Author's note.
This is sort of a sequel to 'The Return' but it's not entirely necessary to read it before this.
To those who have read my first story, welcome back! Ohisashiburi desu!
It's been a long time, but I hope you find this case as interesting as the first.
Firstly, before someone points it out, I have recently discovered that either Keywordparamore or I have some sort of Psychic connection, I'm not kidding!
I would write something, and not a day later, she would post something that seemed to follow the same formulae, we hadn't spoken about either of our new stories.
In any case, I had no wish to change it and neither had she, so I took a break from writing to allow her to get ahead and it hasn't happened since.
Three occasions I tell you!
The door to the SPR office opened with a bang, and Mai walked in, shivering, her cheeks flushed from the cold and extreme anger.
"Mai, if you break the door, you know who'll be paying for it."
Naru followed her at a calmer pace, sliding his coat from his shoulders and flinging it onto the coat stand.
His assistant just muttered darkly to herself, turning up the heater a few notches and disappearing into the kitchen to try to get something in her system to banish the cold that had sunk into her bones.
The young man was in a foul mood, they had just returned from a case that had turned out to be something he never would have taken back in England. But cases had been few and far between lately, maybe people were finally learning not to meddle and bury their dead properly.
A family had reported knockings on the roof in their house, it had nothing to do with pipes, or any wildlife. Apparently the father was highly superstitious and hired them to exorcise the so-called spirit.
There had been cases of things moving, going missing, or flying out of windows.
As it turned out, it was just a land spirit that got angry when they cut down a lemon tree in the back garden, Naru hadn't stayed for the exorcism, just directed them to their local shrine for some wards and a priest to get rid of it for them. It was one occasion where Matsuzaki-san may have been useful, if her knowledge of Chirei was anything like she claimed, and she was out at a dinner party. Typical, he growled to no one in particular, the weather had him on edge.
It had been a long day with the two of them trudging around a cold frosty garden, looking for something that only chose to show up when Mai accidentally tripped over the stump of it's former residence.
By now, it was past eleven at night, and Mai still had paperwork to do.
He heard her groaning from his office, but merely shut the door, and left her to it. It was what he paid her for, and very generously at that, she would have to deal with it.
Mai slumped over her desk, scribbling down the final words on a random form, and then she threw down her pen with a small sigh of relief.
"Glad that's over" she stretched in her seat, linking her fingers and straining them above her head.
When she looked up, she was mildly surprised at how dark the room was, the only light aside from what came from her own tiny desk lamp was emitted from Lin's office door, which was open for once, the light from his computer making the usually warm office seem that much colder.
It was a little eerie too.
Of course, from a logical point of view, she should be used to far creepier settings than an office in the Central Business District, but at night, SPR seemed to reflect its purpose.
Shaking her head and convincing herself that it was just the hour, she began packing her things to leave, hopefully she would make it out of here before-
"Mai, what are you doing here?"
How is it that he always knows when I don't want him around?
"Um... I work here" she muttered lamely, not quite having the courage to turn around and face her cold hearted boss.
Naru didn't bother to check the time, "Your schedule ended four hours ago, you have no reason to be here."
She considered making up an excuse, but knew full well that she would only be digging a deeper hole for herself.
"I'm going now."
Mai knew full well that she had taken far too long to complete the paperwork. Her procrastinating hadn't helped.
Naru's cold blue eyes showed no expression other than profound irritation, he crossed his arms sternly, "And how do you intend to get home at this hour?"
Before she could answer he turned his head to his associate's office, "Lin, take Mai home would you?"
"Sorry Naru, I can't do that at the moment, urgent matters to attend to" Lin's voice seemed a little strained, he had obviously been up for a long time.
"Then there's no help for it" Naru pulled his long black coat from the hook by the door, "I'll have to take you myself."
In the past, the thought of her boss walking her home would have made her feel ecstatic, now she wasn't so sure, but she sure as hell wasn't about to pass up this opportunity.
It was cold outside, Mai bitterly regretted not bringing a warmer coat to work that morning, her legs were freezing!
"It's your fault for wearing skirts in winter" came the voice from beside her.
Damn it, Mai swore he could read minds.
"Even an idiot would notice that you were shivering."
There he went again, it was downright creepy.
"Thanks for the sympathy" she grumbled, pulling her rather thin woolen jumper closer around her frame.
Mai began to curse every step she took, her house was a long way from the office, she could hardly afford to live in Shibuya, the rent was too high, so she lived somewhere quieter.
The long walk was killing her, it was just too damn cold.
She barely noticed Naru stop, his footsteps ceasing their rhythmic tapping on the sidewalk.
"Mai."
Mai turned around, and jumped slightly in surprise as Naru hung his coat around her shoulders, she immediately felt warmer, the fabric still retained heat from his body.
Wondering at this sudden change of personality, she looked up at him, puzzled, the coat just about swamping her. He was actually acting decent for a change.
"Are you just going to stand there, or do you plan on getting home tonight?"
Or not.
Rather than rising to the bait, she just nodded, starting up again and trying not to drag his coat across the ground. It was hard, he was so much taller than her.
When they finally got to Mai's apartment block, she was half asleep, leaning on her boss without really noticing.
He didn't say anything, but he curled his fingers around the crook of her elbow, guiding her up the steps to the lobby.
The attendant at the desk looked up briefly, frowning at Naru's unfamiliar figure, when she caught sight of Mai however, her face relaxed into a tired smile.
"Mai-chan, you're back late."
The small girl didn't answer, but raised an arm wearily and waved, the black fabric of Naru's coat flapping from where it sagged over her hands.
"Who's this?"
Mai was about to answer, when Naru steered her towards the elevator, she stumbled slightly on the way and hastily bid her landlady goodnight.
"Er Naru, I can make it to my door unescorted you know . . ."
Her boss let go of her elbow, "Really? Knowing you, you'd get lost on the way."
She just grumbled as she fumbled for her keys, not having the energy to snap at him.
Mai opened her door and stumbled inside, kicking off her shoes, making a beeline for the cramped lounge and flopped onto the couch.
Naru stepped in after her, a little unsure whether he should leave or not, thankfully Mai saved him the trouble.
"Come in, it's a bit cold out there so you may as well get warm . . . not that I think you even feel the cold."
The last part was an irritated mutter, and he barely heard.
"You can sit down there if you want," she indicated the couch in the sitting room, Naru sat, crossing his legs comfortably, as at ease as he always was, which meant he could have been on a business trip if you ignored the absence of his black case file.
Mai's house was reasonably neat all things considered, she was living on her own, and he did wonder where she had gotten the furniture, logically a few of her teachers had donated something to help her.
His brown haired assistant poked her head out of the kitchen doorway, "I'm making hot chocolate, want anything?"
"Tea."
She almost rolled her eyes, but she shouldn't have been surprised, he practically lived off leaves and hot water.
The kettle had just clicked when the phone rang.
"Naru, can you get that?" Mai called out without thinking, she didn't really expect him to comply, so she was a little surprised when she heard his voice answer the phone.
He's being unusually civil today . . . did he hit his head?
Mai turned around with two chipped mugs, and jumped when she saw Naru's dark figure in the doorway, phone in hand.
"It's Lin."
"Lin-san?" Mai frowned, "At this hour?"
"We've received a call" he replied nonchalantly.
She raised an eyebrow, wondering who, for goodness sake, would call psychic researchers at three o'clock in the morning.
Naru, using his scary intuition, answered her unspoken question.
"Apparently, it's from England."
Huh? Wait . . . the time difference between England and Tokyo is . . .
"Fifteen hours."
"Would you stop that?!"
Naru held the phone to his ear again, waving her off, "Mai, go to bed, I'll handle this."
Grumbling to herself, she downed the chocolate in record time, and retreated upstairs, wondering why she was taking orders in her own house.
Once Mai had left, Naru resumed his conversation with Lin.
"What's this about?"
He heard some rustling across the line as Lin grabbed a report from the stack he had recently printed out.
The onmyouji briefly explained the bare facts of the case, Naru pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated.
"Lin, a case of this magnitude is bound to cause a media frenzy, why on earth did you accept it?"
"Naru, I think you would want to take this one" his assistant sounded tired.
"And why would that be?"
"The call came from Professor Davis."
The young man flinched, brilliant.
"I see," he sighed, suddenly feeling severely fatigued,
"They want us to fly over there straight away."
"Are they aware of the time?" he demanded, he had even less patience than normal when it came to the people involved.
"Apparently so."
Another sigh, and Naru glanced over at the simple wall clock, judging the time.
"Look, we'll leave early tomorrow, that way Mai can get a few hours of sleep beforehand."
On the other end of the phone, Lin smiled to himself, barely bothering to wipe off the expression as he was alone.
"Would you like me to pick you up?"
"No need, I'll spend the night here and you can pick us both up at six tomorrow."
"Naru" Lin almost gave a nervous laugh, but it wasn't in his character, "I don't think thats a good-"
The dial tone sounded in his ear, Naru had hung up.
Lin stared at the receiver bemusedly for a moment, then set it back in its cradle, shaking his head slightly.
I just hope he's prepared for her reaction . . .
***
It was dark, Mai couldn't see anything, but there must have been light, because she could see herself when she raised her pajama-covered arms to rub for warmth.
She could see her breath steam in front of her, white mist, which was strange, for a dream.
Her heart began to pound, the air seemed thick, and she noticed that though the dark was complete, she swore that she could see things moving, twisting in the shadows. They seemed to press down on her, making it hard to breathe, it was oppressive.
'Mai!'
She turned, recognizing the soft voice, it was broken with fear and worry.
"Gene?"
'Mai! Run!'
She couldn't find him, no matter which way she turned, "Where are you?"
'Mai! Don't go there!'
A flicker in the shadows, she glimpsed his face, taut with concern, his bright blue eyes piercing, he was trying to reach her.
Then there was a new voice, female, desperate, and she knew she had heard it before.
'If you want to get out alive, you must run!'
Body caught up with mind, and she was pulled back.
***
Mai woke in a daze, then she sat up, fighting off the covers.
She stumbled down the stairs, tripping on the last step, she didn't hear the voice call to her from the couch.
Mai fumbled with the lock on her door, she managed to get it open and tumbled into the corridor. Aiming for the SPR offices, she had to tell someone, not that she thought anyone would be there at this hour.
"Mai!"
She turned at the sound of the voice, somehow along the way she tripped, and knew that she was blacking out again as darkness encroached on her vision.
She felt strong arms steady her, her face buried into a soft black shirt, and Naru's concerned voice reaching out to her before everything blurred into nothing.
Author's note.
Please review!
Not sure how soon I'll update cuz I have , . . *counts on fingers* another five writing projects, two comic projects and my first translation project.