A/N: Here are a just a few things to take note of before reading the story! Mari's full name is Marigold Rose Sato—her strange name will be explained later. Mari does know Gene, but not of his death. How Mari knows Gene and the rest of the Davis family will be discussed later in the story. Masako will not be present in this story, mostly because I do not see her as a character that will have any impact on the plot or Mari's character development. (And maybe also because I'm not a big fan of her.) These upcoming cases will be original cases and it will be before Noll has discovered Gene's body. The time framing of this story is different from the original. Here are some formatting tips to be able to follow along conversations: Japanese, Thoughts, English. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story :-)
Chapter One
Mari Sato walked into Shibuya Psychic Research, directly into Naru's office, not giving Mai a chance to question her or offer her tea. Mai regretted not being able to stop her sudden intrusion into Naru's office when Naru's voice rang out in irritation, "Mai, why did you let this person into my office? She has no appointment and an obvious lack of manners. Get her out."
Mai grumbled and walked towards Naru's office, hoping to remove the source of his irritation before his agitation worsens. Unfortunately, it was impossible when Naru saw her approaching and told her to shut the door instead and continue filing the papers from their previous case. However, Mai was curious to know what transpired that caused Naru to change his mind and leaned her ear against the closed door. But the hushed tones they were speaking in did not allow Mai to hear any part of their conversation. She walked away, giving up, and decided to do what Naru asked—or rather demanded—her to do.
"I've heard that you would like to keep your identity as Oliver Davis a secret," Mari commented in a hushed tone.
"Are you blackmailing me?" Naru replied irritably, with his right eyebrow raised.
Mari smiled, "I would just like an unpaid educational opportunity in exchange for keeping my mouth shut."
Naru just glared at her, as Mari continued smiling back. The exchange between them lasted about 5 minutes, until Naru beckoned Lin to come into the room.
Lin observed the young woman who seemed to be the cause of Naru's drop in mood. 'Long, brown hair with a matching pair of brown eyes. Average stature but her face seemed to be mixed, not fully Japanese. She seems to a foreigner currently residing in Japan. American maybe? She also wore a characteristic black outfit from head to toe like Noll,' he thought to himself.
The silent tension between the three of them continued until Lin decided to test a theory of his. He put his hand out and said in English, "My name is Lin Koujo. You are?"
"Marigold Sato, but I would much prefer Mari. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Koujo," she replied while shaking his hand.
Lin raised an eyebrow at her obvious British accent as well as her strange name, but stayed silent as he waited for his young charge to explain his reason for his call.
"Sato-san here is blackmailing—"
"—Asking!" Mari interjected.
Naru ignored her and continued, "She is blackmailing me for a job in exchange for her silence about Oliver Davis."
Mari interjected again, 'It's really not as bad as he says Koujo-san. Davis-san didn't mention that it's unpaid and it'll really just be a great educational opportunity for me. I'm not trying to get money from SPR. Besides, I think I'll be more of a benefit than a cost. I believe I have enough experience to solve paranormal cases though I haven't been out in the field for a while, but I also have psychic abilities, albeit quite limited in their uses." She frowned slightly at her last statement, as if reciting it from someone else.
Naru tapped his office table impatiently, waiting for her continue, even though he was extremely doubtful at her claim. "Telekinesis and telepathy. Though it's as I said, it is very limited telekinesis as in I can only make a small barrier, but it is very useful since I am able to protect someone when needed even though it has only defensive abilities. Also, most of the time my telepathy are one-way thoughts and I could only read the other's thoughts if I had direct contact unless a mental link has already been established. It is very useful way to issue out warnings and to send out information since electronic devices seem to be very unstable when ghosts are present."
"You also mentioned previous field experience," Naru added.
"Yes, I was working with another psychic and researcher to solve cases, nothing very dangerous. They were all pretty small incidents with a handful of them not being paranormal but rather the client's overactive imagination," Mari answered.
"How long were you solving cases for?"
"It was for a couple of years. I'm not sure of the exact time when I started or ended but it was when I was thirteen to sixteen. I am eighteen now so it's been about 2 years since I've actively done anything."
Naru raised an eyebrow at the mention of her age, wondering how Mari could possibly be older than him. "What is the name of the psychic and researcher that you were working for?"
Mari stayed silent for a moment, unsure of what she was able to disclose because she remembered Gene's warning earlier this week. 'Don't tell Noll that you know me or that you were and are still associated with SPR. He will flip. I promise you that the idiot scientist will!' She wondered about why he would be angry but decided to heed his advice, realizing that there were some things from the past she wanted to hide from him as well. She didn't realize she completely drifted out the conversation until Lin cleared his throat, while Naru gave her a glare.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to drift off like that. Also, it seems I'm not at liberty to disclose."
"Why would that be so?" Naru said callously.
"Well…" Mari didn't think so far to provide a reason and ended up saying the first thing that came up. "It was because I was underage?" She didn't mean for the last statement to sound as a question and repeated it as a statement.
Naru gave her a look of disbelief. Mari smiled slightly and continued, "Well it's not really great for the company to have people publicly disclose that they were employing underage kids for dangerous cases. They have quite a reputation and were quite fearful of tarnishing it."
It sounded like a pretty sound reason, but Lin knew there was another reason she was hiding the identity of her fellow associates. 'What she was saying didn't really make sense and Noll knows that too. If it was company that was worried about their reputation, it must be quite a large one that would have lots of psychics at their disposal. Why would they risk hiring an underage employee with subpar abilities? It might be because of her solving skills, but I don't see anything particularly special about her mental abilities. I mean she just struggled coming up with a proper reason.'
Naru continued his interrogation, "So your team of three was employed by this company that you refuse to disclose. Where was it located?"
"Britain."
"What part?"
"London."
Naru reviewed over the paranormal companies with a reputation that were centered in London in his head. He realized that there was only one—the one that he and Lin were both affiliated with, the British Society of Paranormal Research. He narrowed his eyes at Lin, and Lin returned with a brief nod, understanding his young charge's train of thought.
Naru regarded what she said carefully and said, "Wait outside. Lin and I will discuss and decide whether or not we will hire you."
Mari did as said and walked to the lobby of SPR and sat down at the couch. During this time, Naru used the opportunity of the now-opened door to yell for his much-needed tea at Mai. Mai grumbled and begrudgingly stood up from her desk to go into the kitchen to prepare some tea. As she left her desk, she was surprised to see the sudden visitor still present in the building. Mai thought she would have been chased out by Naru a long time ago. Mai walked towards her and greeted, "Sorry about Naru! He's really unsociable. I'm his assistant, Taniyama Mai, but feel free to call me Mai."
Mari was confused with Mai's familiarity with Naru, thinking no one knew about his identity Oliver Davis, except for Lin. "You know about Oliver?"
Mai sent a confused look back to her, "Ol-i-ver?"
Realizing she made a mistake, Mari quickly changed the subject, "Anyways, sorry about earlier Mai-san, I didn't mean to be so rude. I just had something to say to Shibuya-san. My name is Sato Mari. Pleased to meet you."
Mai smiled and was about to continue their conversation, until she heard Naru's demand for tea again, wondering why it hasn't been done yet. Mai sighed and was about to yell back at Naru until she realized it was her fault she got distracted. She reluctantly made her way to the kitchen again and started preparing the tea.
A/N: I just realized how confusing it is to have Mari's and Mai's name so similar. It's really just a typo waiting to happen. Well it's too late now since I like really like the name Mari. Anyways, please give me a review to prompt me to start the next chapter :-)