Maya was sitting on the floor of the cave where her special training was supposed to take place. Except that it wasn't special, it was awfully cold. And it wasn't a training either, because the frozen vastness of the cave made it impossible for her to concentrate... at all. But that wasn't the only reason why; Indeed, she was stupid... real stupid. How could she have ever thought that this torture of a training would even help her improve her spiritual powers ? And if only... if only she had trained properly, she just wouldn't be sitting in this damn, bloody cave freezing like a tube of ice-cream in a freezer.

Why on earth was she thinking of ice-cream right now ? This was the very last thing she wanted to be thinking about. The truth was she just wanted to avoid thinking about something... a person, more precisely. This person would probably make fun of her when her 'special training' would be over, when she would tell him than this training was a great success. Because he would immediately now this would be a fat lie, that in fact, she just kept spending the last twelve hours freezing like a bunch of frozen nuggets in a... but why on earth was she still thinking about food ? She would probably not be doing so if she had a proper meal... but no, in order to amaze the very person she didn't want to be thinking of, she had told Bikini, the head nun at Hazakura Temple, she wanted to undergo the special training exactly as she was supposed to, which meant she could only eat a little lettuce and drink a small glass of lemon juice before the training.

Of course, Bikini had tried to convince her to eat more, and because this particular training only catered for truly gifted spirit medium who had already undergone at least ten years of highly intense and insanely difficult training, she wanted her to train for only half the time the real thing was supposed to last. But she was sooo stupid, so stubborn, that she just wouldn't listen to anything. He even tried to talk some sense into her, but to no avail... She wasn't a truly gifted spirit-medium, was she ? If only she hadn't been so over-confident, so willing to impress him...

But all of this would never have happened, had she trained properly for the past two years... but no, she hadn't. In fact, there was something that prevented her from doing so... a person more precisely. The very same person she thought would laugh at her once she had undergone this special training, because she would not have improved a bit. She had met him three years ago, and had spent the last two years with this person, helping him in his job. Maya hardly ever came back to Kurain village in order to train properly along with Pearly who, on the contrary, stayed there most of the time, even if she came to town to see her from time to time. Somehow, Maya had convinced herself that the only reason that person let her stay was because of her 'special powers'. They proved so useful in solving the cases he was working on as a defense attorney. And also because... her powers allowed her to call her own sister, who was his mentor when she was still alive. Why else would he care about such a silly teenager, such a failure of a spirit-medium if it was not for that very reason ?

Ever since her sister was murdered, she came back to Kurain for her training only once. She was then away from him for a long time, but she just kept thinking about him. That's probably the reason why this request from that doctor went so bad. At her great surprise, and delight, he had come to Kurain to see how her training was going, and how she would handle her very first request. But of course, she wasn't that naïve. She knew perfectly well he only came so as to see her sister. She wished he hadn't. Because things went wrong, horribly wrong that day. She was such a miserable spirit-medium that she ended up being accused of murder. The murder... of her very own client. But it wasn't the first time such a thing happened, the first one being the day her precious sister passed away...



Of course, all of this was undoubtedly the cause of the decrease in her powers. It was all because of him... When Pearly first told her that Nick was her 'special someone', she just laughed away what she believed to be an innocent and quite funny remark, and in the following weeks, she just kept dismissing the other ones with a grin. But soon enough, she grew even more uneasy, as people started to believe Nick and herself were an item, and she couldn't help blushing furiously every time someone insinuated they looked lovely together. Why, this was but a pile of rubbish, indeed. He only 'allowed' her to stay with him because of her powers, and because she was his late mentor's sister and nothing more. Of course, she could simply have gone back to Kurain Village and leave him be. But soon enough, she realized she didn't want to go away from this person anymore. There was just no way for her to do such a thing. Indeed, without realizing it, she had fallen in love with him.

No matter how hard she tried not to think of Nick as the person she loved, there was no point in denying she had such strong feelings for him... even though she never let him know about them. She would never do so, she thought. Of course, he'd immediately throw her out, and send her back to Kurain Village, because it was probably hard enough for him to bear her very presence. He didn't need her love, hell no, he didn't. At first, she managed to keep those feeling shut in her own heart. It was easy, so easy, she thought she could keep on living like that, her feelings as a kind of talisman that would protect her, since she didn't have anyone to do so. But after that incident, last year, it became increasingly difficult both to keep on hiding her feelings, and most importantly, to concentrate so as to channel spirits. This incident was the turning point in her relationship with Nick.

However, she really didn't want to think about that right now. It was more than a year ago, but she still couldn't get rid of the feelings of loneliness, of intense fear she experienced while she was being kept captive in that dusty cellar. Even if in the end, she managed to channel her sister's spirit, which eventually helped the police to find her, she didn't want to think about this... no, not anymore... because it the was the very day she realized how much of a burden she was to the person she loved. If she had just left him be, she would never have been kidnapped, and her life would never have been used to blackmail him by a murderer wanting his client to be cleared of the charges held against him. Of course, she didn't want him to do such a thing, she never did... but still, she was scared, so scared she would die. Not only was she a mediocre spirit-medium, but she also was a damn egotist...

Strangely enough, ever since that day, she kept on dreaming the same dream every single night. In this dream, the police hadn't made it in time, and Nick, yielding under the pressure, chose to save her own life, even if this meant a murderer would be freed, and Justice betrayed. And when she entered his office, which used to be her sister's, she found him kneeling on the floor, a hound of snow-white wolves devouring his soul. The despair, filling the whole room, creeping all over the place, as many invisible hands she suddenly felt clutching around her neck, trying to strangulate her... But each time, she managed to free herself from them, and ran over to embrace Nick, as if she was scared he would go away, anywhere, anywhere away from her. She didn't want him to leave her alone anymore, she didn't want him to feel guilty for what he had done. She didn't want him to hate himself... for loving her. At this time, she would wake up in a start, her heart beating madly in her chest.

Of course, this whole dream was just silly. She knew perfectly well he would never go as far as letting a murderer escape in order to save her. And him ? Loving her ? There simply was no way this dream could ever be true. Never. Quite a few times, she found herself thinking he would have been better if De Killer had just killed her. Indeed, she wouldn't be such a pain to him, he wouldn't have to cope with her, and her incredible silliness anymore. And also because... she wasn't sure why, but he had changed dramatically ever since that trial. Suddenly, he had become... so nice with her. Of course, he always used to be nice with her, she was his late mentor's sister after all, but...

From that day onward, he didn't want her to go back to Kurain Village anymore. He said he didn't want to leave her alone after what happened. Of course, it was all because he didn't want anything to happen to her, it would mean even more troubles to deal with for him, and he already had his fair share of troubles at the time.

He just couldn't be in love with her, this was simply impossible. Because she knew why he accepted to came to this bloody temple, even though he couldn't stand the cold at all. She saw how he stared at this newspaper article with such intensity, especially at the picture of the two nuns of Hazakura. Bikini and... what's her name already ? Not that her name really mattered. Indeed, who cared about her name ? As long as she loved Phoenix, and Phoenix loved her back, it would make no difference what her name was. Even though it was also because of her she was stuck in that bloody cave, freezing like a leg of lamb in a... why food again ? Yes, it was also because of that nun she was stuck out there. If that girl hadn't been there, she would never have been so stubborn, she would never have wished to impress Phoenix. It was way too cold in those mountains for her to undergo such a training, and she always hated cold. So why come here in the first place ? Yeah, to train... really, she would not even kid a 5 year old brat with that lie.

She hated that nun, even though she had only met her once and briefly before going to the cave where she was stuck now. She wanted to go at once and force her into explaining what her relationship with Phoenix was, but not only she couldn't do so, locked up in this 'cell', but what's more, she quickly realized she would probably find her in Phoenix's embrace, kissing him tenderly, and... and... no, it would be probably worse than being locked up in that cellar with... no, who was she trying to kid ? It would be just a kiss, that wouldn't mean anything. Nothing at all. But at the same time, she just couldn't help thinking he would be so much better with her. Not only was this nun pretty, but she was also quiet and loveable. She was such a great cook too. But herself, on the contrary... she was just a plain, incredibly silly teenage girl, a so-called spirit-medium who couldn't even channel the spirit of a fly right now. Yeah, he would be so much better with her. She took her head in her hands, and remained still for hours...trying not to cry, and forget about everything, everything...

Until she heard a voice, coming from the entrance of the cave.

'Miss Fey ! Miss Fey ? Are you alright ?'

It was Bikini. She heard the big and heavy door of the cave open... and footsteps. She wasn't alone. She tried to get up, but she was too cold. It was as if all her body was frozen, she couldn't even see clearly. So cold... it was so cold. But then, a ray of light fell upon her, and someone quickly hurried over next to her and put something on her shoulders. It was so warm... And then, she felt those arms, taking her into a wonderful, and so warm, embrace. She just couldn't believe it. This scent... it was his. No, it couldn't be. It definitely couldn't be. What was he doing here ? Yet, it was so warm, this embrace... Everything seemed to be painted white, and then, she could not feel anything anymore.

When she suddenly woke, she realized she wasn't in the cave anymore. She was in one of the temples bedroom, and it wasn't cold in there. No, it wasn't cold at at all. This bed was so comfortable, and so warm... that's when she realized that someone had fallen asleep on the bed... it was Phoenix. He was laying next to her and was holding her hand so tightly, even though he was sleeping. Why was he doing here ? Oh, and it was so embarrassing, if someone saw them like that, they would immediately...

Phoenix eventually woke up, and when he saw that Maya was also awake, he smiled. Probably the most wonderful smile he had ever given her... probably the most wonderful smile she had ever seen.

'Nick'... she said, timidly, 'I...'

But she didn't have time to say more, as once again, he took her in a wonderful, and so warm embrace, and started to stroke her hair gently.

'Maya...' he said. 'You didn't have to do that, you know... Really, there isn't anything between me and Iris... at least, not anymore. She explained everything to me.'

She wasn't even surprised. Of course, she was so silly, there was no way he had not understood everything. And she felt so delighted right now, she didn't even care about what the nun had explained to him. The only thing that mattered was that he...

'Maya', he said. 'There's... something I'd like to tell you'.

He let her go, and she looked at him. He had such wonderful eyes, she thought.

'I know, you're going to say I'm so silly, that this whole training was but a very bad joke, that I'm probably the worse spirit-medium in the world and that...' Maya started.

'No', he said firmly. 'You're wrong...' He didn't say anything for a few seconds, then went on. 'Maya... I... I don't want you to leave me... anymore'.

She chuckled.

'But I did promise I wouldn't go back to Kurain for the time being... especially since I'm currently unable to channel anybody...'

'That's not what I meant' Phoenix said. 'I don't want you to leave me anymore, because... you know... well, I think I love you, Maya.'

'Ah ah ah, what are you talking about Nick ? You're telling me...' She suddenly stopped laughing as she finally realized what Phoenix had just told her. 'You... love... me ?'

Phoenix merely nodded. Without realizing it, she had taken him into a passionate embrace, and started to kiss him tenderly, feeling two years of suppressed feelings finally breaking through the thick, yet so fragile ice that was keeping them shut in her heart. It was like a tree being born again, after a long, cold and so bitter winter.

Phoenix seemed taken aback for a few seconds, but he quickly surrendered to the delicious and sensuous pleasure of this kiss. It reminded him of the very first day he met 'her', even though this time, he knew Maya would never want to poison him... After what seemed to have lasted for hours, they were interrupted by a small high-pitched cry. Taken by surprise, they stopped kissing and, quite embarrassed by the fact they might have been seen by someone else, tried to find where the small cry came from. The door was slightly open, and hidden behind it, they could see part of an outfit that looked a lot like Maya's, but the person wearing it was smaller...

'Pearly !' said Maya, blushing furiously, 'wh... what are you doing here ?'

She had her hands on her face, and was grinning as if Christmas had just come months earlier than usual. 'They finally kissed !' she simply said, ignoring the bullets that Maya's eyes were staring into her. 'Nick really is her special someone, I knew it, I knew it !'

'Hem... Pearls ?' Phoenix said tentatively.

'Yeah, and now, they're getting married real soon ! Ah, this is so wonderful ! It's just like what happens in 'Pink Princess' ! And maybe they'll have babies too ! That would be...

'OBJECTION !'

Both Maya and Pearly were startled by Phoenix, and Pearly ran over to her own bedroom, leaving the two alone. Maya looked looked up at Phoenix and blushed furiously as his gaze met hers.

'So... so', she said tentatively, 'How... how long has it been since... since...'

'Well, I'm not really sure. I think, from the very first day I met you I guess, but I only realized it last year, after that trial...It was really awful. I thought that after losing Mia, I was going to lose you too... Even though I had to stand firm in court, I was so scared, I felt so helpless on the inside...'

'I... I never knew...'

'Well, I never knew either,' Phoenix looked down at his hands. 'I did try to make you understand, even though I never dared tell you my feelings openly... I thought you might be afraid, or something...'

'Afraid of what ?' Maya asked, bemused, even though she knew perfectly that she was one to talk here after all. In herself, she wanted to laugh out loud for being so stupid in misunderstanding everything about him. 'That's weird Nick, because I too, never dared to tell you anything... I... I thought I was too much of a burden for you, and I...'

'But you're not, and you never were a burden on me ! In fact, it's a lot thanks to you I've been able to carry on as a lawyer. It was also for you I decided not to give up when Mia was murdered and...' he paused, looking slightly anxious.

'I always thought it was because I was Mia's sister that you allowed me to stay with you...'

'Well, that's what I wanted to believe at first. I thought I was protecting you because your sister had just been murdered... But there came a time when I just couldn't keep lying to myself any longer. Thus... you're way stronger than I thought. I guess Mia was right about you. We went through so many hardships these past three years, but never once did you give up, or yielded under the pressure. In the end, I wasn't the one protecting you, you were the one protecting me... in a way.'

'Nick...'

'That's right', Phoenix went on, 'You are a great spirit-medium. You helped me so much with the cases I was working on... I would never had made it through a lot of them without you. I would never have became what I am now, with you, and your precious support...I... Thank you so much for being here for me, Maya.'

She didn't answer, and simply kissed him. She was so silly, but at least, she knew there was someone she loved, and this person loved her in return.