Hey guys! This chapter is a little slow even for my tastes, but it begins to pick up towards the end of this chapter where we get yet another interlude of Mai being a little bit petty (because at this point, I can't imagine her any other way. It's perfect and no-one can convince me otherwise). Naturally, the last thousand or so words were the easiest for me to write, with everything else either being short bursts of inspiration, or considerably slower than usual. Regardless however, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think about the OC's. What do you want to see them become? Any thoughts on what specialities (not necessarily abilities, although those are welcome as well) you'd like to see them have?
I have an exciting announcement to make. Those of you who read TCOL may already be aware, but I officially have a beta! The lovely waitingforjudgement is my saving grace and she will be editing my works from now on, although any remaining mistakes are of course, my own. She has gotten the previous chapters of Nefelibata edited (although I haven't had a chance to go over them at the time of posting this), so those should be up as soon as I have the time, so if you want to know when that is you can always find updates over on my tumblr which the user name for is shellsan, otherwise I'll let you guys know in an author's note when it's done. That being said, despite the crazy short timeline, she managed to pull through and get this beta read just in time for posting, so major props for that!
Also, please note, the Italics information, as mentioned in the chapter key, is Case Information. This information may be triggering for some, so I thought I would place a warning here. It's not very graphic or detailed, but the mentions of death are very clear. Feel free to let me know if you need it summarised for the story purposes because you can't read it.
Review Responses:
Joys: I'm glad you enjoyed those moments, because for the first time in forever I actually have to write some OC's and it's a little nerve wracking trying to figure out how they'd play out (even if they were necessary). I can't wait to write those class moments either, although I haven't got a clue how I'm going to get them to play out. We'll have to make it through the case first and see where things end up going from there. Thanks for the review~
Sp00pyGhost: Thank you! Wait no longer, because the next chapter is here~
Oldfanofanime2010: Haha, yup. From an outsider perspective it might seem over the top, but for them, particularly Mai who's already been shot down by Naru (and rather cruelly at that) in the past, I feel like this is a natural progression. At least that's my take~ Thanks for the review!
Animangaloverz: Yes~ I've been waiting for this from the moment I started planning and even though I'm still not 100% sure on how this case is going to go, I have some ideas down that I can't wait to put into play. Thanks for leaving me a review!
Tfjokx: Thank you, and thank you so much for this review~ (Apologies in advance for how long the response became...) I always thought it was a pretty word that described Mai perfectly so I figured it would make a great title for this fic when I started writing it. Funnily enough, I never really considered what Naru would wear for the ball since men's fashion isn't an area I have much experience in. I'm a huge fan of Naru wearing dark blues, with the blacks he usually wears, so in my mind I would put him in a standard pair of black slacks, black jacket (open, not closed), a dark blue dress shirt, and some standard black dress shoes. I'm on the fence about whether or not he'd wear a tie. This are just how I picture him though, you can imagine him however you want~
The answer to whether or not that pacing was intentional is both yes and no. Honestly, a lot of they way I write Mai and Naru in this is just how it feels natural. Their interactions are really just the result of how I imagine them to be years later after re-kindling their lost familiarity. But I was conscious of making them think their decisions through and the times when I write for their psyche is almost like me paying tribute to that, if that makes any sense? Like you seem to, I honestly believe that before they have any kind of romance, they need to make it through being friends again first. More because of the surety than anything else. They've hurt each other a lot in the past, and their time together was complicated, so to me I think that there's so much baggage to work through and so many trust issues to address that they need to make it to friends and get over those things before they can have a truly fulfilling relationship. I also love the thought of Naru having friends closer to his age, but I don't think that Mai is the only one who can ultimately fulfil that role. Honestly, I often see Yasu as being 'that one friend'. He's around Naru's age, and is smart enough to keep up with Naru, but doesn't begrudge himself of fun and humour (and isn't afraid of Naru which is very important). I'm adding you to my tally as far as how this story is going to end (since I'm quickly realising that this is almost at the half-way point and soon I will need to figure out how that is going to go).
NocturnalAliceInsanity: I'm so glad that you enjoy those parts, thank you so much for reviewing to let me know (Apologies for how rambly this response also gets...)~ It's my greatest honour as a writer to hear that the ending of the last chapter was powerful enough to actually have you feeling things. (I'm also missing the other characters, but sadly from a writing perspective I usually find them extremely difficult to juggle and give screen time they deserve.)
I don't mind the criticism, in fact I welcome it. And if you have any thing else to point out to me, feel free. It's great for me as a writer (particularly if I ever want to make it as a published author someday) to hear about what I can do to improve. Unfortunately for me, this isn't actually something new to hear. Editing really isn't my strong suit, and I tend to miss a lot of things. This means that the mistakes I make while I'm on a roll often end up in the final product. Thankfully, I officially have a lovely beta who is working to help me fix that and also giving me help with some things I do when writing that need fixing so hopefully a lot of these things will be fixed soon (see the authors note for more details on that). On the subject of the wording mistakes, you are correct. It had been only a day since Madoka had seen her last. The same thing for the 'few' weeks remark. It is only a little of two weeks that she's there for, so the word 'few' is definitely supposed to be 'a couple'. Sorry for any confusion on that!
I'm glad that despite these mistakes I've managed to brighten your day just a bit. Hopefully things ease up a little for you soon and you don't have to worry so hard any more, but until then, maybe this latest chapter can serve as a bit of a distraction for you as well?
Ghost. Zer0: Hmm, now there's a thought path I usually don't follow (for personal reasons), although if you want my take on it, I don't think that Naru would really care for sort of thoughts really outside of more innocent lines such as kissing or hugging, and even those I imagine to be few and far between. Mostly Naru, in my mind at least, prefers anything that gets a reaction out Mai, and observing the different ways they take form. Take from that what you will though~ Thanks for the review and the change to explore some more of Naru's thought process! Hopefully the two week wait was worth it for this chapter, and that it continues to follow for this pattern~
Assy. Yla: You're very welcome~ I'm glad you're excited for it since it begins this chapter and things are already going in a direction I didn't originally plan for. Hopefully you enjoy it though! Thanks for leaving me a review!
Theladysadie: Haha, thank you so much for leaving a review to say so! This is the work I'm most proud of these days, so it always makes me happy to hear that someone new is enjoying. Hopefully that continues and you enjoy this next chapter just as much~
Another-Sunny-Day9: I'm glad that you're excited for the case! And thank you for reviewing to let me know you're enjoying this. It warms me to know that you also enjoy my journeys into Naru's psyche and where their minds go since it's one of the things that I find most natural to write~ Hopefully you enjoy this chapter just as much as the previous ones~
Ghostisreading: Your wish is my command~
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt
Chapter Key:
"English Speaking"
"Japanese Speaking"
'Thinking'
Case Information
Chapter Seven
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When Mai found herself standing in familiar darkness, she wished she was more surprised than she was. Despite Ayako's wishes towards sweet dreams, she'd had a feeling that she wasn't going to experience them this time.
Turning around, she frowned slightly when a scene didn't seem to appear in front of her.
She could hear the faint mutterings, although she could only make out a couple of words, such as crazy, or successful; none of which were painting a picture in her mind that made a lot of sense.
Regardless, she focused on them, trying to compel her mind to bring forth the images.
For a moment, the blackness seemed to waver, the spirit orbs glowing and moving with it as if the fabric of her consciousness was being moved.
'Invaded.' She supplied herself, at the sudden change in feeling.
Gone was the almost peaceful feeling that usually accompanied her dreamscape, replaced with overwhelming pressure, as if she was being watching.
"You should not be here, no you should not." A voice said to her.
Mai swung around, heart thumping harshly against her ribcage as she turned to look at the shadow that had been haunting her since her first dream; almost as scary as the sight of those lifeless blue eyes.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, the shadow 'tsk'ed', making her cringe.
"No this will not do, not at all. For you see, you cannot be allowed to see. This is my victory, and I will not share a moment with you." It hissed.
Before Mai could even truly wonder what the hell that was supposed to mean, she felt a falling sensation and found herself waking in bed.
Her heart was still thumping quickly as she tried to slow her breathing, still confused as to what had just happened, and a little frightened.
That was her spiritual plane. Nothing else should have been able to enter – or to sense her watching.
And yet.
Swallowing thickly, she pushed herself out of bed. She made her way to the kitchenette in her hotel room to grab some cold water, drinking in small measured sips as she considered the situation and the facts.
One, she had been about to see a dream.
Two, the dream had been blacked out, the opposite of the clarity she was used to experiencing. Her clarity was supposedly due to the spirit's desire for her to see and understand what happened to them. Maybe this was result of the opposite?
Three, the spirit had somehow noticed. It was true that the spirits usually wanted her to see their memories, but outside of that they were usually unaware of her presence.
Four, the shadow, spirit, thing, had been able to invade her mind. They weren't just meeting on the spiritual plane; they were meeting on the spiritual plane in her mind. It shouldn't have had the capability to control anything within there, least of all to throw her from her own mind.
Five, the shadow had seemed to know that it was a spirit and had been well aware that it was causing problems. Why?
Mai rubbed gently at her temples, recognising that she was going to need something to eat and some ibuprofen, or something. Her head was starting to hurt, and she had more questions than answers, which was never a good sign.
'I should probably call Naru and let him know about everything.' She sighed. Hopefully he would be able to provide her with more answers.
The pounding in her head increased, and the brunette groaned. Food and medication first.
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It was an hour later when Mai felt good enough to contact Naru, relieved when she found the time to be eight in the morning. He was bound to be up by now.
Pressing on his number in her phone, she waited as it rung out, sitting at the desk where she had her laptop set up.
It only took a moment before she heard it being picked up.
"Mai? I haven't even had the interview yet, so you can't possibly be calling me about that. What happened?" Naru asked.
She hadn't even realised just how tense she had been until she felt herself relax at his familiar voice, a small smile forming on her lips. "What if I had just been calling to see how you were doing? You do realise that is a thing that normal people do, right?" She teased lightly.
It didn't take a psychic to know that he was probably glaring at the phone now.
"If that's actually all this is then I'm going to go ahead and hang up. I do have real work to do."
Mai pouted. "Mean." She grumbled. "I did actually have a reason to call though. I had a dream – well, I almost had a dream."
There was silence for a moment, until Naru's voice came through the speaker again, deadpan, and yet somehow confused.
"Almost?"
Mai hummed. "Yep. I'm not sure what happened. I was listening to the mutterings of whoever was in the room, but the 'images' for lack of a better term, weren't in front of me. So I made an effort to force them forward, and somehow the spirit invaded my dreamscape on the spiritual plane. This has never happened to me before Naru, I'm not sure what exactly to do. It threw me from my own mind!"
She couldn't help her aggravation towards the end of her words, irritation still close to the surface even now.
It was quiet on the other end for a couple of minutes and Mai could practically hear him thinking through what she'd just told him; trying to come up with something.
"I'll have to speak with Lin, and check a couple of my books, but you're sure that they threw you from your mind?"
Mai huffed. "I think I would know the difference between being thrown from my mind and leaving of my own volition, Naru."
"And if your mind protected you by throwing you from it, without your conscious consent?"
Frowning, Mai tried to understand what he meant. "How would that work?"
"The equivalent of the fight or flight response in human behaviour. We follow it based on our own capabilities. Your mind recognised that at current, you could not beat the spirit, so it pushed you back into your physical body. It's only a theory though." Naru admitted, reluctantly.
"And everything else?"
"I'll have to consultant Lin, like I mentioned. I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Are you sure this relates to the case we're supposed to be taking?"
Mai swallowed. "I'm not sure of anything right now. But I do know that the case made something stir with my abilities. It's legitimate." She promised.
"Then I'll get as much information as I can and call you later tonight." He decided.
Letting out a breath of relief, Mai nodded before remembering that he couldn't see it. "Sounds good. Talk to you later, Naru. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The dial tone followed, and the brunette sighed as she set her phone down, frowning, but hopeful.
Naru's explanation for being thrown from her mind could use a little work – to be expected since he didn't have a dreamscape of his own – but it wasn't entirely impossible.
She'd have to trust Naru to find someone to speak with on the subject and let it go for the moment, as much as she didn't want to.
Turning to the open document on her laptop screen, she placed her ear buds in, music set to play softly.
It took a little bit to get into the swing of her writing, mind plagued by the things happening around her; soon enough, she found herself thrown into it without another thought being paid towards anything else, the character's feelings and emotions unfolding under her fingers quickly.
Hours ticked by quickly enough after that, the story unfolding easily as she focussed on nothing but her work for a while; taking five minutes every now and then to get herself something to drink or to eat before sitting back down again.
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Putting down the phone after speaking with Mai, Oliver couldn't help but glare at nothing. Thinking over everything that she had told him, if the case they were interviewing for was the same one Mai was supposedly dreaming about, then things might be about to get dangerous, and he wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.
Getting up from his desk, he made his way down the hall to his team's room, pushing inside and ignoring their looks as he approached Lin.
The older man stopped typing when he noticed his charge, looking at him silently as he waited to hear what was so important that Oliver had made the trip to him.
"Do you know of any ways that a spirit would be able to invade someone else's dreamscape?" He asked, not bothering with pleasantries.
Lin frowned a little, running through what he knew on the subject. "There are a couple of ways that I can think of, but most of it is only theory. There isn't a precedent that's really been set. I can look into it further though. Is this about Mai?"
He didn't bother to reply to that, giving Lin his best 'don't be stupid' look, and rolling his eyes when it gained him clear disapproval. "She was thrown from the dream she was about to have last night. According to her, the spirit invaded her personal dreamscape and blocked her from seeing anything."
Nodding in understanding, Lin sighed. "I'll do some research and make a couple of calls, but I don't know how much information I'm going to be able to find."
"Just do what you can. I expect a report on the subject before you leave today so that I can relay what we have to Mai before she sleeps tonight."
He didn't mention the way his stomach clenched at how distressed she'd sounded at the situation, or how worried he was that this same thing might happen again if she attempted to sleep tonight.
It was a testament to how well Lin knew him that the older man didn't say anything in response to that, only nodding in agreement before turning back to his computer.
Turning, he left the room without another word; heading back to his office. It was almost time for his interview, and he intended to get as much information as possible before they got to the house.
When he received notice that the prospective clients had finally arrived, Oliver got up from his seat and opened the door, welcoming the middle-aged couple into his office.
"Mr and Mrs Hansen. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice." His voice was flat but neither of them seemed concerned and only nodded.
"Of course. I'm Jacob, and this is my wife Isabella. I really hope that you'll be able to help us."
Nodding, Oliver took his seat behind the desk again, motioning for them to sit down as well. "I will certainly do my best. For the sake of having the most information possible, I'm going to go through a series of routine questions."
When they nodded in understanding, Oliver took out a sheet of paper and began to fill it in with their responses.
It mostly covered basic information such as names (Jacob and Isabella Hansen), ages (32 and 30), location (St. Albans, Hertfordshire*), family members currently living in their household (just the two of them), before coming to the blank area for current paranormal activity.
"You said in your initial request that you had been experiencing a feeling of being 'haunted'. Is there anything you can tell me about that?"
Jacob frowned a little. "I'm not sure how exactly to put it into words. It always feels like there's someone watching us, keeping an eye on our every move whenever we're inside the house."
Oliver nodded. "And that same feeling is always more prevalent at midnight?"
The other man nodded. "Yes. The door will open just a little at midnight every night since we moved in, and sometimes I can make out a shadow with eyes, but it'll be gone a moment later."
Noting down this extra information, he mentally connected this explanation to Mai's own inability to decide whether it was a ghost or some kind of shadow.
"Does the house you moved into have a history of these sort of occurrences."
Isabella shook her head. "Not at all. I would have never bought it if that had been the case." She denied. "My family is very superstitious, so that sort of thing is very important to me."
Noting that down as well, Oliver also put a note next to it to check the house history.
"When did the activity start originally?"
Jacob thought for a moment. "Probably around a week or so after we moved things in the feeling of being watched started, and not long after that the sounds, and doors opening, began."
Making that final note, Oliver nodded. "Thank you. For the duration of the case we would like to stay on sight to monitor everything as closely as possible. If possible, I would like two separate bedrooms for the male and female members of our team, and somewhere that we can set up as a base." He requested.
Isabella nodded. "I will take care of that. You'll take the case then?" She checked.
Oliver fought the urge to roll his eyes at the question. "Of course. You can expect us tomorrow morning. Is there a particular time that would work best?"
"Around nine in the morning would be best. I can get you set up before I leave for work." Isabella informed.
Putting the notes he'd made into the file and snapping it shut, Oliver pushed himself to stand, the couple following suit.
Holding out his hand, he shook both of theirs before offering his personal business card and waiting for Isabella to take it.
"In that case, Mrs Hansen, I will see you tomorrow morning at eight. If you have any problems before then, you can reach me personally on that number."
They exchanged pleasantries again before the couple left, silence finally restored in his office.
Picking up the file, Oliver flipped it open to re-read everything, before moving to the printer in his office to photocopy the file.
Five minutes later all the notes were put together and he was heading back to Team room E.
Just like earlier, they all stopped their work to turn and look at him.
"I just finished interviewing Mr and Mrs Hansen for our most recent case. Here are the files. I expect that you've already started the preliminary research on the house, but now I want you to focus on anything negative that has happened historically. Deaths, disappearances. Anything you can find. I want information on the previous house owners as well, and whether there are similar reports from any of them." Oliver listed off; placing the stack of files in front of Tiffany for her to hand out. "I expect a report on what you've found on my desk before the end of the day."
For a moment he was certain they were going to make muttering complaints like usual, or at least argue against the report deadline, but instead none of them said a word.
Frowning, he considered something Mai said yesterday before shaking the thought from his head. Whatever nonsense she'd gotten up to really wasn't any of his concern.
Happy that they understood their assignments, he turned around and exited the room once more; making his way back to his office and re-taking his seat with a sigh.
Looking over the file yet again, he frowned at the details. The information from his team couldn't come soon enough.
Opening his laptop, he checked his emails to take care of some business before the desired reports arrived.
Time flew by after that, and before he knew it there was a knock at his door.
"Come in."
It swung open only a moment later to reveal Lin holding two files in his hand.
"Here are the reports that you asked for."
Taking them from Lin's hand, Oliver flicked them open and scanned over them quickly.
"Is this everything we have so far?" He asked finally; not surprised at the lack of information on Mai's situation, but no less annoyed by it.
Lin sighed. "Unfortunately. There just aren't any real recordings of this happening in the past, and what we do have is mostly theoretical."
Waving off the information, Oliver nodded. "Very well. You can go."
Tempted to roll his eyes at Noll's lack of manners, Lin just nodded, before turning and exiting the room, leaving Oliver to look over the notes better.
Putting the preliminary case file aside, he focussed his attention on the information Lin had on dream walking and invasion of someone else's dreamscape.
As he read the information more closely, his frown only deepened. This wasn't looking good for them at all.
Sighing, he picked up the phone and dialled Mai's number, waiting as it rung out.
This was not something he looked forward to telling her.
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It felt like only moments since she'd sat down to write when there was a noise in the background of her music, breaking her concentration.
Spotting the time, she gasped in surprise, unsure of when it had become so late in the afternoon. Picking it up, she answered quickly, Japanese flowing from her mouth quickly.
"Moshi moshi.**"
"You would think that in England you would respond in English if nothing else."
Not at all surprised by the tease, Mai rolled her eyes. "It's not like anyone who knows me is going to be surprised when I open in Japanese. It's my native language you know." She grumbled.
"I'm quite aware."
Huffing, Mai slumped back in her chair. "How did the interview for the case go?" She asked, changing topic easily.
"We are expected to be at Mr and Mrs Hansen's at eight tomorrow morning. I expect you to be at BSPR at seven. Will you be able to get there on time or will I need to pick you up?"
"I'm sure I can manage that much."
"Just checking."
Her lips twitched at the familiar back and forwards, but she tensed when she realised that they were going to have to talk about her dream eventually.
'Better get it over with.'
"So, did you find out anything about the spirit that might explain... anything?"
There was a scoff, though whether it was at her choice of words or just from her lack of faith in his abilities, Mai wasn't certain.
"I spoke to Lin and he made some calls and did some research earlier today. According to his sources, it is possible for someone else to walk into another's dreamscape in theory, but only if they already have dream walking capabilities. And they weren't certain on the trade-off for someone who is alive and how much of their abilities pass over when they are a spirit."
Mai quickly pulled up a free document on her computer, making a couple notes and frowning. That didn't bode well for their case.
"I'm not sure I want to know the answer to this, but how much power do you think it would take for a spirit to do this?"
"A lot." Oliver admitted.
Mai shivered involuntarily, a bad feeling already creeping over her skin. "Great." She muttered sarcastically.
"You don't have to come on the case." Naru reminded her after a moment.
Sighing, the brunette smiled a little. "I know. But I've never let something like this stop me before, and I'm not about to start now. I'll be there."
It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Naru, but neither of them commented on that.
"In that case, don't be late. And get some rest."
She blinked in shock at her phone for a moment at the last part, before warmth blossomed in her chest.
Naru must have realised that she was worried that she'd dream again and be thrown from it once more. Part of her was terrified of that. It hadn't been a pleasant way to wake up, and it was definitely not something she wanted to experience once more. But just knowing that Naru cared for her made it all the easier to brave.
"And Mai?"
She hummed.
"Remember, when you are in your dreamscape it is yours. You control everything that happens there, not them. The spirit might have power, but none of it can manifest itself in your consciousness without your consent. Any power that it does seem like they have is nothing but a facade. Do not forget." He stressed.
"Right. Thanks, Naru." She murmured, before hanging up, mind still reeling from the new information.
Sitting there, she let her mind wander for a moment, work long forgotten as she contemplated everything.
It made sense in theory, but it was hard to connect theory with what she'd experienced last night (and harder still to remind herself that in that situation she was the one with power).
However, as much as she wanted to stay up all night and forego giving the spirit the chance to find her again, exhaustion was already heavy on her mind.
It wasn't even five in the evening yet, but she already felt the urge to take a nap.
Slapping her hands over her cheeks briefly, the brunette forced that thought from her mind, trying to wake up. She couldn't sleep just yet or she'd never sleep through the night.
Standing up, she stretched and went to grab some more tea, before settling in to do some reading until she wanted to go and get dinner.
Despite her attempts, however, the time passed by slowly; Mai caught her mind trailing off multiple times and at six, she got up and headed down to get dinner.
It was a quick affair and not long after she was on her way up to her room, mind re-hashing things she already knew in attempt to make sense of them. There were still so many things missing though, so she tried to force her thoughts elsewhere; focusing instead on the plot line she'd spent the day writing.
Stepping into her room Mai made her way over to the desk, noting down the ideas she'd just had before sighing.
'I should probably get my bag ready for this case.' She noted, heading into the bedroom to throw together a small bag; deciding it was best to leave the rest of her unnecessary clothes and items behind.
It didn't take long, and by seven o'clock she had everything ready to go for the morning.
Debating over what to do for the next couple of hours before she headed to bed, she decided a bath was in order.
From there she spent the rest of the night relaxing before turning in for the night, concerns for the case still running through her mind.
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Waking to her alarm the next morning, Mai groaned, exhaustion clouding her mind as she tried to figure out why the hell she was getting up at six in the morning; before she remembered everything that had happened the day before.
Forcing herself from her bed, she made her way into the kitchenette for some tea as she packed up the last of her things that she'd need for the trip and got changed for the day.
Not long later, she drained the last of her cup before washing it quickly and leaving it to dry. Grabbing her bag and heading out the door, she made sure it was locked before she left.
It didn't take her long to reach BSPR, and she was proud to note that she was even ten minutes earlier than she needed to be.
Stepping inside, the same secretary from last time was sitting there, and she turned to give Mai a stern look as the brunette signed herself in before she started down the hallway towards Naru's office.
Knocking lightly, she waited for him to ask her in for once, just in case she was interrupting something important, before she walked inside; grinning at the momentary surprise on Naru's face.
"Morning Naru." She greeted.
"Mai. On time for once I see."
Pouting, Mai sighed. "And here I was hoping for some sort of faith in my abilities."
Naru scoffed. "I have plenty of faith in your abilities, something you are well aware of. The fact that your abilities don't seem to include being on time is the real problem."
Throwing her hands up, Mai turned around to leave his office. "Well if that's how you're going to be then I'm going to go and see Madoka before we head out. At least she won't insult me this early in the morning." She grumbled.
Rolling his eyes, Naru sighed. "Mai."
Stopping before her hand even reached the handle, the brunette titled her head slightly, looking over at his serious face.
"Yes?"
He hesitated. "Did you dream last night?" Naru asked finally.
Blinking, Mai smiled slightly when she realised that the seriousness on Naru's face was because he was concerned.
Or at least, she thought he was.
"No, I didn't dream last night. I'm not quite sure, but I think the spirit has managed to cut me off from the dream entirely for the moment. If that's the case, then I'm interested to see how things turn out from an academic standpoint when I'm on the property instead. In theory, everything should be clearer, so I might be able to force the dreams to come, but I'm honestly not sure anymore. This is uncharted territory." She admitted.
Naru nodded in agreement. "If that's the case, then we'll figure something out. I'd be interest in discussing those theories further at another point in time however."
Grinning a little, Mai nodded. "I suppose that could be arranged." She joked, mostly to see Naru narrow his eyes.
"Now that we've covered that, however, we should get a move on. Everyone should be down at the van ready to leave."
Mai nodded, bags still in hand as she stepped out of the office, holding the door open for Naru as he followed.
Waiting as Naru locked up, she hummed a little to herself, most of her giddy at the realisation that this was happening.
Between the worrying over her dream situation and her momentary homesickness, she hadn't even considered just how happy she would feel going on a case with Naru for the first time in five years; or the nostalgia the emotions would bring.
It was almost like when she first started ghost hunting all over again, a complete rush of excitement and dread for whatever spirit awaited them.
True to Naru's word, when they reached the van, everyone was already there crowded around. There were six seats, three in the front and three in the back, and Mai wasn't at all surprised when Naru forced her to get in the front, placing her between himself and Lin.
Another burst of nostalgia rang through her mind. She truly had missed this.
It was silent for a moment as they got on the road, the three other team members pre-occupied reading over their case files again and making notes on things that they thought were of importance.
Before thirty minutes were up however, Mai couldn't help but feel a little suffocated by the silence, her phone no longer enough to distract her; so she turned to look over Naru's file, blinking in surprise when he lowered the other side so that she could read better.
She frowned a little at the notes written down on the case from the interview, that same feeling she'd been experiencing the past few days re-appearing. Almost like dread for what was to come, which never bode well for them.
Noticing Mai's expression, Naru sent her a raised eyebrow, prompting her to explain.
Biting her lip, the brunette consciously made the switch to Japanese, not wanting the other people in the van to hear.
"Something about this case is making alarm bells go off for me. I have a bad feeling, is all." She admitted.
Naru's brows furrowed in concentration as he considered this.
"Do you have any idea on what the specifics might be for that?"
Shaking her head, Mai looked down at her lap, disappointed in her continuous lack of knowledge. You'd think that after this many years she would be able to read her own situation better.
When she stated as much however, Naru just shook his head.
"Psychic abilities aren't linear. They come and they go, and they are often vague. You know this." He reminded, voice firm.
Swallowing, Mai nodded. "I know that, I just- I don't want anything bad to happen, and every time I've had a feeling like this on a case, something has."
"How often did you have these feelings when we were in Japan?" Lin asked, before Naru could form the question himself, both of them eyeing Mai curiously.
Shrugging, the brunette ran through a mental list of how often it had occurred, chewing at her lip lightly. "Usually at least once per case, but not always before the case began. I think the only time I remember feeling like this from moment one, was Urado." She admitted quietly.
Suddenly her worries made more sense to Naru, everything clicking into place. Between the dream from last week, the almost-dream, and then the idea that this case might turn out to be as bad as Urado, it was no wonder that she was on edge and angry at her lack of information.
"You never mentioned feeling like this on most of the cases." Lin mentioned, eyes watching the road carefully.
Mai shrugged again. "It didn't seem overly important usually. They were just feelings I got sometimes." She muttered.
Scoffing, Naru shook his head. "I thought we covered this early on, but clearly it needs repeating. I value your feelings as if they are fact. If you feel like this, it is probably best that we heed the warnings they imply. Do you understand?"
Nodding, Mai smiled slightly. "Okay Naru." She agreed; forcing herself to focus on the case file in front of her for just under another hour, making notes in her own notebook, more to help her remember things than out of necessity.
After that, however, her mind began to wonder back to what they had been discussing before.
She wasn't sure if it would be that easy to trust her instincts like Naru seemed to think she should. His faith in them was almost unwavering, by the way he had spoken, and that didn't sit quite right with her. Her instincts weren't like her dreams. Her dreams made sense; she watched them play out in her mind and ever since she discovered exactly what they were she'd never really had a reason to doubt them. Every movement always felt so real, and the case information had always backed them up, so it just made sense.
This wasn't the case for her 'feelings'. They had no real basis outside of being right on most occasions; so while she trusted them in a situation of danger when adrenaline was high and her instincts were all that kept her going, it was harder to justify in moments like this where she had time to turn over them from a more logical standpoint.
In fact, she was shocked that this same thing hadn't occurred to Naru at any point. Or maybe he had, and just didn't care?
She didn't really have the time to consider that, however, because Lin was already pulling onto the curb and parking the van, ready for them to begin.
Suddenly, that same feeling of dread was back, and this time she didn't need Naru to remind her to trust her instincts. There was no way she could ignore how strong it felt this time.
As she glanced over at Naru and their eyes met, she knew instantly that he had understood.
Now, all Mai could do was pray that nobody actually got hurt.
Or that if someone did, it would be her.
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Despite Mai's foreboding feeling, however, nothing happened throughout the set up (Mrs Hansen staying around only long enough to get them settled before she'd gone to work, her husband long since gone as well), and they worked with minimal talking as the monitors were finally plugged in, everything in place.
"Tiffany, Thomas, I want you two to go and set up the cameras and microphones. Do not split up." Oliver ordered, opting to value caution, especially since the house wasn't so big that it would take too long. "Mai, do you mind going with Roy to take temperatures?"
If Mai was shocked over being asked, as opposed to ordered, nothing showed on her face.
Instead she grinned. "Sure thing, Naru." She chirped.
It took effort not to let his mouth twitch into a small smile at seeing the brunette so much happier now than she had been an hour earlier. Whatever terrible feeling she had initially seemed to have faded for the moment, thankfully.
But Oliver was in no way stupid, so he refused to let his guard down. Whatever was going on in this house had the potential to be bad, and that was something he was determined to stop before it got too far.
As the two teams left the room to go and fulfil their tasks, Oliver turned back to his own task.
He'd looked over the information briefly yesterday before he'd gotten distracted by Mai's (significantly more intriguing) situation, but the history of the house was where he was going to find the most information to solve this case; so he pushed any other thoughts aside and focussed on that instead.
The history of this house was extensive, and in that time, there had only been a few deaths. Because the records were old though, he also wasn't completely sure how trustworthy they were. The older reports also weren't all that extensive, leaving much desired in the way of information that could have helped him to understand everything better.
Regardless, Oliver powered on through them, mentally noting the dates of disappearances and deaths, as well as the names connected to them, and adding them to the current page he had in his notebook for this case.
Arthur Wright, 38, found dead after he jumped from the second-floor balcony, snapping his neck. Reports from his doctor state that even before this he had shown signs of 'mental instability'. Suicide.
Benjamin Ellis, 46, found in pieces, hidden below the floorboards. He lived alone and it was days before anyone checked on him. By then he was long dead. Marked as a Cold Case.
Hamish Newman, 39, found buried under his bed which had been flipped onto him, his chest having been crushed by the heavy wood and metal, although autopsy revealed that the real cause of death was a heart attack. His wife was working late and didn't make it home until around three in the morning. She was too late to save him. Marked as a Cold Case.
Rubbing his temples, Oliver had to wonder if Mrs Hansen had actually checked all that hard for the history of this house, because he doubted that her superstitious nature (if she honestly had one, he had his doubts) would have allowed for the purchase of a house with this kind of owner history.
Although, he supposed it is just as likely that the nature of the owner history had been covered up for the sake of getting a sale. It wasn't uncommon after all.
Pushing those thoughts away as well, Oliver focussed on the other facts that he had at current.
Whoever this spirit was, they were powerful and most likely had dream walking capabilities during their in life. This was only marginally helpful, because a spirit that was this powerful likely had a long history, meaning that they'd died many years before exact records were being kept, possibly even before being psychic became acceptable, or even marginally believable.
They were just as likely to not be in the records he currently held, as they were to be there. The records could be tracked back until the early 1900's, but anything before that was long lost. Near as he could tell, however, this house had been standing for longer than that (although renovations had clearly been made within that time).
Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, he found himself interested in where this case was going to go, and he couldn't quite bring himself to feel bad for it (something Madoka would scold him for immensely if she knew). While the cases he'd taken in Japan had been entirely up to him, and he'd taken them based on their necessity and how they'd interested him, those same luxuries could not be applied to him here, so it was good that he had something more in depth to investigate this time around.
It would also be a true test of his team's ability, he noted, since this was by far the most complex case they'd covered in a while.
His lips twitched into a smirk at the thought.
Yes, he much preferred things to be interesting. Even if that meant he would be in danger.
He frowned, however, when he realised that this meant Mai would also be in danger. That was less exciting.
Sighing, Oliver eyed the cover of his notebook, tempted to hit it against his head in a misguided attempt to make those thoughts go away.
It was a ridiculous notion that he had questioned the logic of in the past, and he was not impressed to find himself just as vulnerable to that feeling. Clearly having Mai around was a mistake if it was going to make him start thinking like this.
And yet, he also couldn't bring himself to regret her presence. He didn't even bother trying to convince himself that his lack of regret was only due to how she could help them solve this case, something he was sure his mother and brother would be proud of had they known.
He scoffed at his own off-track thought process.
'Enough', he scolded himself, 'the time for personal issues is not now, Oliver. Pay attention.'
With that in mind, he refocussed on the stacks of information he had left to go through.
This time, he didn't lose concentration.
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Mai sighed a little as she trudged into the third room of the house (the dining room), (the living room, which was their current base, as well as the kitchen had already been completed) thermometer in hand. She'd forgotten how boring some of the requirements for cases tended to be.
Stepping into the first corner, she sighed again as she waited for the temperature to level out before noting it down and moving to the next corner.
Roy watched her closely, eyes narrowed in something akin to distrust, and Mai couldn't help but roll her eyes at the cold attitude. He couldn't hold a candle to the way Naru had originally acted towards her, so he didn't bother her at all.
Moving to the third corner after it beeped, Roy finally seemed to get that glaring at her wasn't going to change his situation, and instead he broke the silence.
"Dr. Davis sure seems to trust you an awful lot. Are you sure you aren't something more than just 'someone who used to work for him'?"
The connotations behind that made a flare of irritation rise before she forced it down, reminding herself that she needed to work with these people, not argue with them.
Besides, he wasn't too far off the mark of what could have been.
"I mean, obviously you would've gotten to get to know him over the time you worked for him, but he's never mentioned you before now, so I can only imagine that you haven't spoken to him in years. And yet he didn't doubt you for a moment. I've seen him take longer to accept something Miss Mori says, and yet, here we are." He continued; eyes still narrowed as they tracked Mai moving to the fourth corner of the room to take the final temperature.
"Not that I believe that it's any of your business, Mr Jones, but there is nothing between Naru and I other than friendship." And as much as it was a relief to say those words, she couldn't quite stop her chest from aching for what she wished had been. "As for your lack of information on me, well, I was unaware that Naru made it a habit to discuss his personal life with his co-workers."
She smirked slightly at Roy's dumbstruck look at her, before he gathered himself.
"While that is true, I still don't understand why he would value your opinion so highly. A year and a half of ghost hunting with Dr. Davis isn't nearly the equivalent of a three-year parapsychology degree, and then the additional time in the field that we all have."
The 'we' he was referring to was clearly the rest of Naru's team, and Mai had to stop herself from laughing when she realised exactly what this situation was.
He was jealous. Where the others had taken her criticism to heart, this man seemed to be doing the opposite and lashing out at her because he didn't want to be told what to do by someone without formal education.
Which brought up her next question. "Oh? And you know all about my lack of degree how exactly?"
For the first time since this conversation began, Roy seemed suitably cowed, a little bit of guilt making its way onto his features before it was hidden well.
Or at least, well enough for someone who didn't spend most of their time analysing the micro-expressions of an idiot scientist.
"I thought it was only prudent to do a quick background check of someone who was going to be working with us that we'd never met in the past." It was a flimsy excuse, and he seemed to know it.
"Funny thing about meeting someone for the first time, Mr Jones. You always have the option to just ask. Or is that concept too much for you to wrap your mind around?"
As the words left her mouth, she didn't bother waiting around for a response, she turned and left the room to go across the hall to the laundry room, downstairs toilet, and garage.
It was a moment later before footsteps followed her.
"I don't appreciate being insulted like that." Roy informed her; anger visible on his face.
Mai shrugged a little. "Then maybe you shouldn't imply that the trust I worked hard to gain from Naru was a result of anything other than my hard work and dedication to learning a profession I had no background in while I was still in high school." She shot back. "You seem to have convinced yourself that without a certificate saying, 'I learnt this', someone can't have any knowledge of real value. But answer me this. Knowing Naru as long as you have, do you honestly doubt that a year and a half working under him in the field is worth less than a three-year course in parapsychology?"
She didn't mention her own job background, feeling as though she'd won this argument without it, instead turning back to the task at hand.
Roy didn't speak again until they entered the first bedroom on the second floor.
"I'm sorry."
For a moment Mai wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. But one look at Roy told her that she wasn't hearing things.
Humming, she waited for him to say more.
"I shouldn't have insulted you like that. I had no reason to, and I understand if you want to bring it up with Dr. Davis. That was hardly professional."
Mai fought against the urge to laugh at his suddenly demure tone and decided that it would be best not to remind him that Lin could hear their entire conversation from where he was in base.
Instead she smiled a little, trying to be comforting. "Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes, and I try not to hold grudges."
Roy seemed to brighten up a little bit at that. "So, you aren't going to bring it up with Dr. Davis then?"
This time Mai couldn't help the slight giggle at his relief. "Of course not. It's hardly any of his business to deal with the disagreements I have with other people. We'll just keep this between you and me."
"Thank you."
Shaking her head, the brunette grinned. "You can thank me by actually helping."
Roy flushed when he realised that he'd been letting Mai do all the work up until now, seeming to only just realise that he'd been carrying a thermometer this entire time but not using it.
"Sorry." He mumbled, finally settling to help take the temperature in the second last corner of this room as Mai waved him off.
"I'm telling you, don't-" Her words were cut off when a startled noise was dragged from her throat.
Chocolate orbs seemed to meet cold, blue, hawk-like ones; lifeless, just like the first dream she'd had in England almost a week ago.
Her fingers dangled loosely, the thermometer falling from her grasp, clattering uselessly against the floor as Mai found herself frozen in place, unable to force her eyes away from the image in front of her.
"Mai? Mai?!"
Finally, her body seemed to move, shivers beginning to wrack her body as the image seemed to vanish.
If she'd had any doubts about whether or not her dream from earlier in this trip was connected, she didn't need to wonder any more.
But the real question in this instance was, what the hell was that?
And what did it mean?
Mai found that for once, she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
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*According to a quick google search, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, is roughly an hour and a half by car and seemed dominated by older buildings that suited my purposes. Apologies if this is not true, feel free to correct me!
**It seems like this would be a hard habit to break so I thought I would include it in Mai's case. In Japan, you don't answer the phone with 'hello' or anything like that. You use, moshi moshi, which is like 'hello' but specific to phone conversations only. This is also why I've used the actual Japanese term here, and didn't translate it to "hello" in italics which would have implied the same. If that makes sense?
