Ghost Hunt 1. Chapter 1

**First off: MAJOR AU. Warning given. Most likely Naru/Mai later on. I do not own Ghost Hunt or the Shaman King elements I am borrowing- notice I said ELEMENTS and not plot. **

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Mai Taniyama stared blankly at the wall of her apartment.

He was gone.

He thought she was in love with his _dead twin_ and he was gone back to England.

She didn't really know what to do. Ever since she had accidently broken that camera and taken Lin down while she was at it she had done so much- discovered an entirely new different _dangerous_ world.

For _years_ since her parents had died in that fire Mai had felt out of place. She had felt like she was missing something that should be there. Not just her parents- but something that was a part of _her_ intimately that had been ripped away by the flames.

Mai still didn't know how she had gotten out of that alive. By all accounts she should have been killed in the flames, but _something_ had pulled her out the third story window and placed her on the ground well away from the flames. She says 'something' because even now she knows she could not see whatever had pulled her out though she can vaguely remember a male voice telling her to hold her breath and count to ten.

Mai fights off the tears that want to fall. She had finally found something that had dulled that void in her heart. Something that seemed to fill some of the missing part in her soul.

And now it was gone.

"It's all over." she whispered the realization into her empty apartment.

"Not quite little one."

Mai jerked from her place falling off of her chair, her eyes darting sharply from place to place in her apartment looking for the voice. (If she had learned _one thing_ in all her time at Shibuya Psychic Research it was voices without a person to go with them were generally _bad news_) "Hello?" she brought her hands up into the Seal of the Immovable One instinctively.

"Oh don't do that Mai. I'm not going to hurt you silly child. I've been looking for you for years. It is only now that the other spirit is gone that I have found you."

Mai felt her hands drop from their place as she watched in shocked disbelief as a man seemed to fade into view. He was tall towering over her 5'2" and standing at a solid 6'3". He had shaggy black hair and the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. He was wearing what looked like sturdy tight fitting black pants, a pair of hiking boots, and a long sleeved navy colored shirt with a long black hooded coat with the hood down. She could see a chain-scythe hanging at his side and she _knew_ even though she couldn't see them that there were quite a few hidden weapons on his person. "Who…who are you?"

"My name is Satoru. I am a spirit that has watched over you since you were born."

"What?"

Satoru stared hard at the little woman in front of him. "Do you know nothing of your past? Of what the Taniyama family has done for generations? What you can do?"

She shook her head slowly, her eyes wide. "No. What do you mean?" She watched those bright green eyes close a pained look on Satoru's face.

"I suppose you wouldn't know. The fire took your parents before they could tell you anything and then destroyed any records that we had."

Mai was getting a bit annoyed. "Tell me what? What did my family do?"

Satoru lowered himself onto the floor. "The Taniyama family has been a family of Shamans since the beginning. A Shaman is a rare kind of person who has Spirit Energy inside of them that allows them to interact with, sense, see, and form partnerships with spirits in ways no one else can. In Japan right now there are probably only five families that are Shamans. The Taniyama- you- are one of them. A Shaman can see all spirits, can interact with spirits as if the spirit is alive and solid, can sense when spirits are present even if they are hiding and a Shaman can form partnerships with a spirit." Satoru paused before continuing "A Shaman's job is to help spirits stuck here to move on from the world. Occasionally and very rarely a Shaman will be forced seal away a very dangerous spirit though usually a Shaman can get through to the spirit and prevent that from happening. If all else fails a Shaman has the ability to fight and defeat a spirit. As a Shaman you have the ability to work with a spirit in various ways but that will take time and trust on both your part and my own."

Mai knew she was gaping at the man in her living room but she couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Her_ a _Shaman_? What? "You've got the wrong girl Satoru-san."

"No I do not. I have been looking for you since a few days after I pulled you from the third story of your home as it burned around you. I am a spirit that has willingly and whole heartedly served your family since very close to its beginning though I will admit to changing with the times. I was there when you were born, I sensed how powerful you would be when your abilities began to activate. I was there for your first words, your first steps. I was there for all your major accomplishments and your little happenings. I was there the day your home was attacked and set aflame, I know your soul Mai Taniyama and I know who you _can be_."

Mai felt her breath catch. "Attacked?"

Satoru's eyes saddened and darkened as he spoke. "Shamans are very rare Mai. They are sought out and coveted and sometimes people are jealous and angry of the gifts Shamans are given. Your family was attacked for refusing to use their gifts to bind a group of spirits to a very powerful very greedy evil man."

Mai wobbled in place, her vision darkening at the edges. _"No, no, no, nonono. Too much, this is too __**much**_."

She couldn't get enough air as she began to collapse backwards. She barely caught the blur of movement as Satoru rose and rushed to her side his ghostly hands feeling very warm and solid as they gently lowered her down and she could hear him whisper "I've got you Mai" before her vision went black.


	2. Chapter 2

When Mai came around again she was laying on her couch with a cold cloth on her forehead. She sat up slowly, pulling the cloth away and unerringly her eyes sought out Satoru who stood at her feet. She tried to shove the knowledge that her parents had been _murdered_ into the back of her mind where she didn't have to think about it.

She needed a distraction so she could _not_ think about it for a little while and her eyes drifted to Satoru again.

She didn't know if she really thought she believed the spirit man about being a Shaman, but learning would give her that distraction she wanted. "Why didn't any of those Shaman abilities show up earlier if I am one?"

Satoru recognized what she was doing and allowed it as he answered "They _have_ been, but without anyone to help you channel and learn about your skills they flared wildly and manifested differently then they may have with guidance." He smirked a little. "That spirit that has been with you for so long? That was the first sign of your abilities manifesting. Didn't you wonder why it chose you out of all the people it could have? With all the different spiritually aware people surrounding you including a skilled Medium? Spirits are drawn to Shamans instinctively. Like I mentioned earlier, Shamans are meant to help spirits move on. Spirits don't always _understand_ why they may be drawn to a person like that, but instinctively they understand that as a Shaman you can do something for them and will therefore try to communicate with you before anyone else."

Satoru paused for a moment before continuing. "Didn't you wonder why it was _always_ you that ended up in trouble? The spirits reached for you first. Tried to communicate with you though with no training this probably didn't work too well manifesting as a Memory Bleed- which means you lived through the spirits' experiences as if you were there and would wake up feeling as if whatever you had seen had happened to you, yes? It may have also made the spirit angry that you seemingly couldn't do something for it when it thought that you could."

Mai knew her mouth was hanging open again, but she couldn't _help_ it. Satoru was explaining a lot of things to her. She had wondered why she was always the one to get into trouble, why she had lived through all those visions as if she were present at the time they happened. "How…how did you know about Gene and Masako?" She remembered the comments made by the others about her instincts. "Is that why my instincts were always so accurate?"

Satoru smiled "Gene is the spirit I assume? I told you earlier that I've been looking for you since I pulled you out of the fire. I had to take time to recuperate after I forced a manifestation that allowed me to interact with you since I didn't have any Shaman's Spirit Energy to help me recuperate shortly after I set you down. By the time I managed to gather enough energy to look for you a few days later you were gone and another spirit had attached itself to you and shielded you from me so I had to wait for the spirit to leave before I could find you again. As for Masako- the Medium- most powerful spirits can sense them- Mediums have a certain 'feel' to them and I can feel that you have been around one quite a bit recently. Your instincts are a part of your Shaman abilities trying to manifest without training or guidance yes. The very first Shaman in your family was a monk who had Spirit Energy that he was using instinctively to help where he could and was spotted by a trained Shaman who took him under her wing. Shamans _have_ to have instincts that tell them if a spirits is alright, if it's dangerous or beyond help so they know what to do with them- if the Shaman should help it move on, seal it, or fight it."

Mai stared at her feet.

This explained _so much_, but…how could she possibly be something like a Shaman? She was just _Mai_. The girl who followed her instincts and made tea and tripped head first into trouble without trying before managing to get out of it somehow. She wasn't _special_. She never had been.

But Satoru was telling her she was. Was telling her that she was part of something _bigger_ something amazing and old. Something her parents had done.

She didn't really think anything would come out of it, but…she wanted this.

She _wanted_ it to be real.

She _wanted_ to learn something her parents had learned, wanted to help spirits, wanted to prevent some of the things she had seen working for the SPR. That didn't mean she really thought anything would come from it, but she _did_ know she had some form of ability even if she didn't believe it was these Shaman abilities Satoru said she had.

She lifted her head, resolved to at least _listen_ to him if nothing else and asked the question that would begin a new chapter in her life "What can you tell me about my family?"


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next week Mai listened to one of the most complex, unbelievable _interesting_ history lessons of her life.

It didn't even matter that this was _her_ history. She would have felt the same way she did now even if it was someone else's history, but it was hers and that made it so much more then she could imagine.

Her line began with a man named Ryuu, who had been born with a large well of Spirit Energy and was thus sent to learn with the monks of his time when his parents mistook it for Holy Energy. The monks helped him control his Spirit Energy even if it _was_ different then their own. He traveled and learned and searched for anything he could find on what he could do. He had never conformed to _just_ Monk beliefs, instead he had followed _his_ personal belief that he could learn from everyone equally if he only gave them a chance to teach him, or if he watched long enough.

Ryuu had realized long before he had been sent to the monks that he could see the departed, though he hid it at the time. He eventually ran into Satoru who had died years before, but had not moved on, and offered to help him as he had offered all the spirits he could help before him. Satoru had refused his help, but asked to travel with him when he learned that Ryuu had offered his help indiscriminately to any spirit he met. Satoru told Mai that Ryuu was, and remains, one of the most remarkable men he had ever met.

Ryuu had continued to travel and search for new ways to help the spirits around him. Satoru explained that back then, it had been much harder for spirits to get any kind of help moving on if they were stuck. People had been terrified of ghosts and curses and it had been dangerous to Ryuu to let anyone know what he could do. Back then none of the things used today by Ghost Hunters existed. The _only_ people that could help the spirits were the people born with gifts who trained to use them or were trained by someone who could use them and even then those people could still ignore what they saw or could do. In short Ryuu was a rare man, and Satoru had recognized it even in that first meeting.

Satoru explained the different teachers Ryuu had sought out in an attempt to understand what he could do-most knowing and some simply observed- and how he continued to grow more and more powerful as he trained himself. Satoru explained some of the experiences and lessons Ryuu had learned along the way, until he met the woman who would take him under her wing and eventually become his wife.

Her name was Sakura and she was a fully trained Shaman. Sakura, Satoru explained, had actually stumbled on Ryuu while he had been helping the spirits of a family move on from their land after they had died in a fire. Sakura had taken one look at Ryuu, seen him carefully and caringly helping the last of the family- a little girl only six years old- move on, seen Satoru step in front of Ryuu as if to protect him from her when she was noticed, seen the way Ryuu had turned and spoken to Satoru as if he was a friend and just as alive as any other, had seen the trust between them and the large well of partially trained Spirit Energy and she recognized what Satoru had not known- that Ryuu was a first generation Shaman.

Satoru shared the story of Sakura and Ryuu with Mai, explaining the way Sakura had approached him, how she had offered to teach him how to _really_ use his skills, how she had offered Satoru a place as well. Satoru explained the many months of training, the way he had watched over Ryuu and later became his spirit partner, the way he had seen the two grow closer and closer and realized long before either partner that they were falling in love. Satoru even took the time to share some of his matchmaking attempts with her ranging from simple things- like tripping Ryuu at just the right moment- to more complicated plans- like carefully leading the two though a series of steps and tricks.

By the time Satoru explains how Sakura and Ryuu got together and had a son and daughter Mai feels like she knows them. Satoru explains how the children grew older, how he stood beside Ryuu and Sakura and their children, how on Ryuu's deathbed Satoru had made him the same promise he had made Sakura on her own three years before. "I will watch over your children and the children after them until the day your line dies. I swear it on my honor my friend."

Satoru had kept his promise. He had watched over Ryuu's line all the way down to Mai.

Mai was in awe. This spirit had watched her family grow from very close to its beginning. He had watched over _her_, had pulled her from the flames that had almost killed her. She stared up into green eyes before she stood and bowed to him. "Thank you Satoru-san."

Satoru grinned at her from his place on the couch where he had sat down. "You are very welcome Mai-san."

Mai rose from her bow and sat on the opposite side of the couch again. "Call me Mai."

"Then you may call me Satoru."

"Where do we start then Satoru?"

"Do you know how to meditate Mai?"

"Err….no."

"We will start there then."


	4. Chapter 4

Meditation, Mai decided, was _amazing._

She wished she had known about Meditation _years_ ago.

It calmed her down, made her relaxed, and as she progressed, Mai discovered that part of the reason she came across as spacy and inattentive was due to her Spirit Energy's wild untrained state. Her Energy was an intimate part of her and its agitated flailing state, its inability to sit still made _Mai_ agitated and unable to focus.

This also explained why, when on jobs with SPR Mai actually _could_ focus and actively do and remember things. Her Spirit Energy was actually getting _used_ when she was out with Naru and the others giving the Energy something to focus on and settled it. In her untrained state, Mai was actually using much more then she would have otherwise and as a result exercised and flexed her Spirit Energy stores unknowingly causing her stores to _grow_ and expand on her focusing problem when she wasn't using her Energy.

Meditation helped her _fix_ that. It settled her Energy, her mind and her emotions. For the first time she could remember Mai felt calm, focused and relaxed.

It blew her mind.

She hadn't realized how bad it was until she experienced what it felt like when her Energy was controlled and focused, and so _she_ was calm and focused.

She actually almost knocked Satoru over when she hugged him after that first successful experience.

After Meditation was progressed enough, Satoru started Mai on control exercises. She needed to learn to pull on and shape her Spirit Energy at will before she would be able to _do_ anything with it.

She started with _finding_ her Energy, finding her core, and pulling the Energy out. She nearly blinded herself that first time when she pulled the Energy up to her skin and started glowing. From there she learned to dim the glow by pulling out less Energy, controlling the flow to her skin so instead of a walking sun, Mai looked like the moon, and then stars, and then a subtle kind of shimmer that wasn't really noticeable unless you were _looking_ for it.

Getting to that point was difficult, and it took her near a month and a half of nothing else. Satoru told her it was to be expected. Most Shamans were _raised_ learning these things, and started with much smaller Spirit Energy stores as a result, while she had _never_ guided her Spirit Energy in any kind of deliberate way and was starting with much larger reserves then most other Shamans had in the first place.

Spirit Energy was like finding a wild mustang and getting it to trust you.

Shamans couldn't _'break'_ Spirit Energy. They had to coax and coach it, learn how it felt, how it _wanted_ to move. The Energy could be given it a goal, but every Shaman's Energy was different and so the Energy 'walked' a different path to get to its goal for each Shaman.

The Shaman had to learn how his or her Spirit Energy worked. Some Shamans would be more predisposed to one thing or another because of their Energy. Since Mai was learning so late about her powers she had a harder time getting it to do what she liked since it had been 'wild' for so long, allowed to grow and stretch however it wanted.

Fortunately for Mai her Energy seemed to _want_ to be used, it was just that her Energy was an eager, hyper puppy with ADD that didn't know what it was doing and was trying to play with the big dogs anyway, making a bit of a mess on the way.

She _could_ shape it, and guide it she just had to work harder at it.

Once the puppy 'learned a new trick' though, it _remembered_ and it was much easier to repeat.

Mai was determined to learn everything Satoru could teach her, not only because she wanted to know the things her family had learned, but because she _knew_ how useful some of the things she was learning could be, had seen exactly where one skill or another could have saved the SPR crew some problems.

Sometimes Mai woke in the morning and was _sure_ everything had been a dream, everything she had learned, everything she has seen and been showed hadn't actually happened, but then Satoru would speak up and she would realize she hadn't dreamed the entire scenario.

It was still hard sometimes, to swallow what she was being told, and sometimes Satoru would casually mention something she would be learning in the future and Mai would be hit all over again by how _unbelievable_ everything she was learning and everything that was happening to her actually _was_ but it was starting to sink on that she could do this.

She may struggle and stagger some of the way, but she could do this.


End file.

Ghost Hunt, Adventure