Updated 1/11/17
Chapter 2
A week and a half ago...
Noll's psychic tie to his twin could be frustrating some days. He was so thankful that he had misinterpreted those dreams that had led him to believe his brother was gone. Granted he hated being wrong at any given time. But this was the one time he relished that he was inaccurate in his dream analysis.
But now his psychic tie to his twin was affecting him in a different way. Gene had been Mai's dream guide while he had been in a coma. Now Gene was not only psychically connected to Noll but to Mai as well. Whenever Mai had a prophetic dream Gene would see it, and if the dream were strong enough it would also be mentally played in Naru's mind as well.
Oliver Davis looked out the bedroom window of his lush British apartment. Two weeks ago Gene had a dream that had shaken him to the very foundations of his being. Mai was about to be in a world of trouble more profound then anything she had experienced before. He knew that for certain. But everything Gene had perceived in the dream had been fragmented and made it difficult to decipher anything other then the dramatic amount of fear he felt upon waking.
Mai. Even when he tried to stop thinking of her he could not. He missed her tea. No one could make a cup of tea the way Mai did. Whenever Noll attempted to try to enhance his tea the same way it always failed. Gene had told him what Mai did to it, turned out she added mint and honey to every cup. But when Noll tried adding honey and mint himself it did not come out the same. Why could he not replicate a simple cup of tea? "Maybe it's not the tea you miss," Gene had repeated over and over again day in and day out.
The thing was he wasn't wrong. He couldn't get the petite brunette out of his mind. How if the sun caught her hair just right it seemed to shimmer with it's own glow. How her cinnamon brown eyes shined with laughter when she was happy, and how they turned more of a cappuccino color when she was angry or upset.
But it was Gene she loved. Noll was sure of it. The two were so similar it was like they were made for each other. The few times he saw them together when Gene was in the hospital in Japan were surreal. Noll could never be that cheerful person in the hospital bed who's eyes laughed with every funny thing the girl said. But he mentally pictured himself in the role. He dreamed that he could be like that for Mai. She deserved someone like Gene. Not a know it all narcissist, like himself.
Noll constantly replayed all the insults that Mai would fire his way. He tried to use them to berate himself. To help him realize again and again that she had to love Gene, not himself. But all it did was make him realize how much he missed her insults.
So he missed her tea, her smile, her hair, her eyes, her insults...the ever accumulating list of everything that made Mai who she was. Which made him come to one scientific conclusion. He would never admit it openly, but he missed his assistant. He missed Mai.
Martin Davis kept tabs on possible cases in Japan and he would send any he thought might be pertinent to his research, or ones that had made a notable story in news reports. He gave any such cases to Lin so he could pour over them and decide if he should bring them up with his son. Oliver so far had turned down every one.
Lin had brought a new case to Noll a couple days ago. The boy had not even looked it over. He glanced at it and said, "I think we should look into this case. But I believe we will need some assistance."
Lin smirked at the boy. "You know they have their own company now, right?"
Of course Noll knew that. Every case that Noll had previously turned down had ended up cases the PRI company in Japan had been hired to research. The clients of said cases had been contacted by an anonymous concerned citizen who referred them to PRI. Noll would never openly admit that half of PRI's clientele came from his personal anonymous referral.
Gene knew what his brother was up to. He knew that his brother had usually passed on the cases to PRI. But this time he was concerned for Mai. This time he would hire the company to work side by side with his team. Lin, Noll, and Gene were going back to Japan.
A week later...
Noll now stood in his old apartment. He was pleased to see how nothing had changed in the building. Luella Davis had the insight to employ a family to maintain the cleaning on a weekly basis.
Gene looked in the refrigerator. "Looks like mom let the Ito family know that we would be moving back in today. We appear to be fully stocked on food."
Noll smiled at thoughts of his mother's sensibility. She was a kind soul with a level of sympathetic intelligence that astounded Noll's aptitude on human behaviors.
Lin, Gene, and Noll arrived in Japan late at night. It was now one in the morning. Noll smirked at Gene. "I am going to go out for a bit."
"It's one in the morning! Where the hell are you going?"
Noll didn't answer his brother he merely walked out the door. Lin looked at Gene. "Where do you think he is going?"
"I don't think he knows she moved though." Gene stated.
"Oh trust me, Noll knows she moved."
Noll could legally drive in Japan when he turned 18. He was now 21 so instead of having to be chauffeured around by Lin he could drive himself around. He coaxed his Black Infiniti convertible down the vacant streets. He headed directly to the office of PRI. He knew that John and Mai both had converted a couple of upstairs classrooms into an apartment for each of them.
Once he pulled outside of the building he parked the car on the curb and looked up. He noted that there was a light on in one of the rooms on the top floor. The blinds were pulled down and the building was too far away from the street for him to make out much from his vantage point. But when a shadow cast against the blind he took in a deep breath. He didn't know how but he knew the silhouette belonged to Mai. Her curves were more pronounced and her hair was longer. He gasped in appreciation at the sight.
He would call her later on today and make an appointment regarding the case. He told himself he could wait. But he really couldn't.
The next day he pulled up to the PRI office again and placed the call. Again he was a good distance away but he could just make out her shape as she walked to the phone. She wore a tight business skirt that hit just below her knees. She seemed taller, but he noticed the shoes were high heels. Her hair was coiffed up upon her head in a bun. He noticed that her hips naturally swayed as she walked to the phone and despite his distance he still groaned in appreciation. He mentally pictured how the skirt would mold to her curves as her hips swayed when she walked.
"You've reached the office of Psychic Research Investigators this is Mai speaking how may I help you?" Her voice sounded sultry despite the fact that she was merely stating the everyday business narrative.
"Hello, Mai, I'd like to hire your team for a case." Noll tried to keep his voice stoic even though inside he quivered with anticipation of what she would say next.
"Hello, Dr. Davis, when should I schedule the appointment to meet with you?"
Dr. Davis? Where was the Naru or at least the Oliver or even Noll? But she was cold and calculated in her phrasing. He already missed her nickname for him. "Do you have anything open tomorrow?" He wanted to give her some time to prepare.
He saw Mai pick up something from the desk. "We can meet after the office's lunch hour at two pm."
"Sounds good, I will see you then Mai.
"See you then Dr. Davis."
This story is so challenging me in a very good way. I am not 100% happy with this chapter but it is only the beginning.
