AN~ Alright, here is another chapter. As most writers do, I tend to listen to music and gravitate towards certain songs while writing so if anyone is ever interested in listening to these songs to get a really good feel for the emotions within this story then let me know and I will share them. I introduce a new character in this chapter, Prudence, and the song that I discovered suited her most was 'I dreamed a Dream' from Les Mis. Give it a listen if you've never heard it because it will help you to understand why Mai is so affected by Prudence in this and later chapters.
Mai was led through the halls by Ayako and Monk who were silent but both stewing in their own thoughts, mainly pertaining to Naru's treatment of Mai, which is why they had both come to her rescue in support. It was rare for them to see her react in such way. In the year that Naru had been absent from their lives Mai had been a bit depressed, yes, but she had been making improvements. She had been working herself to death but she had also been experiencing life and they had seen her blossom into a more mature woman. But to see all her progress come crumbling down on their first official case together again was heart wrenching.
She was silent between them, obviously tired and mentally exhausted, and they were sure a good night's rest would do her some good. The flight and all those interviews had taken a lot out of her. Not to mention dealing with Naru's "Case-mode" as they had dubbed it. Monk was privy to the knowledge that Mai had only distributed to Ayako that night before dinner, as he had seen the aftermath, and it was not something he was quite ready to forgive Naru for yet. They had been playing along, enjoying the high of each other's company once more, but now it was time to get serious. Naru had a lot of explaining to do and as he and Ayako made eye contact over the top of Mai's head they silently vowed to set things right.
They dragged her to bed and Ayako made sure she had changed into a comfortable set of pajamas before tucking her in and doing the same. The poor girl was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
Mai found herself wandering through the trees of the park, a white dress dragged across the ground behind her and was perfectly comfortable in the humid heat of Florida. She could hear the sound of waves lapping against the nearby seawall and paused to rest a hand on a tree while she took in the serenity of the moment. The sunlight was filtering through the leaves and brushing gentle fingers across her cheeks and the sea gulls sounded particularly jovial that day, their cries echoing out over the water to reach her ears, and she wondered if it would be a good idea to go for a swim. She enjoyed these calm moments in her life, when she could simply walk barefoot among the plot of nature he had purchased for her, and remind herself that she was alive. Not just some smiling accessory that hung off of his arm every night for all to see.
Yes, she enjoyed the calm beautiful days.
In the distance she heard a gunshot and opened her eyes, staring out into the trees ahead of her with some unknown emotion in her eyes, before dropping her hand and crouching on the ground to cover her ears.
It wasn't right. It wasn't right how often he had people killed. And all those men just did as he said.
Even when she had lived on the streets, selling her body for money, she had never seen such atrocious things as that man had performed on others. The memories of rough hands sliding across her skin, pulling, tearing, and the sounds they made had been horrible. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. But that all compared to nothing when she had first walked in upon the death throes of a man, limbless and choking on his own blood, while men in suits and ties stood around and grinned menacingly.
And the way he had come at her, striding through the cloud of cigarette smoke and heavy scent of blood, shouting and cursing at her . . .
The sights and sounds, the smells, assaulted her memories and she gagged. Her chest tightened and threatened to suffocate her.
She wasn't his wife, she was his prisoner.
How long would this go on?
Mai opened her eyes to the sunlight streaming in through her window and for just a moment, enjoyed the peace between wake and slumber when one did not recall either events from the two, but when she took in a breath to let out a contented sigh she was overcome with nausea and nearly threw herself out of bed to make it to the bathroom in time.
Ayako had just walked in through the door, already dressed in a black top and khaki capris and watched as Mai slammed the bathroom door shut behind her before her ears were assaulted by the sound of retching and she cursed.
It normally took at least a day or two for Mai's dreams to kick in but on the first night? Ayako turned on her heel and hurried out of the rooms and down to the restaurant where some of the others were already seated and awaiting breakfast. She marched up to the table and snatched a glass of water up before pausing to take in the figure of Naru sitting next to his father and Lin. Monk was still asleep and Masako had been pulled away by her director. She did not know where the others were, unsure of what exactly she should do she cleared her throat to garner the men's attention.
"Naru," she called quietly, a stern wrinkle took up roost between her eyes as the young man lifted his serious gaze onto her. "It's Mai," she said in way of answer to his silent question and she lifted the glass of water hesitantly.
"Am I allowed to see her?" he asked coldly but he was already standing and pushing his chair in.
"Not with that attitude you're not," she growled back but she was already turning and leading the way. She stomped out of the restaurant while calmly glided along beside her.
Honestly, she would have anyone other than Naru assist her with Mai at this point. She was still angry about their relationship or lack thereof and would have gone in search of someone else if she had not known that Naru would want the valuable information garnered through Mai's dreams anyways. She wanted NAru to have as little of Mai as possible because, in her book, he did not deserve her. After all she had done for him . . . But it was what it was and he would no doubt be the most capable of dealing with the situation. The others would have gotten too emotional. Maybe John though . . .? He would have been a good person to go to and she made a mental note of it for next time.
Her eye's slid to the man walking just in her peripheral and scowled. He was wearing such a calm expression that it irritated her. Show some emotion! He didn't even seem worried in the least for the well being of their team mascot, the one that kept them all together, and had basically become the face of SPR.
When the two passed through the door of the room assigned to the girls the sound of retching had stopped but when Ayako opened the door to the bathroom she found Mai, head resting on her arm over the toilet seat, with tears streaming down her face. She rushed into the large bathroom and set the glass of water on the counter top in favor of pulling Mai away from the toilet and wiping the tears off her cheeks despite the fact that more fell to replace them. Ayako could not recall her ever being so emotionally distraught after a dream. The urado case had left her terrified but not to the point of the disheartened creature she now found herself holding.
"What's wrong, Mai?" Ayako crooned although her face was marred with a worried frown.
Naru remained in the doorway, having only ever seen Mai in such a state once before, and knowing that she needed the comfort of a friend. He exited the room while Ayako continued to mummer words of comfort and attempted to help the girl to her feet. Together they shuffled out of the bathroom an over towards Mai's bed.
"Let's get you comfortable and then you can tell me what's wrong, alright?" Ayako said quietly and the still crying Mai nodded wordlessly and climbed back into her bed before sniffling and pulling the covers up cover her knees and under her chin.
Ayako sat on the bed next to her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face with a kind smile but inside she was fighting the rage against Naru and his absence. Mai always wanted to be in the presence of Naru, not matter how hurt or angry he made her feel, and he had just slipped away after she had gone all the way to get him. Well, him and a glass of water, which she just remembered she had left in the bathroom. She was debating on getting it when Satan himself stepped back into the room and joined the two on the other side of the bed.
With shaking hands Mai accepted the cup of tea he offered and took a small sip before setting it down in her lap, visibly relaxed. "Thank you" she mumbled quietly and glanced up to see him watching her carefully. Not something that she was completely used to but she had seen him wear that expression towards her a couple times in the past and knew that he was silently asking if she were alright.
Ayoko quirked a brow.
"Why don't you tell us what you dreamed," he prompted quietly and pulled a chair up to the side of her bed before taking a seat.
Mai watched him, content when he had made himself comfortable, before she looked away and allowed her eyes to wander the room while she organized her memories. "I dreamt of was a woman who lived here, a long time ago . . ." she trailed off and turned her eyes to the window. "I was his wife, I think, and I hated it . . . he wasn't as kind as he used to be."
"That doesn't sound so horrible that you would wake up sobbing into a toilet," Ayako drawled dryly and crossed her arms.
"No," Mai shook her head, agreeing that that was not what had caused her so much grief, "But I had her memories and for a moment . . ." she trailed of and shivered. Her face grew pale and for a moment Ayako thought she was going to vomit again. "Anyways," Mai shook herself out of it after taking another sip of tea, "I was walking through the trees, admiring the weather, when I heard a gunshot. He has people killed often, you see, and I don't like it . . ." tears streamed down her face again. "It just seemed so different before. Things used to be simple. But then there was something about taking up his father's business and all those evil men started showing up at all hours of the day... and he changed."
Naru shifted in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. "Mai?" he called questioningly. When she did not respond he repeated her name a bit more urgently and the girl blinked and leveled her eyes on him in confusion. "Have you been having dreams since I left?"
She took a moment to think about his question before nodding once, "They're different now though . . ."
"Is Gene in them?" he asked quietly, looking up at her from his position. He touched the tips of his fingers to each other absently.
She shook her head as more tears trailed down her face and she reached up to wipe them away. "Gene?" she repeated the name in confusion.
In a rare show of emotion Naru dropped his head into his hands and rubbed at his face in frustration. "He was your guide Mai, you shouldn't astral project without him, it's dangerous," he muttered. Naru had assumed that Gene was still with her when she dreamed otherwise he wouldn't have urged her to bed so quickly as he had last night. She had known what he wanted and that had planted the need to astral project in her mind. Who knows what could have happened.
"What do you mean?" she asked in furstration. She lifted a hand to her head and closed her eyes.
Naru sat back in the chair and crossed his arms, adopting his cold and blank expression once more, "What is your name?"
"Prudence," she responded instantly.
The room grew dark and Mai only realized her mistake moments later and she lifted her hand to her mouth in horror. "No, no, no, that's not right . . ." she shivered and turned to Ayako in a panic but the woman was looking at her with wide eyes at a loss of how to react. "It's Mai, Taniyama Mai," she stated quietly and leaned back against the pillows suddenly exhausted.
Naru dropped his gaze to the rug beneath his feet in thought with narrowed eyes.
"Ayako," Naru called and the when the red head had looked at him he continued, "Will you get Mai something to eat and bring it back? She should be fine once she gets something in her."
Ayako slid off the bed and nodded, she sent one last look towards Mai before leaving, even as she moved through the base she was biting her lip in thought.
Naru stood only once the miko had gone and sat on the side of the bed instead. "Mai," he said her name again as if to reassure her of her identity. When the girl opened her eyes again she stared at him blankly for a moment before nodding.
"I'm okay," she said quietly, the hint of a blush coloring her cheeks, and Naru sighed.
"You said Prudence's husband had men killed, was that what scared you?" he asked.
Mai shook her head and took another sip of tea, "Partly, but what scared me the most was her memories. I felt them. I experienced them. And Naru . . ." she paused while she fought the tears that threatened to fall again, "She had such a horrible life."
Naru remained silent and watched as his assistant composed herself. Vaguely he was aware that someone had entered the base thanks to the heavy squeak the door made, he assumed it was Lin, and waited for Mai to continue.
Mai fingered the handle of her tea cup while speaking, "She was a prostitute before he married her, she had experienced such horrible things, but compared to what that man was doing to people it was nothing. It made her sick, Naru . . . and it made me feel . . ." she trailed off again for what felt the hundredth time that morning and wished she could go back to the moment when she had first woken up and felt the calm serenity of the rising sun. She shivered in disgust and wrapped her arms around herself.
Naru leaned away from her with a sigh, "You don't have to say anymore," he muttered quietly and watched as her shoulders fell in relief. He eyed her critically for a moment before he asked, "Will you be alright?"
Mai wiped at her eyes one more time before smiling up at him with a nod, "Yes, I'll be okay."
He nodded once, paused as if he were about to say something else, before standing from the bed just as the door was thrown open and Monk flew in like a bat out of hell.
"Mai!" he cried in a panic but froze at the sight that greeted him. "Are you alright?" he asked in a calmer tone and approached the other side of the bed.
Mai smiled brightly, even brighter than the smile she had just graced Naru with, and nodded energetically. "I'm fine," she answered with an assuring laugh. "Naru made me tea," she added and lifted the cup in her hands.
"Did he now?" Monk drawled knowingly and sent the man a smirk that he did not respond to.
Naru turned away from the bed and headed for the door, "Once you've eaten and are ready, join us in setting up the rest of the equipment."
"I will," Mai called after him before turning her eyes onto the monk with a blush.
"Alright Mai," the Monk grinned and gave her a thumbs up to which her response was to throw a pillow at him. The Monk dodged it and bid a retreat from the room after that, laughing as he went. He pulled the door shut behind him and heard the distinctive thud of another pillow hitting the other side before looking up at the few gathered members of the team with a smile, "She's totally fine."
Ayako had brought Mai some eggs and toast which the girl was grateful for. It felt like it had been ages since she had last eaten even though she could clearly recall her dinner the night before. The very intense and awkward dinner that they had created through their behavior. A dinner in which Mai had been constantly embarrassed and ridiculed.
She scowled at the memory before sliding out of bed, leaving the tray of dishes behind, and headed for the bathroom to shower. After the caffeine from the tea had finally kicked in and she had gotten something in her stomach she felt ten times better. The realization that she had been in danger of losing herself was a little bit frightening but mostly frustrating. Without Gene, it would seem, she was completely useless.
She stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her torso and moved over to her suitcase, now at the foot of her bed, and searched for something to wear that day. After many incidents when she had found herself the epicenter of spiritually produced accidents or pranks she had decided skirts and dresses were not the best choice of clothing while she was on the job and so had packed mostly jeans and tights for this trip. Thanks to Ayako she brought a couple of nice dresses for dinner too but she wasn't planning on wearing any of them in the long run. At least she was hoping she wouldn't have to. If she was forced to sit through another dinner like the one they had had last night she would probably die. She chuckled at her thoughts before pulling out a pair of blue skinny jeans and a black and white striped sweater. She was just setting them out onto the bed when the door swung open.
"Mai, I think Naru is missing your face because he's getting all moody again and says you're holding everyone up," Yasuhara rambled cheerily.
Mai froze and turned to look over her shoulder at the man whom she thought of as a very good friend but was now seriously considering ending his life. She was still only in a towel and here this idiot was standing in the doorway with said door thrown open wide. She could just see Lin sitting at his chosen desk staring wide eyed, flabbergasted, over Yasuhara's shoulder from the other side of base.
"Yasuhara . . ." Mai attempted to politely reprimand him.
"Yes?" he asked innocently. Clearly he was avoiding the elephant in the room but whether or not this was due to embarrassment or if he wanted to make her suffer Mai was unsure.
Her politeness quickly dwindled away under the fire that was her anger and she glowered, "What do you think you are doing?" She lifted a fist, knuckles white and straining against her grip, and grabbed the towel with her other hand.
"Staring at a beautiful half naked woman, naturally," he answered with a smile. His hand was still on the nob when Mai charged over to him and slammed the door in his face, nearly knocking the man to the ground such was her strength.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you how to knock!" she could be heard shouting from the other side of the door.
Yasuhara stared at the door for a moment, a bit put out, but deciding he was a gentlemen and that he should know better than to enter a woman's room without knocking. He sighed, his shoulders falling forward, and turned away from the door. His eyes landed on a suspicious looking Lin who, upon realizing that he had been staring, blushed the barest hint of red and dropped his gaze back to his laptop.
"Lin, you pervert!" Yasuhara called with a grin earning himself a glower from the intimidating man which he only shrugged off.
The rest of the team, scattered about the room, looked up to take in the situation with varying expressions of weariness and curiosity.
Never one to let a joke at Lin's expense pass (or anyone's expense for that matter) Bou-san asked, "What did Lin do now?" He had set the morning's paper down on his lap and turned in his seat on the couch to look between the two with a grin.
"Oh, I dare not warp your sweet innocent mind with that pervy old man's antics," Yasuhara waved the monk off and walked over to his own backpack and extracted his laptop. With it stuffed under one arm he sent the Chinese man one last smile before turning to Naru, who was standing at the window in thought, and offered the man a salute, "I'll be off, I'll see what I can find on the original owners, but I make no promises."
Naru closed his eyes against a mild spike of irritation, though he knew it had less to do with Yasuhara's antics and more to do with his slip up with Mai, and let out a sigh. "Be back here in time for dinner," he muttered, dropping his eyes to the park grounds below and watched as locals played out in the open fields.
"Yes mother," Yasuhara called back over his shoulder as he left. He would be meeting Madoka at the local library to do some research for the day and he was silently glad that he would soon be spending his day with someone who appreciated his humor.
In the corner Lin cleared his throat.
Naru turned to look over his shoulder at the man with slight frown but his attention was pulled away as Mai stepped into the room, running her hand through her wet hair, and he turned away from the window.
"Now that we're all here," he began pointedly, "We'll be setting up cameras and microphones today. This is a large property so we'll have to use our equipment sparingly, on top of that, we will have a team patrolling each night in hopes of catching some activity. For this we have brought two handheld cameras." While Naru spoke he had leaned back against one of the several tables in the room and gestured to the pile of equipment behind him.
Mai, who did not even bother reacting to his barb towards her, crossed her own arms and shifted her weight to one hip. "I know there has been a lot of history with this case but isn't it a bit early to already be assuming it's haunted?" Indeed, it sounded like Naru was already certain there was an evil spirit within those walls if he was talking about using patrolling teams to catch activity. Although she had had a dream that morning, she had learned over time never to jump conclusions, and was practicing her hard earned knowledge in order to establish herself as an official paranormal investigator. Never mind the fact that that hard earned knowledge had mostly been beaten into her brain by the very man she was now staring at.
Naru turned his head towards her, "Quite an observation from you, Mai, it seems your intelligence has improved in my absence."
Mai rubbed her forehead with a hand and attempted to hold back the scream of frustration that she felt building in her chest.
Naru smirked and closed his eyes, "While Mai's question is a good one it is important to note that I did not specify what kind of activity we would be searching for at night." The sound of an irritated huff from Mai's direction assured him that she was beyond annoyed. "All recorded victims have been found within the past forty years, which means there is a possibility that these are the actions of a living human, so I want everyone on the lookout for any suspicious employees or local residents. The perpetrator, if there is one, will most likely be male and in his fifties or older."
"You think a human did all this?" Monk questioned from his spot on the couch, his brows scrunched together in confusion and uncertainty.
"The only undeniable evidence we have are the four victims," Naru shot back, "Any of the other claims we received could be faked. The reported male crying could set up with a recorder to trick guests. Messages can be left by other people. And so on and so forth. Haunted hotels are all the rage these days after all." He pushed himself away from the table with a sigh, "I want to be sure that we are not being made fools of before we move on with this investigation."
"It makes sense," John nodded in agreement from where he sat next to Monk.
"You can't seriously think it's the staff that is doing this?" Monk turned to the priest in disbelief.
"Well," John scratched at his head at suddenly finding himself to center of attention, "I've heard several cases of establishment using ghost stories to draw in guests so it's not like it's unheard of." The blond man shrugged and pushed himself off of the couch.
Naru nodded, respecting John's professionalism, and opened his mouth to continue when the main door opened and Martin Davis stepped in and shut it behind him. Naru narrowed his eyes but continued, "Takigawa-san, Mai, I want you two to set up camera's and take temperature readings of each room."
"This place is huge, that's going to take hours!" Bou-san groaned while Mai shot him a sympathizing smile.
"You can trade off at lunch with John and Ayako," Naru shot back with slight irritation, "I want John, Ayako, and Masako to investigate the surrounding woods and see if they can sense anything."
Ayako snorted but pushed herself off of the couch from across Monk and crossed her arms, "Good thing I brought my boots this time," she muttered and moved passed Mai and slipped into the girl's room. Presumably she was retrieving said boots and probably a scarf to shield her neck against the cool winter Florida air.
"I don't understand why she still wears heels on cases," Monk grouched with a tired sigh.
"She was the one who first suggested I stopped wearing skirts when I fell down a well for the second time," Mai mumbled thoughtfully with a finger to her chin as she recalled the day she and Naru had limped back to base, bruised and beaten, and both ready for the case to be over.
Masako, who had been sitting at an antique table (not one of the fold out tables the team had brought), took a sip of her tea before stating; "You have rotten luck." She refused to make eye contact with the other girl knowing she was probably scowling at her and only smirked.
"Well excuse me," Mai drawled with her arms crossed and a deadpan expression on her face, "I'll try and be more careful." It was true though, she admitted grudgingly in her mind, she had always gotten herself into some kind of trouble. But she was proud to admit she had grown since their last case together and she had learned a lot about taking care of herself. This morning, she decided, did not count and she would work hard to prove to the others just how far she had come.
"That's highly improbable."
Naru's voice cut through her train of thought like a hot knife through butter and Mai shut her eyes and growled. It was like he could read her thoughts. She had so many words bouncing about her brain that she could not decide on a comeback that would neither be too harsh or too unintelligent and so she threw her arms up into the air and turned on her heel. "Come on, Monk, let's go," she growled and the man jumped up from the couch with a laugh and helped her to collect the equipment.
"Before you go . . ." Naru called out from across the room as Mai moved towards the door.
Mai did not know what prompted her to level a blank expression at Martin, who she noted was wearing a pair of nice jeans and a black long sleeved button down shirt, but the knowing look in her eyes was enough to cause the man to scrunch his brows in question. He wondered what it was his son was going to ask of that girl that would cause her to wear such a look.
"Mai, tea," Naru finished seconds later. He had returned to his seat in front of the monitors and had adopted his thinking pose before she could even respond.
Mai smirked, such a derisive smirk that Martin could not stop the impressed look before it had taken over his face, and laughed knowingly. "We're out," she stated simply before stepping through the main doors and leaving an amazed Monk, impressed Martin, and a collection of tired sighs in her wake. Naru spun around in his chair just in time to see the girl disappear through the doors and he scowled.
"Great, now he's going to be in a pissy mood all day," Monk grouched and hefted the equipment in his arms and followed after Mai.
"She's improved," Lin mumbled from his corner and took a sip of the coffee Madoka had brought him earlier that morning. For the moment he actually had no work to do until Mai and Bou-san began setting up the camera and so he was able to see when Naru turned his glare onto him and he sent a smirk towards Martin.
"Don't encourage her," Naru muttered. He had just used the last of the tea for her that morning, he realized irritably, and sighed.
"Then quite antagonizing her," Lin shot back quietly and sighed as he lifted the walkie-talkie next to his laptop.
"You are kind of poking the bear with a stick so to speak," John added with a nervous laugh.
"If the bear would stop being so unintelligent and do its job I wouldn't be poking it," Naru responded.
"I can't picture Mai as a bear," Masako mumbled from her table thoughtfully. "Maybe a red panda . . ." she trailed off and glanced up to see the rest of the room looking at her. She quickly lifted the sleeve of her kimono over her mouth in hopes of hiding the slight blush that spread across her cheeks.
"Red pandas are endangered," John blurted without thought, though he was not bothered by this, and stood from his seat on the couch as Ayako returned from the girl's room.
"What about red pandas?" Ayako questioned as she adjusted the floral patterned scarf around her neck.
"We were comparing Mai to a red panda, she is a wild animal after all," Masako explained as she too stood and approached the other two team members.
Ayako lifted her eyes to the ceiling in thought, "I guess I could see it, she does have a similar temperament . . ."
"They are also endangered," Naru added from his seat, his back facing them, "Which says something about Mai's poor luck."
The three fell silent but it was Ayako who snorted, "He's kind of right."
John sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
Mai followed Monk down the halls of the mansion, a clipboard and pen in hand, and an immovable scowl on her face. The walkie-talkie hung from the waistband of her jeans and was silent as they had yet to begin setting up the next camera. They had set up a camera outside, facing towards the small wood, to hopefully catch sightings of the white figures reported to wander the property. There was also one at the lake and Mai recalled that she did not like the feeling of the water the second she had laid eyes on it. She stayed as far away from it as she could while Monk set up the camera per Lin's instructions. As they walked back through the trees she had looked over her shoulder at the innocent looking lake and shivered.
Naru wanted a camera in the main foyer facing into the small ballroom, the doors open, and at such an angle that they could get the stairs as well. One of the servers of the restaurant had claimed that they often heard music and saw flickering lights in the ballroom at night and others had claimed they saw the figure of a man climbing the stairs. Mai herself had interviewed said server and remembered the girl had been impatient to get back to work. She had a feeling nothing would phase that woman if money was at stake. She had kind of reminded her of Joe, their usual server and friend back in Japan, and wondered if it was simply a restaurant thing. Did all servers adopt nerves of steel in order to make that extra cash? She should contact that woman when she got back to Japan and ask, maybe it would lead to a more in depth friendship then simply taking her food order and the casual polite chitchat they shared. Joe seemed like she would make a good friend.
"There is a room on the third floor where several people have reported hearing a man crying, I think we can just leave a microphone in that room . . ." Mai spoke up as they walked through the quiet hall on the second floor. She had been thinking their equipment placement out logically so as to use it as sparingly as possible and she was quite proud of Lin's unspoken appreciation.
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Monk slowed the cart that they had borrowed from the hotel to carry the cameras and microphones and waited while Mai went into the room, took the temperature, and returned with a sigh. Despite its vast size the building was pretty much all the same temperature, a nice 21.6 degrees Celsius.
Mai stepped out of the vacant room as a couple passed Monk and gave him curious glances from out of the corner of their eyes. Mai quirked a brow but did not comment on their nosiness before she turned back to Monk and they continued on.
"So what's going on between you and Naru?" Monk asked as they traveled down the hall at a leisurely pace, one of the wheels on the cart squeaked but the two ignored it as they moved, to content with their own task to be annoyed. It was nice sometimes to have a simple job and not have to worry about rushing, though Monk was certain their boss would not appreciate their laziness.
Mai sighed and sent the man an annoyed scowl before stepping into the next vacant room. Some of the rooms were occupied and so they were not permitted access, but the ones that were empty were left unlocked for the team to utilize. She glanced around the airy room, with its white walls and floral patterns, and let out a sigh when the thermometer read the same temperature as all the rooms before.
"If you really must know," Mai began with a sigh as she exited the room, "I've been thinking."
"That's dangerous," Monk muttered with a chortle and winced when Mai smacked him on the shoulder.
"Anyways," she declared loudly and continued in a much quiet tone, "You know that I told him . . . how I felt . . ." she trailed off.
Monk nodded curtly with a more serious expression.
"Well, you know how he asked me if it was him or Gene that I had feelings for?" she continued with a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks.
Monk scowled but responded with, "Yes."
"Well, he's not really a narcissist then, is he?" she finished finally with a smirk.
Monk came to a stop, the cart wheels screeching to a halt, and stared at Mai like she had just shared the location of the Holy Grail to him. He looked up in thought and let out a knowing chuckle, "You think it's all an act? Maybe the only reason he pretended to be a narcissist was because you dubbed him as such and was just playing along, you know, building this character to help hide his identity."
Mai shrugged and let out a sigh, "I don't know. I've just been so irritable since he came back, I think I just kind of forgot about the whole thing and now that he's back I was reminded, I'm just really bitter about it I guess." She fiddled with the top of the clipboard and started walking again, noting the squeak of the cart as Monk did the same, and let her eyes trail over to the windows they were passing. It was a beautiful day outside and she could see several families walking their dogs, playing Frisbee, and just casually meandering through the park. It wasn't too cold now that the sun was high in the sky.
"What time is it anyways?" she asked and glanced over at Bou-san curiously.
The Monk lifted his wrist to look at his watch, something she found funny that he had, and grinned. "It's 11:30, we should probably set up the microphone and then trade off with the others. Though all they'll really have to worry about is taking the temperature of each room." Bou-san shrugged and Mai nodded.
It took them a few short moments to set up said equipment before they hurried back to base. Monk had demanded that Mai push him while he sat on the cart about halfway back and she agreed with a laugh. It was rare for them to get the chance to goof off when they were working a case. As she pushed the Monk laden cart around the corner of the hall, the last stretch of hallway before they reached base, Mai pushed a bit harder and picked up her pace. When she was within thirty feet of their door she jumped onto the back of the cart with a laugh and they flew the rest of the distance to base. Mai slowed their ride to a stop at the door and held on to the handles until Monk had extracted himself from the cart.
"That was terrifying," Monk mumbled but his complaint fell on deaf ears as Mai threw their door open and strolled into the base with her hands behind her head and flopped onto the couch nearest the door. With her head buried in the cushions and her feet hanging over the arm of the couch she did not see Naru's parents sitting at the antique table by the window Masako had utilized that morning. "Good afternoon," Monk greeted them casually and sat on the couch across from Mai.
Mai lifted her head and blanched before sitting up properly on the couch, "Good afternoon!" she stumbled to greet them and laughed nervously.
"How are you two?" Luella asked cheerily while she typed away at a laptop in front of her.
"Good," they answered in unison.
Mai was just wondering why the Davis's were in base without Naru or Lin, now that she took a look around, but Luella seemed to realize what she was thinking and sent her a playful pout. "They left to grab lunch and left us to watch over the base," she sighed and glanced up at her husband who was sitting across from her, noting the way he was reading through Naru's notes on the case, and shook her head. The two got along so well but when it came to work they had differing opinions which often led to arguments.
"That jerk," Mai muttered and flopped back into the couch, her actions only causing Luella to smile, and rubbed her own empty stomach.
"Mai."
Mai sat up again and turned her eyes to Martin who was looking at her curiously, "Yes sir?" she stuttered, wondering what it was the man wanted, and wondered what it was about him that intimidated her so when he seemed to friendly.
"Noll had said that you are capable of astral projection and precognition, can you give an example of a case in which your abilities played a part?" he asked politely and turned in his chair to face her. His grey eyes were piercing.
Mai felt like a butterfly pinned up for display. "Umm," she stalled for time to think and shot a look at Bou-san helplessly.
"The Urado case is probably the best example," Monk drawled in thought and shrugged.
"Ah, you're right," Mai exclaimed in agreement and turned to face Martin while she scratched her head in thought. "We investigated the property of a man named Urado a long time ago, the house was built similar to the Winchester Mansion, and people were going missing. Eventually Masako went missing as well, the day we were going to leave actually, and I had previously had a dream that helped us find her. . ." she trailed off, recalling the strange house and its hundreds of hidden rooms and passages. "I had dreamt that two men came into our room, dragged me through the house, and into a tiled room where they strapped me to a table and then slit my throat. It was that room that we found Masako," she lifted a hand and dropped it to her lap as if to say 'there it is' and lifted her gaze back up to Martin.
"So you relived the memories of a previous victim?" Martin questioned and leaned forward with a hand over his mouth in thought.
"Essentially, that's how I help on cases besides doing the labor," she laughed lightly, "I get the background story, so to speak, and share the information I get with the rest of the team."
"And how do you know where you're going?" Martin sat back and crossed his arms, his foot tapping against the floor in excitement. It was obvious he was very interested in Mai and it made her feel more than a little bit uncomfortable as they drew closer and closer to a subject she'd rather not be the one to discuss with the father of the adopted twins.
"Instinct," Mai answered simply, a cold undertone to her response, Martin was prying too far and she would not be the one to tell him his late son had been the one teaching her. It was a sore subject after that morning's event and she was glad when, just as Martin opened his mouth to ask another question despite the warning looks Luella was giving him, the door opened and Naru and Lin reentered the base ignorant of the discussion they had just interrupted.
They had brought up several plates of food from the restaurant downstairs, stacked on two trays, and they set them down on the table between Martin and Luella.
Mai let out a relieved sigh and glanced over at Monk to see him shooting a suspicious look at Martin. He crossed his arms and stood before moving over to one of the windows, staring out into the park.
Naru watched the Monk's movements out of the corner of his eye before turning to take in the irritated frown that marred his mother's face, and the lack of any discomfort whatsoever on his father's. He pulled the stacked plates off of the tray and pulled the covers off of each of them before setting two in front his parents and bringing two over to the couch across from Mai. He set them both on the table and slid one across to her.
Mai blushed and pulled the plate onto her lap while mumbling an embarrassed 'thank you'.
"I'm not serving you yours, Bou-san," Lin muttered as he took his own plate back to his desk.
Monk scowled at Lin good naturedly before grabbing his own plate of food from the table and joining Mai on the couch. "We should steal that cart when we leave," Monk said to Mai as he dug into his plate of pasta happily.
"We're not stealing it," Mai admonished and picked at her plate. Though she would admit it had made things easier while they were setting up equipment. She wondered if they could convince Naru to let them purchase one when they returned to Japan. "You just want to ride on it some more," she added as an afterthought and laughed when the monk grinned into his plate.
"It's great for long distances," he defended playfully, "Some of the places we investigate are really big."
"Uh-huh," Mai drawled sarcastically.
"It would be great if my employees could display some professionalism for a change," Naru cut through their banter and the two fell into a guilty silence.
Then Monk snorted, "You should have hired actual adults then."
Mai smiled into her own plate then and could not bring herself to meet Naru's eyes. It was kind of true, and a bit ironic, that all of Naru's employees were so rambunctious and energetic while he was not. They couldn't be professional unless the situation really called for it, otherwise, that was what Naru was for. He kept them in line.
"Lin's the professional one," Monk added and gestured towards the man at his desk with his fork.
Lin did not deem that statement worthy of a response and continued scrolling through notes on his laptop as he ate. It was questionable if he was really professional anyways. In fact, the man never even really interacted with their clients so in reality if more that he had just never displayed unprofessionalism.
Naru sighed but made no further comment.
From the table by the window Luella laughed into her hand at her son's expense. Though the case itself was a somber one, as they all were, she could not help but enjoy the mood that his team brought to it and found herself wishing she had been able to take part in all of their previous cases just to witness it herself. She had sensed a change in him since he had gone to Japan, despite the loss of his brother, he seemed more open minded towards others. She met her husband's eyes over to top of her laptop and noticed that he was smiling but there was a curious and determined look in his eye that she knew all too well and that it pertained to the small brunette sitting on the couch across from Noll. She rolled her eyes and stood from the table, bringing her plate with, and moved to join Naru on the couch.
"So, Mai, what do you do for fun?" Luella asked after she had made herself comfortable and smoothed out the long beige skirt she had worn that day.
Mai lifted a finger to her chin in thought. What did she do for fun? Had she been asked that question two years ago she would have said telling ghost stories or day dreaming. After she had met Naru her life had been consumed by paranormal investigating and pining after the man who had hired her. She had made herself a new life and found a family and she had enjoyed it all so much that she never really considered finding herself a hobby. And after Naru had left she had been working two jobs and going to school so she had never had the time to actually rest and enjoy any activity. It had really never occurred to her how much life kept her on her toes until just then and the thought was really quite eye opening. She wondered if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She supposed it was good that she enjoyed life to its fullest and was content with her job but did that mean she was lacking in something because she had never really found herself a hobby or passion other than working for SPR? Most girls her age already had an idea of what they wanted to do when they graduated. She knew several artists, musicians, and soon to be doctors from school and yet she had simply been existing. But then, she could never really see herself doing anything other than what she was doing now. She had only been existing for as long as she could remember and it hadn't been until that day, when she accidentally stumbled into her first true ghost hunt, that she found herself desperate to learn and participate in something.
Mai looked down to meet Luella's eyes, realizing she had been spacing out for quite some time because the woman was looking at her with a perplexed expression. Mai laughed embarrassed for loosing focus and scratched her cheek, "I suppose what I really enjoy is spending time with my family."
Monk paused in his eating a leveled a sad smile at Mai though the girl did not notice.
Naru continued to eat his meal in silence.
"Oh, how sweet," Luella said. "Do you have any siblings?"
"You could say that," Mai responded with another laugh. "We fight often enough," she added and took a thoughtful bite from her plate. She supposed that John, Masako, and Yasuhara were her siblings while Monk and Ayako were her parents.
"What does your mother do?" Luella asked while she cut up a small piece of chicken on her plate and listened.
"She was a published writer but she had a part time job as a florist," Mai answered dutifully. "Sadly she passed away a few years ago," she continued kindly, weary of the subject knowing that some people felt a little awkward when she brought it up. It usually tended to garner pity from others and she was not one to easily accept such an emotion directed at her. She had come so far in life on her own that it often annoyed her more than anything. Though she would never make it outwardly known for fear of insulting whoever it was she was speaking with.
"I'm sorry to hear that, she must have been a lovely woman," Luella answered just as kindly and with passion.
Mai paused and looked up at the woman sitting across the table in surprise before smiling, "She was, she spoiled me rotten."
Luella laughed, "I have no doubt she did. You must have been so adorable when you were little."
Mai grinned cheekily and hummed in agreement, "I was always getting into trouble. I can't count how many times I came home dirty and scraped up from some kind of mess. She was at her wits end with me sometimes. She always panicked and flapped around like a bird." Mai waved her hands about like wings and laughed with Luella. "Dad always laughed it off and said I had earned some battle scars and that there was no point in lecturing me because I would just come home with more tomorrow," she added and turned her gaze out towards the window, reminiscing.
"You're father?" Luella questioned.
"Oh, he passed as well," Mai answered quietly. "He was in construction and there was an accident. He managed to save a coworker before the equipment fell though. I still check in with him every now and then. His wife was pregnant at the time so it's nice to know that she still has her husband."
Monk had set his plate down, his appetite lost, and glanced at Naru from beneath his bangs. He had already finished his meal and had leaned back in his spot on the couch and was staring out the window, a hand to his chin in thought.
"After that I lived on my own for a while and then I became a part of SPR, they're my family," Mai explained with a smile. "I don't really dwell on it, I'm normally too busy, and I really enjoy the job." She shrugged and set her empty plate down with a contented sigh, glad that her aching stomach was full, and thought over their conversation.
Luella stared at Mai in shock before turning to look a Noll with a knowing smile but her son would not meet her eyes. "The last year really must have been hard for you, the ladies weren't joking," she observed sincerely.
Mai blushed, "I learned a lot about myself in the past year and I do not regret the time spent away from this job because of that."
"Well that's good," Luella said.
John, Masako, and Ayako returned soon after and it was Monk and Mai's turn to wander the property. They explored the house and discovered that there were many sitting rooms dedicated towards nothing but sitting. Servant halls ran throughout the structure abound and they spent a while, playing for lack of a better term, in those under the pretense that they were investigating if anyone stopped to ask. They even went outside and walked around for a bit, glad to see that there were still several people who came to the park despite the dark tales that surrounded it.
Mai took a moment, out amongst the trees of the park, to the let the cool sea breeze blow through her hair and the sun warm her back. She could hear the sea gulls far above, circling through the sparsely clouded sky but she could also here several other birds in the tree of the park. She wondered what ti would be like to just appear among the foliage and never return and whether or not Prudence had wished for the same thing.
She trailed a hand across the bark of a tree while Monk faced towards the ocean with is hands on his hips and smiled.
She imagined this must have been where the woman escaped to when things got to rough. Did this tree ever console her? Supported her until the tears finally came to a stop and the rays of the sun licked them from her face? How many good memories did this forest hold, clutched beneath their branches, in the hopes that one day someone could experience them again?
The laughter of children could be heard in the distance and she smiled.
And before night fell Mai claimed she wanted to go for a swim in the indoor pool.
Monk had shrugged and said she could go on ahead and he would probably see if Ayako wanted to go after they had finished up with the rest of the rooms.
Mai had hurried back to the girl's room, pulled on a bathing suit, and traipsed back down the halls to the indoor pool. The room was large and made up of floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto the tampa bay. There was only two other people there and for that she was glad. She wanted a bit of peace after all the tense and awkward situations she had had to endure since arriving.
Naru stepped into his personal room and closed the door behind him. When he was certain that he was alone he moved deeper into the dark room, thick curtains pulled shut over the windows, and lifted his eyes to the mirror hanging from the wall to his left. In it he could see his four poster bed and the nightstand next to it. And himself.
"Gene," he stated.
The man reflected in the mirror cocked his head curiously, "What's up?"
Naru lifted a hand to his face and let out a sigh before sitting in the plush chair to his right. The reflection of Gene seemed to lean forward in curious worry and followed his brother's every movement with his eyes.
"Why aren't you guiding Mai?" he demanded quietly.
"Mai?" Gene questioned and lifted a hand to his chin in thought. His brows scrunched together in thought. "Who's Mai?"
Naru lifted his eyes to meet his brothers in stunned surprise. He did not know how to respond. And suddenly he found his mind racing a hundred miles a minute as he leaned back in the chair and clutched the ends of the armrests. "My assistant, the girl that you were guiding as she slept, on the astral plain. You helped us to solve cases through her."
Gene's eyes took on a panicked and apologetic look and he turned his face away. "I don't remember . . ." he trailed off. "I thought I was asleep all this time . . ."
Naru narrowed his eyes but rather than waste time trying to jog his brother's memories he adopted a thinking pose instead, and wondered what could have changed. "She said that after we returned to England you stopped visiting her and the only thing to change in that time was my presence," he said stiffly.
Gene hummed in thought and took on his own thinking pose, arms crossed and head down, before perking up, "Not so, that's when we first spoke through the mirror."
"Hmm," Naru tapped a finger against the armrest. "Without me there she must have slipped into a different wavelength . . ."
"Alright Mr. Ego," Gene shot back with a chuckle.
Naru scowled, "It's not because of my ego that I say that. She only started seeing you after she met me, which means she had adjusted herself to our wavelength." He pushed himself out of the chair and stood with arms crossed. "We've been gone for a year now, so she must have shifted . . ." he trailed off then looked to his brother curiously, "Can you sense her? Besides Masako she is the only one on my team that is as strongly spiritually sensitive."
Gene straightened and turned his eyes away with his head cocked. There were a few moments of silence before he grinned and turned bright and mischievous eyes onto his brother. "I can, and she's in the pool," he chuckled at the dark look that overcame Naru's face.
"Gene," he said and there was a warning in his tone.
"Alright, alright," Gene whined and lifted his hands in surrender. "I can sense her, but just barely, if you can get her to adjust again I should be able to reconnect and maybe get my memories back. She's got the makings of a good medium in her."
Naru scowled again and nodded curtly but his mind wandered to thoughts of what could have caused the girl to shift wavelengths. It was not something so easily done and required concentration that she would not have thought to use unless the situation called for it. She must have been doing her own paranormal investigating while he was away and the thought both made him slightly proud and a little annoyed. She was danger prone and the idea that she had gone off on her own without his or his brother's aid was frightening.