Hi Everyone,

It's been a while, but I had some time this week, so I thought I'd get this out to you. The story is starting to come to a close. I'd say the climax is going to hit in the next two to three chapters.

As always enjoy!

- Singed

Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt.


Chapter 11 – Expectations

Naru

I almost threw the phone across the room but stopped myself just in time. Unfortunately, this meant that my decorative bowl that sat on my coffee table exploded. I hadn't been prepared for the strength of my released emotions and now I was paying the price. How did people learn to deal with such things without locking them away forever? It was too late now though. I had to deal with them and allowing them to surface meant that I was now fully aware of all my failures when it came to emotionally handling other people. This, of course, led to guilt and a desire to do better, which was why I didn't hang the phone up on my father or throw it across the room.

I sighed heavily into the phone and cleared my throat. "Do you mind saying that again?"

"Oliver, really. Did you not see this coming?" I took a deep breath and held it for a moment. In reality, I should have, but here in Japan I was too far removed from England and the Institute. To be honest, the last time I'd truly thought about my other life happened about two months ago when I wondered how I was going to report such a failed research project when I was the reason it was failing.

"I just hadn't realized that you were sharing my paper with the rest of the board, so unpolished and in its infancy." There was a brief pause on the other side and then my father actually laughed.

"Are you telling me that what you've been sending me has been your first drafts?"

"Yes. Why? I always do." There was more laughter on the other end and I felt my anger flare again.

"I'm sorry son, but your first rough drafts are always so cold and calculated. Then it's usually my job, or your mother's, to make it less clinical."

"A fact I'm well aware of. This is why I always thank you in the acknowledgments."

"Yes, but son, this manuscript is completely different."

"How do you mean?"

"Son, this one actually has life and energy. I've actually enjoyed reading this one and it's already so polished that I assumed that Lin, Madoka or Mai must be editing it for you to send to me. Of course, having that assumption led me to feel free to share your progress with the board."

I was shocked to hear this and promised myself that I'd have to go over all the chapters I'd written so far and reread them. I hadn't actually done anything differently, I just wrote. Still, this didn't make what the board was demanding okay.

"I suppose I see your point father, but for the board to demand an audience with her and then demand that I allow her to become a student there is crossing the line."

"How so?"

"Well for one, I'm already studying her here and she's being trained. Also, as you've read, she is the center of my research. They are essentially stealing my research and because of that, they have the added benefit that I will not finish my new book on time. This will, in turn, cause me to not uphold my end of the bargain and once again be their slave."

"I'll tackle all your concerns one at a time. First, with the concern for Mai and her training, it is true, but she'd be formally trained here and earn another degree when she's finished."

"Yes, but Japan is her home. You're asking me to bring her to England for two years and hope she does well enough to earn her masters. Not that she isn't intelligent enough for that, but she's just now picking herself up. How can I ask her to leave all that behind?"

"Simple. You'd bring her here, but tell her that when she finishes the program that she'll be made a partner at your firm there in Japan." My world suddenly stopped and I answered slowly. "The board has agreed that I could stay here in Japan?"

"Yes. Son, as I said, this book is a goldmine. It is well understood that you'd come with Mai to set her up and give the other professors her records. Then you'd have an ending to your book and you'd have won your freedom. You go back to Japan to run the field office and Mai would stay to earn her degree." I was silent for a while, trying to decipher all the different emotions and counter reasoning's running through my head. I was silent for far too long because my father's voice came back over the phone, tentatively as if afraid to make me angry. "Wasn't it you who demanded the field office? I'd thought you'd be happy. I can tell that you love it there and so I'd assume that there you will stay, or have I missed something?" Based on his tone by the end, I could tell that he was trying to make me come to a conclusion, but I was done playing his games.

"If you have something to say, then say it."

He sighed and I heard him shift. "Oliver, I'm wondering if your anger in all this is truly because your research is stopping early as you claimed, or if it's simply because you love the girl." I jumped to react like I always had.

"No, of course, I…"

"Oliver really, I'd thought you'd matured past this. I've read your original manuscript. For those reading carefully enough, it screams of your general affection and towards this last part, downright love for her. I want you to take thirty seconds and think about the situation rationally. Why are you so truly upset that Mai would come here to learn and train her powers, earn a degree and become a licensed investigator while you stayed in Japan, a place you love?"

This thirty-second thing was a common exercise in my house growing up, one that helped me to reel in my out-of-control emotions in the first place. I took a deep breath and thought. In truth, it took me five seconds rather than thirty. I'd miss Mai. I'd always thought that the homesickness I'd felt during those eight years in England was my missing Japan. Now I could admit that it was my missing Mai. I finally had her back and I was finally coming to terms with it and now I was being asked to give her up again. I'd already come to terms that she was my best friend a while ago and now thanks to my released emotions I was beginning to truly learn to love her. I probably already did.

"Time's up." My father's voice cut in. "I'll take a stab at it and then you let me know how I did. You love Mai and the thought of her being across the world from you is frustrating." I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Something like that. What do I do?"

"Give Mai the choice. In fact, bring her here and let her see the place. Then, give her the option. She loves you too, which you come right out and say in your book, so don't ask how I know, but she should be allowed to make her own decisions and strive for her own future." All that was said after that was small talk. When I hung up the phone, I ran to my laptop and opened my manuscript to read it for the first time with more than just a scholarly attitude.

I took a break around chapter five and went online. I had been ruminating on my father's advice while I read and decided that he was right. I needed to let Mai make this decision. I found the cheapest airfare I could and went ahead and paid for tickets for the following week. Once finished, I spent the rest of the night pouring over my manuscript. My father was right, it was captivating, thrilling and the love Mai had for me was just right to grab the audience, but what was really screaming back at me was the quiet, obvious love I had for Mai hidden between each line.

Mai

I sat on the plane, trying not to be nervous. We had been flying for some time now and the more we were in the air, the more nervous I became. Naru had picked up on it of course and had done what he could to relieve the stress. First, he gave me a sedative, which allowed me to sleep for five hours. We landed shortly after that for our layover and then back onto another plane. This was to be the longest part of the trip. Naru gave me another sedative which allowed me to sleep again and I slept for four hours this time. After I'd woken up and had a meal, he ordered a movie for me, but it was in English. I could determine the gist of the story, but my English was too poor to truly enjoy it. That only took up another two hours. We had one more hour to go and my anxiety was going through the roof. Especially since I could feel and read everyone else's anxieties as well. I was trying to block them out, but the more I tried, the more I failed.

Suddenly, a thought and then a detailed description of how to build the right kind of block filled my mind. I looked over at Naru, who was looking up from his book. He sent me a smirk, before looking back down. Taking a deep breath, I concentrated on the instructions and threw one up as fast as I could. To my surprise, it held pretty steadily and I sighed in relief. Now, it was silent and I was forced to watch Naru read a book. But, even with the voices gone, my anxiety grew. Finally, he sighed heavily and put his book down. He stared at me and I hid my face. With the bond still growing daily, it was becoming harder and harder to block our thoughts and emotions from each other and we had to try our hardest to completely ignore the other. Naru was, of course, better than I was, but even he had his limits.

"Alright Mai, what has you so worried. By now, it is hardly the flying itself. This plane should have proven its worthiness a few hours ago. You have also now successfully blocked the other passengers from spreading their own anxieties, so tell me."

"Yes, you're right. I'm just nervous Naru, I mean, how can I not be? I'm flying to London to join your father's institute and get a master's degree and focus solely on training. It's a dream I never even knew was possible, yet I'm already missing everyone, especially since we're going to miss the birth of Ayako and Monk's daughter and to top it all off, my English is far worse than I'd imagined." I glanced at Naru once I had finished my speech and saw him staring at me, his eyebrows raised. He stowed his book and faced me completely. We were in first class and basically alone thanks to all the extra space.

"Okay," he said switching to English. "I'll admit that I had not thought about your need to brush up on English. Why don't we practice for the next hour until we land?" I had been able to pick out about 50% of his words, but I understood him completely because of the connection. I told him as much.

"Hmm, alright." He closed his eyes and I was wondering what he was doing when suddenly he was just gone. Not physically, but his side of the bond no longer existed. I panicked immediately. It was like someone had cut out my heart and caused me to become deaf and mute all at once.

"Easy Mai," he said, grabbing me by the shoulders and hugging me tightly. "I'm sorry," he said switching back to Japanese. "I should have told you what I was planning first." He suddenly tightened his hold and took a deep breath. I could tell that the sudden disconnect was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for me.

"Alright, I won't be able to do this for long. It is an experimental blocking method invented about a decade ago. I haven't had a need to try it yet. Now, before I run out of my ability to do this, let's move forward."

I nodded and tried to calm myself. Naru was still alive and breathing. It was simply horrible to realize however that this is what it would have felt like if he'd actually died. I looked up at Naru in horror, realizing that this was what it must have felt like to him when he lost Gene. No wonder he knew immediately, how could he have not? Naru glanced at me and nodded, seeing the pity and question in my eyes since he couldn't read it through the bond.

"Yes, but please don't pity me, Mai. Pity never helped anyone." I nodded, disagreeing, but understanding his wishes. He then started speaking and I tried listening. It was tedious, but by the end, he'd determined that what words I did understand were understood correctly and what words I could say were pronounced tolerably.

"Well Mai," he said settling in for the landing. "While I'm here I'll continue to tutor you and once I've left I'll make sure my mother and father continue the lessons." I nodded but felt a pang at the reminder that he wasn't staying. Suddenly he let go of the barrier and I felt a rush of relief. Naru was there again and I felt as if I could breathe.

We left the plane much more slowly than I would have thought we should. At first, I thought Naru was being polite, but then I realized that he was purposely going slowly. "Naru," I sighed when I felt through the bond his annoyance at seeing his parents again. "We must go. We are literally the last people in first class. Maybe the last people on the plane."

Naru sighed as he followed me off and I headed straight for the exit. Once inside the actual airport, however, I stopped. There were the normal hustle and bustle of an airport, but everything was in English or some other language. I did see a few signs in Japanese, but not many. I was also people watching as I'd never been around this many westerners before. Some spoke English, but many were speaking other languages. I was fascinated.

"Mai," Naru said with some amusement, "I'm glad you're enjoying the local flavor, but we need to go." I nodded and followed him, presumably to customs and the baggage claim. I was glad to see that all of the signs came with pictures because I inevitably got lost. There were so many people and Naru hadn't modified his stride for my shorter legs and I'll admit I was distracted by my desire to people watch. So, once I realized how lost I was, I went to the bathroom to calm down and then followed the pictures. I found customs easily enough as all international flights led out to it. I had a difficult time getting through, mostly because I had to ask the agent to repeat his questions and then I spoke very slowly. I had hoped that Naru would have waited for me after customs, but he wasn't there either. Deciding that he must have moved on, I did as well. I found baggage claim easily enough, but I hadn't prepared myself for just how many carousels there'd be.

"Oh," I said. "Um…" I looked down at my ticket and found the English numbers and flight name. I was looking for British Airways Flight 3452. I looked up and saw that I wasn't even in the right section. There wasn't one British Airline flight here. I huffed and then started walking in one direction, hoping that it was that way.

"Nope," Naru's voice said in my head. I jerked and looked around, but he wasn't actually there.

"Naru," I said back, "can you see me? Where are you?"

"Sitting at our carousel with our bags. I've been monitoring your progress and have some comments."

"I'm sure you do," I muttered sarcastically.

"I heard that."

"Of course you did. Look, just let me get there and then you can yell at me all you'd like."

"I wasn't going to yell," he defended. "Just criticize your lack of problem-solving skills."

"Hey, I got down here didn't I?" I asked, now linking into his presence and following it. I had gotten quite far from him and I was shocked to realize this. The reason for my shock being, that in the past, when we were separated by large distances, I could feel it. The bond was too stretched. Now though, it would seem that we were connected with a permanent line.

"Yes," he said with some concern. "So it would seem."

"You don't sound happy," I commented. He'd come to terms that he loved me, or at least a part of him did, but he still seemed to fight it with all he was worth. Whatever his issue, I was the source of it.

"No," he said through the bond, "you're not the source Mai. None of this is your fault." It was the first time he'd spoken openly about the situation and I sighed heavily. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

I spotted him before I could reply and I ran over. "None of this," I said clutching at my bag, "is your fault either."

He looked at me and then looked at a couple standing by the doors. His parents I gathered from my memory and his. "No," he said leading me over, "perhaps not, but I still feel like I could have done something to prevent this."

"Why is loving me such a horrible thing?" He literally stopped dead, before turning to me in shock.

"Is that what you think?" I was so startled that I looked back up at him. For the first time in a long time, he didn't remove his eyes from mine. I was about to answer when suddenly his mother was enveloping him and his father was extending his hand for a shake.

They greeted him enthusiastically in English and so I was able to follow most of it. He actually smiled and I was blown away by how handsome it made his face. His eyes darted towards me and I blushed, bending my head. He smirked and turned to me fully.

"Mother, Father, this is Miss Mia Taniyama."

"Oh, how wonderful it is to finally see you again my dear!" Mrs. Davis said as she threw her arms around me in a bear hug. Mr. Davis was more reserved as he shook my hand and then led us out to the car. The three of them started speaking about something, but I was sightseeing and hardly paid attention. Especially since I could only understand some of it anyway.

We drove out of the city, something that disappointed me since I barely got to see any of it. I wanted to see the famous London sights.

"Don't worry Mai," Naru's voice said, breaking into my thoughts, "we'll see more of the city later." I nodded and went back to watching the landscape around me. The city soon made way to the country and it too was something to behold. Though the city and country are the same basically everywhere, this country was different from my country. There was little forest or trees, just rolling hills and a lot of livestock. I had seen sheep and cattle before, but not this many and there seemed to be a lot of variety here.

"Mai," Naru's mother called, pulling me out of my observations.

"Yes," I said tentatively. I looked to Naru and he nodded, letting me know that I had said it well enough.

"Are you an early bird or a night owl?" I was confused by the statement. I wasn't any kind of bird, but Naru gently sent me the understanding through the bond.

"Oh, I sleep in," I said. This seemed to be a mistake because they all started laughing. I felt from Naru that I had made sense, but that this was just not the way to say it, at least not normally. I blushed and looked back out the window, now wondering why she asked the questions to begin with.

"She wants to know what side of the house you'd prefer your room," Naru explained in Japanese.

"Side of the house?"

"Yes, my house is very large and we have many guest rooms. Since you like to sleep in, we will be putting you on the west side."

"Oh, I see." I turned to his mother and smiled. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome dear." The conversation went back to something I knew little of and so I watched as we approached a very big house indeed. It was very large, not as big as the bloody labyrinth mission, but just as grand. I stepped out of the car with everyone else and we made our way inside. I started to grab for my bags, but a servant quickly pushed me away and ran inside the house since it had begun to drizzle.

"Follow the servant Mai," Naru said once we were inside the house and Naru's mother was speaking to the servant, presumably about me and where my room was.

"Shouldn't I stay here with you?"

"No. I know that you don't wish to appear rude, but we are all about to go our separate ways and prepare for dinner. I'll come to pick you up when it's done and bring you to the proper room."

He began to turn away as I looked down at myself. I was in jeans and a blouse but nothing that would be appropriate for a formal dinner.

"Naru, should I…"

"Yes, change, but nothing like you're thinking." He smirked at my imagination of me wearing my formal gown I'd brought just in case. "Either that blue dress or that blouse and your black skirt."

"How do you know what I've packed?"

"You're currently running through your entire wardrobe as we speak. How can I not?" He turned away and I turned to follow the servant who was waiting for me. As I headed up the stairs while Naru stopped to speak to his father for a moment, I gleaned from him a surprisingly unfiltered and unguarded thought. He hoped I'd wear the blue dress. He thought I was very pretty in it. I smiled as I looked at him. He didn't even know that I'd heard that. Well, I decided that I would give him his wish since I was always taught to be a gracious guest.