A.N. So, I finally got round to reading the last parts of the manga and I now wish I'd done so sooner. I really loved it. I only wish there was more of it; it really is a shame. If there is anyone who hasn't read it; the story is that Bou-san figures out that Naru is Oliver Davis through some very clever deduction, then Naru and Lin go back to England.

Chapter 1; The Photograph

It was mid winter; cold and miserable in London, England. The harsh rain outside the windows of my study beat loudly against the panes which rattled in their frames; they were the only sounds in the deafening silence I was alone in. I'd been sat at my desk for hours now reading from a dozen books scattered across the old wooden surface. But after staring at the words for so long my eyes had begun to ache and since it was so late, I was already tired.

I pushed the books to one side and after a moment I unlocked the very top drawer in the desk, and the first thing I saw, placed atop the files and folders was The Photograph. It was a photograph that held a special significance for me, even though I'd never admit it to anyone; I had a hard time even explaining it to myself as to why I was so attached to this worn piece of paper. The edges shaped signs of wear and the paper itself had been folded many times; I was ashamed to admit that I'd more than once carried it around on my person.

The photo was one of many that had been taken at the Christmas party I'd let them have right after the rather pitiable affair of the missing child; Kenji at the church. How could I have refused them a party after such a tragic story as that? After all, I wasn't completely heartless, but there was something about these people...something I couldn't quite put into words.

I couldn't explain why these people had such a hold on my mind like this, but it was infuriating. I wasn't supposed to be at a loss for words about anything. I was ruled by my head not my heart. My world revolved around logic and facts, not emotions and feelings. It was easier that way. But them...they were so ruled by their emotions, it made things all the difficult for me.

When I left Japan I left the intention of ever returning; Japan, despite its attractions was the country that had taken my brother from me, and it could never be my home. England was where I'd spent some of the best years of my life; it was where I belonged. But in Japan I had the privacy to be myself without being swarmed by the media, I could chose my own cases without being bombarded by letters from the public.

And surprisingly, it hadn't taken me long to amass a team of psychics to rival my fathers' in England, but I couldn't understand why they stayed around me so much if not for the generous pay cheques I gave them after a case. They constantly used my office as a café, they always wanted to celebrate holidays and successful cases rather than look for more work, and they were very boisterous.

I heard tentative footsteps approach so I quickly dropped the photograph into the drawer and I closed it. Then I turned my attention to a book I'd left on the surface of my desk and I tried to appear as though I'd been reading it for hours.

"You're moping," my mother said to me after opening the door.

"I'm not," I sighed, "I'm..."

"Yes you are," she walked over to me, seemingly ignoring that I'd even spoken. She leaned over and then preceded to open the drawer I had just hastily slammed shut and picked up The Photograph. "You miss your friends," she said, staring at it.

"They're not my..."

"Oh, Oliver, don't," my mother sighed and rolled her eyes, "Don't lie to me. I know how you feel; I'm your mother, I know you, you think that caring about these people," she raised the image for emphasis, "Makes you weak, makes you vulnerable, but it doesn't, it makes you human."

"Hmm," I scoffed.

"Gene wouldn't want you to be like this, you know that."

"Gene...is dead," I said slowly.

"Yes...but you're not. You'll regret it if you never see them again," she said and I took in a deep breath before I stood up and moved over to one of the tall windows. I leaned an arm against the wall as I stared out at the rain.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I thought aloud.

"Then, tell me truthfully," my mother began, moving to stand beside me, "On a case...do you get anxious when they're off on their own?"

"There are no more cases. It's finished."

"I'll take that as a yes," she nodded, "When they get hurt, do you feel bad? Do you want them to be happy?"

"Mother," I hissed, "Enough."

"They're your friends and you miss them...They're clever people...and they figured it all out by themselves."

"Yes," I smiled ruefully as I remembered it. Takigawa was more intelligent than he let on, and at first I'd underestimated him, but I knew better now. If anything I respected him, and I didn't give out my respect to just anyone.

"...Sometimes it's easier to be someone else," she said.

"But I was still me," I frowned.

"Not to them; to them you were Shibuya Kazuya, they'd never even met Oliver Davis...no, Masako didn't tell the others, don't try that one. They trusted Shibuya Kazuya, can't you try and understand how they must've felt when they figured out that he wasn't even a real person?"

"I am a real person."

"No," she sighed loudly, "Oliver Davis is a real person. Kazuya was a lie. He isn't real!"

"I was still me," I insisted. I had acted the same way as Kazuya as I had as Oliver, all that was different was the name, and yet it seemed as though I'd lost their respect forever because of it.

"You kept the truth from them for so long they feel betrayed, but I understand why you didn't tell them...but that doesn't mean that they have to - especially if you didn't stay with them to explain things yourself," she frowned. "Your father and I kept a close eye on you while you were over there, you know...we both know how much they trusted you."

"Past tense," I sighed.

"Only if you stay here sulking. They're good people, and they'll understand...but leaving so quickly like you did...that wasn't very smart, kiddo."

"It was the most..." I started to say but she cut me off with a furious breath.

"Don't say it was the most logical thing you could've done! It wasn't. You should've stayed and talked to them and let them adjust to everything instead of running off..."

"I didn't..."

"You did. You were afraid of what they'd do so you didn't even stick around to hear it, I've told you; you can't lie to me. And I know these people; I've watched them very closely. Do you think every powerful monk and priestess in Japan would willingly follow a teenagers' every command? Didn't you even consider how much of their pride they must've swallowed to admit that they weren't as intelligent as you?" she continued, stubbornly.

What most people tended to forget easily was that my mother; Luella Davis, when she put her mind to it, was the most formidable woman in entirety of the Society for Psychical Research Company, if not in the whole country of Great Britain. While she had no psychic abilities of her own she was not short on courage or intelligence, and the same was true of my father.

"I think even people in the far Outback can hear you, Lu," my father said to her; I hadn't even heard him come into the room. This was what infuriated me - when I thought too much about my 'colleagues' in Japan, I tended to lose focus on everything else.

"It can't be helped, it's the only way I can get him to listen," mother replied smugly.

"She's got a point, Oliver," he said to me, but I only sighed at them. I didn't doubt that they'd been planning to accost me about this for some time, and I didn't appreciate them both teaming up against me like this. As my parents, weren't they supposed to support me, not make me even more confused and irritated than I already was? Sometimes I really did believe that they enjoyed irritating me.

It seemed I wasn't going to have any more peace and quiet anytime soon, because that moment, Madoka and Lin joined us in my study and they stood in the doorway.

"And he's still brooding," Madoka said, "I wonder what it could be about this time," she added sarcastically.

"He did seem rather upset when we left," Lin spoke up.

"Lin!" I hissed, but he had never been afraid of me.

"And I bet they did too," Madoka added, "Especially the girls," she laughed. This of course had my parents and even the unflappable Lin, attempting to contain their humour. I didn't find this even remotely funny.

Madoka took hold of Lin's arm for support since she had herself in near hysterics by this point I rolled my eyes at both of them; honestly how ignorant did they think I was? They weren't fooling anyone, not my parents, and they certainly weren't fooling me. "I bet they'd walked over broken glass for you," she continued.

"Madoka," I sighed deeply.

"Here," my mother walked over to them, "He won't admit, of course, but he does think of them as friends," she said, and I could only assume she was showing them The Photograph.

"It's just a photograph," I said.

"I don't believe that for a moment," my mother replied quickly. "I think...we should invite them here," she added after a minute, "I'd like to see them...under better circumstances than the first time, that is."

"Yes, we didn't see them for very long, did we?" my father said, "And we were a little...distracted..."

"I think it's a great idea," Madoka beamed.

"Well, I think it's..."

"Good, you agree then," mother nodded without even listening to what I had to say. I didn't bother trying again; she was incorrigible at the best of times and when she got an idea in her head there was no living with her until she got what she wanted.

"You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?" I asked her.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," she corrected, "I just can't stand any more of your moping around; it's driving us all mad!"

"For the last time; I am not..." I began.

"Yes, you are son," my father scolded and I rolled my eyes.

"So, for the good of the household, we're going to bring your friends over here, and then I'm going to tell them some embarrassing stories from when you were little, and you'll stop moping or the stories'll keep on coming. Understand?" mother asked me in a very confident manner.

"There are no 'embarrassing stories' from my childhood," I raised an eyebrow.

"Wanna bet?" she chuckled. "Anyway, it's settled, I'm going to call them and invite them all here."

"You seem very sure about this," I said.

"I am, and I know you think it's a good idea as well."

"Actually, I..."

"You're welcome," she smiled sweetly and I sighed.

"You're not even going to ask my permission to contact my team of psychics," I droned.

"They're not you're team anymore, you already told me that, and since you're adamant that they're not your friends either, it really doesn't involve you at all," my father replied and Lin scoffed quietly. I'd make sure he'd pay for this betrayal; teaming up against me with my parents wasn't a good idea. He was supposed to be on my side, not theirs. I glared at him but this only seemed to amuse him all the more.

"Then why are they of interest to you?" I asked my parents.

"Because they put up with you for so long without going crazy," Madoka giggled.

This struck a cord with me and I turned away from them in my confusion; the truth was I still didn't know why they'd continually returned to my office. Bou-san had told me on our last case that he thought I was an amazing person, but even then he knew that I wasn't what I appeared. He knew I'd been lying continually to them since I'd met them and he hadn't seemed at all sour about it. On the one hand I thought that it was because I was the famous Oliver Davis that they admired so much, or because of the considerable pay cheques I gave them.

I'd never really had 'friends' to consider in anything. Gene was my brother, he had been my other half, he'd been more than a 'friend', and as long as I'd had him I hadn't needed anyone else. These people were different; they had no obligation to me, nor had I to them; they were useful in solving cases and generating business, and they were more qualified to deal with emotional clients than either myself or Lin had ever been. In short, they had their uses but they seemed to disagree with so many of my methods and ideals that I didn't know why they had identified themselves as members of SPR in the first place. I knew I'd had their respect, and possibly their trust, but their friendship? It was a concept I had little experience with.

"Look," Madoka continued, walking across to me and draping an arm across my shoulders, "You found some good friends there, don't screw this up by acting like a jerk, okay?"

"Very tactful, Madoka," I replied.

"I thought so," she smiled; Madoka and my mother seemed to have the same smile when it came to comments like that.

"Aren't you supposed to support me, not insult me?"

"We do whatever the situation demands," my mother answered, "And right now, you need more than a little shove in the right direction; if that means insulting you, then so be it."

"Fantastic," I grumbled as Madoka giggled and removed her arm from my shoulders.

"Here," my mother said, handing me The Photograph back. I took it with some reluctance and I refused to meet her gaze, then I walked back to my desk and I locked it back in the top drawer without a word. "I have some phone calls to make," she added, and left the room.

I was suddenly hit with a strong sense of foreboding as my father, Lin and Madoka all regarded me with concern evident in their eyes. These people were the only family I'd ever had - except for my brother, and I often got the impression that they knew me too well, perhaps even better than I knew myself sometimes. I'd be lying if I said this didn't unnerve me somewhat. I was a solitary person by nature, but nothing I ever did seemed to drive these people away from me, they were so like Mai, and Takigawa, and the others. They were all cheerful and open people, and so unlike me it was inexplicable as to why they would willingly spend so much time with a person as introverted and aloof as I was.

Everything had to have an explanation, but for this I didn't have one, and it confused me. I think my parents knew that, and I was certain that Lin did too; the man was paid to watch me like a hawk after all.

"Well, I for one, can't wait till they get here," my father said suddenly.

"It'll lighten things up," Madoka agreed.

"And make things louder," Lin added.

I couldn't help but agree with what Lin said; Mai and the others were a loud group which made it all the more strange that I was the active leader; granted I was intellectually superior, and more powerful than any of them, but I knew at times my attitude offended them. I think, though, towards the end of my stay in Japan, they had learned not to take everything I did so personally, and I even believe that they had started to look for hidden meaning behind everything that I said and did...Of course they had, how else would my secret have been discovered?

"It'll certainly make things more interesting," father said to Lin as the three of them started to leave the room.

"We'll see," I said quietly to myself after they'd gone.

This could go either one of two ways; it could end up being a positive experience...or it could be one of the worst things in my life, and end up being as bad as Napoleon's Battle of Waterloo. Either way I couldn't stop the hurricane that was my mother on a mission; I could only hope that I would survive the storm.