Part 1

"Whoever is knocking at the door at three AM better have a damn good reason for doing so," Yasuhara growled as he fumbled his way to the door. He had not bothered to dress and so was walking in just his boxers as he wiped sleepy dust from his eyes.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!"

He opened the door to see three men he did not know. One was very short, the other two were large, uniformed and flanking the small man like bodyguards.

"Is this the residence of Taniyama Mai?" the small man enquired.

"Yes, why?"

The small man shoved a piece of paper into Yasuhara's hands and pushed past him into the flat.

Yasuhara scanned the piece of paper, suddenly alert.

"There must be some mistake," he insisted.

"Where is she?" the small man demanded.

"I think you have the wrong person." Yasuhara held firm despite the fact that he was standing there in his underwear.

"Check the other rooms," the small man ordered his henchmen. Yasuhara glanced over him. He was wearing a dark suit and had a small well cared for moustache. His hair was just beginning to thin and Yasuhara did not like the smirk on his face one bit.

"Who are you?" Yasuhara asked in an attempt to remain calm. He looked around to see if he could spot his phone. He needed to call the police.

"Osamu?" Mai's sleepy voice drifted to them all from the nearest bedroom door. "What's going on?"

"Are you Taniyama Mai?"

"Don't say anything," Yasuhara ordered Mai. She stared blearily back at him.

"Who are these people?"

"Exactly what I'd like to know."

"Are you Taniyama Mai?" the short man demanded again.

"Get out of my apartment," Yasuhara said forcefully. "I'm going to call the police."

"We have a court order, Yasuhara-san, we have every right to take her."

"The other rooms are empty," a henchman said.

"Take her then," the small man pointed at Mai. Yasuhara started towards Mai, but a henchman pushed him back.

"Take me where?"

The other man had taken hold of Mai's arms and gagged her.

"Let her go! She's not insane," Yasuhara insisted, pushing against the henchman. Mai froze at his words.

"Are you a trained psychologist, Yasuhara-san?"

"No, but I am her lawyer."

"Then prove it in a court of law," the small man said dispassionately. "Until then, we take her."

Mai struggled against her captor but it was to no avail.

"I will get you out," Yasuhara stated calmly. "I will get you out."

But they had taken her away.

Yasuhara did not return to bed. He went straight to his home office and began making calls.

No one was particularly happy to be woken at this hour, but no one was opposed to helping Yasuhara's cause either. His associates agreed to look into the matter and began making their own enquiries.

X~X~X

He did not notice the sun rising. His eyes strained to see the screen in front of him as he waited for someone - anyone - to call him back with news. Yasuhara was just drifting off as his mobile buzzed into life.

"Hello?" he said as he snatched the device to his ear, suddenly alert.

"Is this Yasuhara Osamu?" a female voice that he did not know asked.

"Speaking."

"My name is Takigawa Himeko, Gene sent me."

"Dr Davis, there's someone to see you!"

"Who is it?" Noll asked his assistant. Tom had been there only a week and had not caught on to the level of detail required by Noll when he asked a question.

"She didn't give her name," Tom faltered. Noll almost pitied the young man. He tried so hard.

"Then send her away."

"But-"

"But what?" Noll snapped. Tom looked positively terrified.

"She said Gene sent her."

Noll's mind shot straight to the woman he had not seen in far too long.

"What does she look like?" he asked in a softened voice.

"Um, short? Asian?" Tom guessed, relaxing only a little at Noll's change of tone.

"Do you realise how big asia is? Be more specific."

"Um, east asian? Maybe Chinese or Japanese?"

Noll rolled his eyes at his assistant's ineptitude.

"How was her English?"

"Heavily accented, but I understood what she was wanted."

"Send her in."

Noll set aside the papers he was marking and waited as Tom went to retrieve his visitor.

As he ran a hand through his greying hair, he heard the door open.

"Hello?" a tentative voice said in coarse English. Noll watched as a woman whose features he knew all too well stepped through the door. But as she moved from the shadow into the light, Noll faltered. He had expected brown hair and brown eyes but he saw black hair and blue eyes.

This young woman, however much she resembled her, was not Taniyama Mai. This girl couldn't have been older than sixteen or seventeen; the same age as Mai had been when he had first met her. Mai had to be at least twenty years older than this girl.

"Who are you?" he demanded, annoyed at the intrusion into his marking time.

"My name is Takigawa Himeko."

"Takigawa?" he repeated with a slight frown.

"Daughter of Houshou and Ayako." Noll studied the girl's face; it was held stubbornly in place.

"I know those people and you resemble neither."

"I was adopted," Himeko said, not backing down from his glare. "Much like yourself."

"Who told you that?"

"Gene."

"How do you know Gene?"

"He's my spirit guide."

"He should have moved on."

"Well he hasn't," Himeko said. She sounded almost as if she'd expected this comment. "He can't yet, he says, but won't say more on the matter so don't even ask."

Noll did not like this answer at all, but had more important matters to deal with at that moment. So he stored his information away for a later date before returning to the interrogation.

"Why are you here?" he demanded. He did not approve of this situation. He had an unknown entity in his office that seemed to know far too much about him for his liking.

"He sent me," she said. "One of his other charges is in trouble."

"Who?" Noll asked, but he somehow knew who it would be.

"Taniyama Mai."

Noll nodded slightly and gestured to the young woman in front of him to take a seat. Himeko seemed to take this as a good sign and sat opposite Noll before waiting for him to speak.

"Do your parents know you are here?"

"No," Himeko admitted. "Yasuhara-san does, though. He paid for my plane ticket."

"What does Yasuhara have to do with this?"

"He lives with Taniyama-san."

Noll took in this new piece of information without any change to his expression.

"What trouble is Mai in?"

"She's been kidnapped."

"By who?"

"We don't know," Himeko said calmly. "Gene can't reach her at all. I called Yasuhara-san and he said she was taken away in the middle of the night. Some guy turned up with a court order for a mental institution that doesn't officially exist."

"Explain."

"He can't find any paperwork for it and he's tried using all of his police contacts."

"He's still a lawyer?"

"An expensive one."

"And what exactly is it that you, Gene and Yasuhara think that I can do?" Noll asked tersely. "Why shouldn't I call your parents and send you home?"

"My parents are away helping Hara Masako and will be out of contact for a few days."

"You did not answer my other question," he pointed out. His patience was running thin.

"We want your help because we think it has something to do with the supernatural. Taniyama-san has abilities and Gene reckons she's been taken because of them."

"And what abilities do you have?" Noll's eyes ran over the girl in front of him, trying to assess exactly who he was dealing with.

"PK-ST and some ability as a medium."

"I see," he said, looking down and mentally filing this information away. "Well, I have an elderly mother to care for and I have no time to fly halfway round the world to chase after some idiot."

"Oliver!" a harsh cry came from the doorway. "You do not speak to young ladies like that! And since when was I elderly?"

Luella Davis was standing in the doorway, clutching a walking stick with a disapproving frown on her face.

Himeko jumped around in her chair, obviously surprised for the first time.

"Mrs Davis, it's nice to meet you," she said.

"Please, Japanese is fine by me," Luella said kindly. "I would bow, but I fear I might not get back up." Noll sighed pointedly. "Aren't you going to introduce me?" she shot at her son.

"She knows who you are," Noll said, not bothering to gesture. "This is Takigawa Himeko."

"Takigawa? Like the monk?"

"Daughter of that monk and the miko."

"The redhead?"

"Yes," Noll said exasperatedly. "Are you going to take a seat?"

"I was going to say, she looks awfully like-"

"Sit down mother," Noll interrupted.

"Gene misses you," Himeko said suddenly. Her face was smiling slightly, but concentrating as she listened to a spector no one else could see.

"What?" Luella looked around, somewhat shocked.

"Gene misses you, and he thanks you for looking after his brother even when he was being a git," Himeko relayed, then her mouth dropped as she realised what she had just said and who she had just said it to. "His words, not mine," she added hastily.

"You're a medium," Luella observed quietly, though Himeko seemed not to hear her. Noll surmised she was listening to another voice, presumably Gene's.

"And he wants you to know that Martin passed on without issue."

"Thank you," Luella replied with a small smile.

"And does he have any words of wisdom for me?" Noll asked sarcastically.

"Stop being an idiot scientist."

Noll scowled.

"I quite agree," Luella said. "Now who do you need to fly halfway around the world to save?"

"Taniyama Mai," Himeko said before Noll could speak. His scowl deepened.

"Oh, well that settles the matter," Luella said, clapping her hands together. "Tom! Tom! Book two flights to Japan!"

Tom rushed in with a hopeful smile plastered on his face.

"Japan? Which airport? For who?" he asked quickly, keen to get the details.

"Do no such thing," Noll ordered, glaring at his mother.

"Noll, you're going and that is the end of it."

"But-"

"I'll go and stay with my sister."

"Because she'll be so much help if you fall down."

"She has one of those emergency buttons, it'll be fine." She waved a hand around airily.

Noll's scowl was threatening to become permanently etched into his otherwise handsome face. Himeko was staring at him with hope in her eyes. The expression on her face was so endearingly familiar of Mai and her never-ending desperation to help anyone and everyone. He sensed Himeko's discomfort at Luella forcing him to go, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel she was eager for things to go the way she wanted.

"Takigawa-san, please go with Tom and make the arrangements," Noll said finally.

Himeko jumped up and followed Tom out.

Luella turned to her son and fixed him with penetrating stare.

"You still love her Noll, it's time to go back."

"I do not."

"Don't lie to me. I'm your mother. I will always know," Luella said. She sounded almost bored with Noll's supposed indifference. She sighed and then smiled warmly. "Now go save Mai, and find out more about that girl…"

Author's note: Firstly, I have to thank AmyNChan for editing this and putting up with my awful first draft! This is honestly the most edited piece of work I have ever done EVER! Like way more than any lab report or actually important written thing. So if any of you find any mistakes I am going to cry.

I actually have the entire thing written so you won't have to wait too long!

Please review!