here, Mai-chan?"

If she was pink a while ago, she was definitely red now. She swatted him at his shoulder. "Mou! Stop teasing me." Gene chuckled and put her down gently on the ground. Mai, embarrassed by the whole situation, pouted and glared at the same time at the rock, blaming it for what happened.

"If you have Noll's PK-ST, that boulder would be in pieces." Shifting her gaze towards him, she stuck out her tongue, like a kid who had lost an argument. "Hmph!" Gene laughed at the childish display. No wonder his brother loves riling her up. Her reactions to things were simply amusing and adorable. "Looks like another trait that we would have to share." He proceeded to sit down. Mai looked at him curiously. "Why am I here, Gene?"

A perplexed look came upon the young man's face. "That is a good question. Why is she here? As far as I know, Noll do not have a case as of the moment. Hmm…"

Mai watched as a contemplative look set upon her boss' twin brother. She couldn't help but think of Naru when Gene's being like this, all quiet and in deep concentration. A fit of giggles suddenly captured her. Gene looked at her, wondering what has caused the brunette to suddenly laugh. An eyebrow raised, and the brunette was sent laughing hard.

Gene's eyes narrowed slightly. "Mai…" he started, not knowing what to make of the laughing young lady in front of him. "Laughing out loud on your own is never a good sign. You know that… right?" Wiping away at the stray tears that had formed in her eyes, she beamed at Gene, which made said male to catch his breath.

"It's just that, you looked impeccably like Naru a while ago. I almost thought you guys switched places."

If sweat drops were real, he knew that he would have one right now. "We are identical twins after all Mai." He deadpanned at her. She just smiled back. "I know." Gene just shook his head, as if in defeat, a fond smile on his lips. "This girl…"

Mai sat down beside him. "So, do you know why I'm here? Am I going to have another pre-cognitive dream about a future case?" Gene shook his head negative. "I honestly don't know Mai." At this, Mai's eyes widen as a thought suddenly hit her. She grabbed onto the Gene's sleeve, a frantic look on her face. Gene wondered what she thought of this time. "I'm not dead, am I?! Did I die in my sleep? Oh no! What could've happened—"

"Whoa! Hang about Mai." Mai stopped at the middle of her tirade as Gene placed his hands on her shoulder. She looked at him wide-eyed, her heartbeat fast from the sudden rush. Gene fought the urge to groan. She was looking incredibly cute at the moment. "You are most definitely alive. I assure you that." Mai let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. She relaxed in his hold, and smiled sheepishly at him. Gene let her go and sat back.

"Now, I have a theory as to why you are suddenly brought here." Mai nodded, signalling for him to go on. "A while ago, I was thinking that it would be nice to have a garden of some sort here and this place," he motioned at the Zen garden before them "appeared."

"But what does that have to do with me being here?" Mai asked, confusion lacing her voice.

Gene twitched a bit and stared ahead of him. From her view, she could see that his ears and neck were turning a little pink. This confused her even more. "Gene?"

Gene coughed, trying to conceal his discomfort. "Alright. Going on, I thought that anything is possible within the spirit realm if your will is strong enough to let it happen…"

Mai just stared at him, completely lost at the point that he was trying to make. "So?"

Gene looked away, his ears, neck and cheeks pink. "I was thinking that," Gene paused, deciding whether to fib or just to tell the truth. Mai waited patiently for him to continue. "Nothing comes out of fibbing anyway."

"I thought it would be nice to see you and talk to you again…" he said so softly that Mai almost didn't hear what he said. Mai was surprised to say the least, a blush beginning to form in her cheeks as well. "You were thinking of me?" Gene remained silent, his face still blushing. Mai smiled widely. "Oh, you missed me. Aww! That's so cute Gene!" The said male gave her a look of disdain, which she promptly ignored.

"In any case, I was also wondering how you were doing right before I fell asleep. It has been a while since we last saw each other after all." It was Gene's turn to be surprised. Mai smiled at him, bashful at the recent turn of events.

"… I guess, our thoughts synced with each other that is why you ended up here." Mai saw a glint in Gene's eyes. It was the same as the one she sees in Naru whenever something caught his attention. "They really are close to each other, even their mannerisms are the same." Mai smiled softly, feeling melancholic all of a sudden. "Fate sure is cruel for separating these two."

Moments of comfortable silence enveloped the two, just enjoying each other's company. At some point, Mai stretched and lay down on the grass.

"This is nice." She said quietly.

"Un" was her companion's silent reply. "I wish we can do this again. You know, just hang out like this with nothing to worry about." Gene nodded. He was wishing for the same thing, just like her. A yawn suddenly escaped his mouth. Mai looked at him in concern. "Is it time?" He smiled sadly at her.

"Unfortunately. The fatigue is starting to set in." Gene stood up and helped Mai to her feet.

"Are you gonna be ok?" He nodded. "Sleep is a good thing right about now."

"Ah, I wish we had more time. Do you think we can manage to do this again?"

Gene shrugged. "I will have to look into that." Gene paused shifting his gaze away from Mai. "But I do hope that we can do it again… its nice." Mai smiled as another yawn hit him.

"I guess I'll be going. You need to send me back so you can sleep. You're looking beat." He nodded and stood in front of her, placing two fingers in between her eyes. He looked contemplative for a while, and then his gaze shifted to her.

"Mai, don't tell Noll about this yet." She gave him a questioning look. He looked away, completely embarrassed. Seeing his flustered face, she gave a comforting smile and nodded. She knows that whatever reason it was that he has for not telling his brother, he will tell it to her in the future. She trusts his judgment as much as she trusts his brother's. "Okay, it's our secret."

He gave her a smile and nodded. "Alright Mai, it's time to go back. Take care Mai."

"I will! Have a nice sleep Gene." With that, Gene pushed her back with his fingers. He watched as she slowly fell backwards until she disappeared. He was alone again and couldn't help but miss the warmth that Mai's presence had provided mere moments ago.

Gene watched the orbs of light float upwards, absorbed in his thoughts.

She's gone back to the living and I'm left here in the world of the dead. Sometimes, I couldn't help but curse at the event that had befallen me. First, I left my brother to despair over my loss. Now, it seems that I'm falling for a girl that will never be mine. Did I do something really bad in my past life to have ended up with this kind of luck? Sigh.

Noll is lucky. He has Mai almost all of the time, while I on the other hand, can only have snippets of time with her; and I know that that time is limited. That will disappear in the future as well. I hope that that idiot scientist brother of mine would finally realize his feelings before somebody else takes her away. I don't think I can bear the thought of Mai being with another man except him.

Author's Note: Okay, here's the second installation of Little Facts. I hope you guys enjoyed the story. I'm sorry that it took me awhile to post it up. Real life got in the way of pursuing my fandom. (-_-) Anyway, I took some liberty here about things happening in the spirit realm, so I'm not sure if that part really made sense or anything.

Thank you for the people who left me reviews, followed and put my story in their faves' list! Krissy2lip, Ferb O. Oche and RosetheWolfgirl. You guys made me really happy. Okay, make this little authoress happy and fill out that box below. Even a small comment can be a lot of help to improvement.