A/N: Hey! This is just a project I've been working on. I was thinking...Why was Gene in Japan when he died? and the I came up with this!! So read. Enjoy. Oh and Review too please :)

Disclaimer: Uhhh......I guess I don't own Ghost Hunt.

Chapter 1: D is for Death?

It was no use, the car was dead.

Gene stepped on the gas one more time but his efforts were only met with a sputter, a groan from his failed engine and a sudden but impartial jerk from the steering wheel.

He got out of the car.

With a fleeting glance he took in the deserted scenery, devoid of tall apartment buildings and smog filled air. He turned his flashlight on and the white light bounced off of the road and the lake beyond. Peaceful, tranquil, nothing like the city. the air especially was cool and crisp.

He liked the country, he especially liked the Japanese countryside. Maybe he would come back.

He pressed the button on his keychain and the trunk popped open revealing dozens of different tools he had no idea how to use. Rolling up his sleeves he sighed. He'd never be able to fix an engine in the middle of the night. Still he took out the tools and set them on the road as quietly as he could, it was so quiet, he feared any sort of noise would be a taboo. One more time he desperately scanned the road for any sign of life, a house, a phone a car. But there was nothing and he resigned to repairing the engine.

He brought the tools to the front of the car, wondering what his brother would think of him trying to fix an engine at midnight on a desolate road.

'He probably knows.' Gene thought wryly. 'And he'll wear himself out using his abilities like that.'

So caught up with musing over his brothers stupidity and protectiveness, Gene didn't notice the screwdriver that had rolled in the street until he needed it. With a half-hearted groan he pushed himself up and walked over to grab it, when suddenly he was blinded with light.

'This is one of those moments,' Gene thought, 'When my life's supposed to flash in front of my eyes.'

But he didn't see anything but the Ford F-150 that was hurtling towards him at a breathless speed. He closed his eyes and then felt himself being jerked aside. He hadn't done anything, he knew for certain that he hadn't even tried to move, but somehow he was now lying on the side of the road unscratched.

Several seconds later, with screwdriver in hand, he picked himself up and heard the screeching of car tires on the silent street.

The truck doors practically fell open as a worried couple stepped out nervously.

"Hey kid are you alright?" a man's voice shouted over to him.

"Honey, are you hurt, do you need help?" another voice inquired.

He looked over at the couple with a sheepish grin on his face he stood and brushed himself off.

Twisting his hands together uncomfortably he then managed to ask, "Would you mind giving me a ride?"

Oliver Davis sat in his office seething in uncertain anger.

He was holding his brothers watch and had, therefore, seen the entire occurrence on the highway.

'He could have been killed,' Oliver thought, placing the watch down, 'He could be dead.'

With a sigh Oliver picked up a piece of white-lined paper and decided to relieve himself by doing what Madoka called a 'stress-exercise.'

He wrote a list.

1. Look both ways before you cross the street.

2. Don't take rides from strangers.

3. Remember to put enough gas in the car before you drive outside of civilization.

'Oh yeah,' Oliver thought with a smirk.

4. Don't take your brothers empathy link for granted.

Three weeks later.

It was lunch time when Mai Taniyama ran to the window and used her full bodily weight to pry it open. The school felt more like a sauna than a learning institution at the moment and she leaned heavily against the window frame, staring at the city below.

She had work after class today, but six hours bell-hopping at the Furinkan Hotel didn't sound exhilarating, and it usually wasn't.

Sure she had ghost stories before work and her friends all loved her stories best ( they claimed that hers were real and spooky and she did always try her hardest for them). But it didn't help the fact that she still felt empty, as if she was meant to do something, but she had no idea what.

Gene crept down the corridors of Shikoku High School with all the stealth of a bowling ball in a china shop. So far he'd knocked over a cabinet, touched wet paint and currently he was tripping up the stairs while trying to see around the corner with a compact mirror.

He could practically hear Noll laughing at him.

Oh, wait, he could hear Noll laughing at him.

'Shut up Noll.' Gene snapped.

'I don't know why you're a Ghost Hunter you should be ninja, seriously, your very undetectable.' Noll teased him, 'And where'd you get that compact? Do you use makeup now?'

Gene glared at the wall in place of his brother. 'I got it (stole it) from Madoka, and go away I'm on a mission here.'

For a minute there was silence and Gene walked down the hall relieved. Until he was standing outside of classroom 2-A and Noll decided to pitch in again.

'So who are you looking for now?' he asked dismissively, back to his cold derisive self.

With a sigh Gene pulled the door open and peered in to the darkness that was classroom 2-A.

'Well, we're gathering potential psychic's for our latest case, Madoka told me to find this girl named-'

"Mai! That voice is so creepy, stop freaking us out!" a voice whined from inside the classroom.

Someone giggled and Gene rolled his eyes.

"One, two, three." the girls said in unison and in that pause Gene took the opportunity to flick the lights on.

Three voices shrieked and then Gene saw them, crouched in between the desks and holding little flashlights. Three of them, each in Shikoku's uniform, held on to each other while they shrieked. Slowly their hysteria wore down and they turned to find him standing in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Gene said with a smile.

Two of the girls lit up and rushed over to greet him.

"Not at all!" they promised, while the other hung back. "What's your name? What year are you in?"

'Since when are you so popular?' Noll said amusedly.

'Shuddup.' Gene thought through his smile.

"I'm Gene Davis, I'm 17 this year, and -uh- I was hoping one of you might be Mai Taniyama?" disappointed the girls turned away and gestured towards the other girl, who was now packing her things.

"She's Mai. Mai he's for you." the girl said ruefully.

A little surprised the girl turned to look at him, her eyes seeming to bore in to his.

"What's the matter?" she said casually, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

He watched slowly, her hair bounced as she moved, her eyes studied him curiously and her lithe frame slid closer to his.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, can I talk to y-you alone for a moment?" he stuttered.

She smiled, not hearing his slip-up, her eyes glowing brightly. "Sure."

As he led her from the classroom he heard Noll's voice echo in his head.

'She's...something else.'

"What's this about?" Mai asked nervously, once she and the boy were alone.

She had to get to work soon and she wasn't so sure that this boy would let her do that.

"I'm just here to ask a few questions. About the old school house." Gene put in, tapping his foot in an anxious rhythm on the linoleum floor.

She sighed, waiting for the questions to begin. Of course she'd had to answer tons of questions. Reporters, police, the press, everyone wanted to know what had happened.

But it hadn't been Mai's fault.

"How exactly did it collapse?" Gene asked, his voice not conveying anything but pure interest.

"Why do you want to know? Why should I tell you?" Mai challenged. Truthfully she didn't mind giving him a few details but a little information on his part would be nice. The last thing she wanted was her name in a book or TV movie or who-knows-what, she did not need more publicity.

She didn't know what to expect from this boy, this nosy, albeit very handsome boy, who seemed interested in her personal life.

But his answer...she certainly didn't expect that.

"My name is Gene Davis." he said, extending his hand, "I'm traveling all across the world to put together the perfect psychic research team for my families company, Shibuya Psychic Research."

Mai hand fell slack by her side and Gene lowered his uncomfortably, her eyes were as wide as he was sure they'd get.

'Way to be subtle.' his brother's voice echoed inside his head.

Gene sighed, knowing that he had just about blew it with this one. After that last statement he was almost positive that she wouldn't listen to another word he had to say. She had the ever-popular 'seriously?' face and her shock hadn't worn off just yet.

"...sorry." Gene said, backing away. "I guess I'll be going."

As he turned something inside of him screamed for him to stop, he didn't want to leave her there, in shock, it didn't seem right. But before he could stop himself from leaving something else did. A small hand encircled his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Wait." Mai said. "Sorry. I'll tell you anything you want to know, just follow me."

"So it just...collapsed?"

Mai nodded. She had led Gene to where she worked and made him wait while she changed in to her uniform. Currently he was playing the part of a tourist and she was dutifully answering his questions all the while holding a secret interview.

"Yep, the girl who was causing all of the ruckus ( you know the 'spirits' and junk) ran in to the building one day and I was passing by. I got this...really bad feeling and I followed her inside. It must have been poorly built or something because by the time I found her the building had collapsed." Mai shuddered in remembrance, "It took them hours to dig us out but we were fine. The other girl....she was shaken up. She seemed upset that the building was gone but I was just glad to be alive."

Gene narrowed his eyes on this girl, she was definitely interesting. Friendly, cute, funny smart and possibly a great asset to SPR. How did Madoka find these people?

"This feeling, can you explain it?" Gene asked her particularly.

But Mai only shook her head. "I've tried before, with the press, but it just isn't explainable. I couldn't believe what had happened, you know? It was probably just intuition."

She shrugged it off but he had one more question, before she could turn away to help the next customer he grabbed her arm.

"Ms. Taniyama-"

"Mai." she corrected.

"Right, Mai." he blushed, letting go of her arm, "What about the bright light. The one everyone in the area saw the moment the school building collapsed. You didn't see it?"

Mai looked defeated. She faced him again, completely resigned. "That's what everybody asks me, I swear if I had seen it I would have told someone. Especially if I had seen where it had come from. You know...the other girl saw it, I didn't. I must not have been paying attention."

Gene crossed his arms and smiled, "Well thanks anyway Mai. It was great meeting you."

But on the inside he was thinking, 'What if she didn't see that light because it came from her?'

Noll replied, 'That's a possibility.'

The next morning Mai woke up late and ate in a hurry. She pulled her uniform on, grabbed her book bag and ran from her apartment with a bagel in her teeth. She was just stumbling past her mailbox when Gene caught her eye. He was standing in front of her building looking rather amused at her disheveled appearance. Raising his hand he waved in approbation. She groaned and shuffled her way over to him, doing up her last shirt button as she reached him.

"Why are you here? What do you want this early in the morning? I told you everything yesterday!" Mai complained.

Gene only smiled, "I have good news!"

Mai smacked her forehead and dropped her book bag to her feet. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Well, two things actually. First I told my parents about you and they've decided to add you to our team! You're now part of Shibuya Psychic Research as an Investigator in-training! Isn't that great? You'll get to travel and meet tons of people and make money and-" Mai shushed him.

The look on her face was less than happy. In fact she looked rather elated/shocked/unbelieving but Gene would have to take that as a good sign.

"We'll need to fly you out tonight, to SPR headquarters in England. You'll meet your teammates and my parents and start your first case-" Mai shushed him again.

"Seriously?" she asked. "What's the other good news?"

"Oh, its Saturday." Gene dead-panned, "No school."

"You're scared of planes?" Gene asked yet again.

Mai nodded, biting her lip. She was clutching the big, comfy first class seat as if it were her last life line to the natural world. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"All passengers please buckle your seat belts the plane is about to take flight-" but she didn't hear the rest.

She clicked her seat belt and curled up in to the leather as if to shrivel up and die.

"Mai." Gene said from beside her, "The planes lifting up, are you sure you're alright-"

"No." Mai snapped, "I'm not alright. I'm being kidnapped by a crazy person. I'm not psychic! I had a feeling. Not all feelings are psychic reactions! Why am I here! Get me off, get me off, get me off, get me off." she chanted.

Gene sighed and leaned against the headrest as the plane lifted in to the air.

'She's an idiot.' Noll commented. 'She's supposed to be a latent psychic?'

Gene groaned. This was going to be a longer flight than expected.

REVIEW PLEASE!!! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!! BUT YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT ALREADY WEREN'T YOU?