A/N: Just a note on the first chapter; it was my interpretation after I read (and my beta reader translated to the best of her ability) the end of the manga series. I omitted the parts I didn't like and the parts that didn't lead into my story well. I embellished and romanticized to fit my needs of this being a Mai x Naru story. So yeah, just to clarify!

Like so many other days, England was dreary and overcast. Rain sporadically cascaded down upon the landscape leaving everything morosely depressing, especially for the boy staring out from the window; his mood mirrored perfectly by what he saw. Sitting at his desk, the events from that far off country felt like a dream.

Naru still couldn't settle. He had spent well over a year away from home after all; putting the time he had spent in Japan behind him was no easy task. Even if he tried to get his life back in order, continue researching for his family, the life he had so recently known would not so easily be misplaced; the people he had met, the cases he had solved…the brother he had found.

Originally, the thought of traveling to the foreign country was but a chore. It was a task he had to undertake but he didn't particularly want to. He had been content with his life, but now everything seemed so terribly off. His world had been destroyed the very day his twin had his world stolen from him. Naru's trip to Japan was only to retrieve that part of his life that had been torn away, but…

SPR had been created to pass the time, a mere front to cover his tracks. Naru had even taken the name Kazuya…Shibuya Kazuya, hence his business Shibuya Psychic Research. But at the time, it didn't really matter and it was nothing more than a lie. That was until he had taken on a high school girl for an assistant and put together an odd mix of professionals that surprisingly suited his needs quite well.

It all seemed so right…

Days, weeks, and months passed by…

In truth, Naru frankly felt like crap.

Mai, unbeknownst to him, didn't feel all that great either.

It had been nearly half a year since her life had returned to that of a normal high schooler. On more than one occasion in the past, Mai had wondered how great it would be to return to the days when her greatest worry would be her unfinished homework or getting in enough hours at her part time job; not thinking about her strange ESP, visions, ghosts attacking her, cases to solve, or how to control her crush on her so called boss.

It all felt like the distant past even though not that much time had passed in actuality. Mai still couldn't forget. And she certainly couldn't forget the boy that she had confessed her love to. In the beginning, she shoved the whole thing far from her mind. The anger, the hurt she felt, the confusion Naru had caused, Mai pushed it all aside. She didn't want to think about it; Naru had left her behind and forgotten her completely and she vowed to do the same. It was easier said than done…

Everyone says with time, everything fades…memories, feelings, and even the very emotions at fault. Everything dulls with time…but not for Mai. She merely found that after she had time to settle, things become more vivid…even if she didn't want them to. The scene she had witnessed, the words that were spoken to her…replayed over and over like some old movie reel. It was like watching the bad ending of a movie that you wished you had stopped before having to see it…yet she was seeing it on repeat.

Mai had never intended for a bad ending. She didn't want things to be the way they were, turn out the way they had. Just like replaying the words Naru had spoken to her under the sakura trees, Mai also couldn't help but recall all the times before in which Naru had helped her…saved her.

What had she done? Certainly all the time she had spent at SPR had not gone to waste, well over a year of feelings and memories…

Nothing had weakened at all…

~x~

Tapping soundly on a solid oak desktop, Naru assaulted his pen for what felt like the thousandth time; he had lost count around 386 taps…he was losing his touch…and his mind no doubt. Even back in his native element, nothing held his interest in the least.

No matter what his assignment was, nothing seemed the slightest bit intriguing. In his state, watching the trees in the yard photosynthesize would have been more thought provoking than any current task at hand. Had research always been that boring? Naru was sure that he had found some relevant interest in the past while working for his parents, studying, learning, researching…

But now everything seemed so dull…

Sufficient time had already passed, years was it? No, it hadn't even been a whole year yet…just a half a year in fact…why did it feel like it was so much longer? Naru had no idea, nor did he really want to delve into the fact…he was much too proud to voice his frustrations in the least.

Luckily for Naru, he didn't have to. Lin saw it all clear and plain as day. The boy was restless and quite worthless all things considered; a bumbling intern or an undergrad would probably have been more useful. Oliver was being quite dishonest with himself.

Lin knew that all too well. Maybe Noll was simply uneasy without having Mai at his side? It was quite the possibility. With her propensity for getting into trouble, Naru had taken it upon himself to personally look out for her…and now he had all but abandoned her to fend for her self…a lamb in a dangerous world of wolves as it were.

There was also the fact that Noll had been more or less independent for over a year…suddenly being thrown back into the norm of the past must be somewhat difficult. Though, even with the facts as they were, ample time had already passed…what was so unsettling?

If asked that question, Naru surely would have voiced that nothing was wrong. How could he possibly disclose that everything was wrong? He couldn't even put a name to it, classify it…and it annoyed him to no end. Naru just wished that whatever 'it' was would go the hell away and soon.

Had it really been that rewarding having that noisy bunch around; working on his own and employing them to help? That couldn't possibly be it…Lin was still his assistant, that hadn't changed, and they both continued to help with his father's business, Madoka too. He had perfectly capable people with him now as well…ones that were certainly more competent and refined…much less common…yet it wasn't the same.

Could Mai be the variable?

Had Mai really occupied such a void in him? Was she the cause of all of this? Naru vigorously shook his head of the thought line he had allowed himself to tangent on while he was supposed to be working. Though even with the physical action completed…the thought wasn't going away in the least.

"Stop tapping that pen already." Lin snapped, unable to take the maddening action a moment longer. "If I didn't know better, it's like you are suffering from withdrawal."

The last six months had not only been miserable for Noll, they had been practical torture for Lin as well. There was no working with the boy. Immediately following their return, Naru was grim indeed…and that is putting it lightly. His parents had brushed it off as effects from Gene's retrieval and the change in environment, but Lin knew better.

Anger had faded into bored distain, followed closely by long periods of Naru being mostly useless for all practical purposes. He was often dazed, unfocused, and in thought. Did Oliver feel regret…maybe? Whatever Noll's regrets may have been, Lin could only assume.

Either way, it didn't change the situation they were currently in. A marathon through thick mud would have been easier than the endless, torturous days that seemed to pass at the rate of fermentation or maybe even sand formation. Even with his best efforts, Lin hadn't been able to get Naru to do anything; not anything worthy anyway.

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Lin excused himself to make tea. Noll was in a particularly worthless mind set at the moment, so tea seemed like the only logical option left. Usually such action would illicit 'some' positive reaction, but as of late not even tea could lift the broody teen from his stupor. In fact, there was no hiding the annoyance and aggravation that washed over the boy's features as soon as he glared at or even attempted to drink any form of tea.

Things were becoming ridiculous…

~Chapter 2 End~

A/N: I have chapter 3 done and working on chapter 4! Should be posting more soon so please review! Thanks!