Behind Closed Doors
File 5: The Lake
Mai watched the ground as she wandered aimlessly around the forest, her eyes focusing off and on as she became lost in her thoughts; thoughts mainly about Naru. She burst into laughter finally, "Well, I'm glad the mystery was finally solved!"
Who was she kidding? In all honesty, Mai was probably lying when she said she was finally able to accept the fact that Naru was about to vanish out of her life forever.
Her chest hurt.
Whether it was the fact that Naru had such an unfortunate life, being haunted by psychic abilities that gave him little freedom, or the fact of Gene's untimely death, Mai couldn't truly be happy with the outcome. Why did things have to be this way?
Mai lifted her head to see Naru leaning against a far off tree. He noticed her, his eyes boring into her own with a loneliness that was so heavy Mai could barely bring herself to walk over. Eventually, she found her own sandaled feet a good meter away from his black-clad shoes.
"I thought you had gone to the lake. What are you doing here?" she inquired.
Naru shrugged, a motion Mai barely caught. She smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry I called you 'Naru-chan' before."
"…Why?"
It was the first word Mai had heard from him since his uncooperative responses earlier that evening during their…interrogation, you could say. "Isn't it only your older brother who calls you that? I didn't know…"
"That's a story from when we were little," Naru nodded as Mai leaned back on the opposite side of the tree.
"To think that you were someone so important," Mai said softly, laughing sheepishly. "I guess I kind of felt the distance between us…I mean, no wonder you call me stupid. Compared to you I must look like a real idiot. And now you'll return to England and the lifestyle that you had before you met us…"
'That's probably why I'm upset,' she thought, looking down at her feet.
"I mean, I can't image how you used to live. After all, we live in completely different worlds," she claimed nervously.
"That's not true," Naru said, his smile almost evident in his tone. "I'm just an idiot scientist."
Mai frowned. Certainly that was not something a narcissist would say? "Why would you call yourself like that…?" As she turned to face her employer, a familiar feeling of déjà vu hit. She'd seen this in a dream before…this morning's dream, in fact.
She turned away quickly, her face burning. "So you were also an orphan, Naru?"
Naru sighed, "My situation was…much different from yours; I had a brother, and I met my grandparents."
"What kind of person was he? Your brother, I mean."
"Who knows…"
"Anyway, I'm glad we met here!" Mai smiled sadly, knowing that she was in her last moments of spending time with Naru.
"I was looking for you," he said, his tone very casual and un-Naru-like. "I wanted to say a couple of things to you, so I was hoping I would meet you. I thought maybe I wouldn't see you anymore, but…"
Mai blushed at his words, looking at her feet shyly. "But…?"
She could hear Naru sigh. "Nevermind."
She nearly fell over, and turned to look disapprovingly at her employer. "H-Hey, that's not nice–"
Mai's eyes widened as she realized that the spot where Naru had been standing was now empty and that he was nowhere in the clearing.
"What the–?"
This was just like in her dream!
Footsteps came up from behind Mai as she stood, still trying to figure out exactly what happened to her employer. She wasn't sure whether or not she was shocked to see Naru walking towards her when she turned around.
How on earth had he done that…?
Confused, she looked around the other side of the tree that they had been leaning against seconds before. At first, Mai thought it might've been one of Naru's 'magic tricks,' but she quickly ruled that out. They had learned from one of their previous cases that it was, in fact, Naru using qigong, which was very stressful on his body without Gene there to absorb his powers (or whatever Lin had tried to explain to them). Besides, she wasn't sure teleportation was possible even with the use of qigong.
"What's wrong?" Naru frowned, seeing her bewildered expression.
The brunette looked at him warily. "You're really Naru…right?"
"What are you talking about?" Naru's scowl deepened at her words. "Are you even awake?"
"I'm not really sure anymore," she confirmed nervously, turning around to the tree again. "If that wasn't you, then who was the person I was just talking to?"
Naru was probably getting very frustrated at this point. "Who was here?"
"Naru, I was just talking to you," she said insistently, finger pointed down at the exact spot where Naru's look-alike had been standing.
He sighed, waving away her concern on the matter. "You were sleeping."
She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. "No, I wasn't! I mean, it was like my usual dream, but I know I wasn't dreaming!"
"The usual dream?" Naru voiced his interest, "What usual dream?"
Mai covered her mouth. 'That wasn't supposed to come out!'
"J-Just a dream!" she defended, hoping he would drop the subject.
Not likely.
"What kind of dream?" he inquired, taking a step closer, his eyes boring into her own.
"It's none of your business."
He took another intimidating step. "Didn't sound that way." And another. "Was I in it?"
Mai hit the tree as she tried to back up, her heart jumped into her throat. Why was he being so persistent all of the sudden? "I'm telling you it's none of your business!"
"I don't think so," he said, increasingly closer.
She shook her head adamantly. "You don't have to know!"
"You don't have to hide it," he teased.
"I'm not!" Mai exclaimed, her voice straining. Naru stopped in his tracks, slightly taken a back by her outburst. He said nothing and they listened to her voice echo in the forest.
Mai looked up to see a hint of disappointment on his face.
Mentally groaning at how attractive he looked, Mai sighed and decided that she would just say it. Hell, maybe this was her chance?
"It's a dream with you!" The brunette hadn't meant to say it so loudly, but the fear that he might start laughing or call her stupid had gotten to her at the last minute and her voice had become harsh and defensive.
Naru looked at her, his face as impassive as ever. "With me?" he inquired, as if he had truly not expected it.
"Yeah," she said, put off by his reaction, "but the Naru in my dreams is really nice and he smiles, so I though it might just be wishful thinking or something."
"He's nice?" Naru crossed his arms. His eyes widened seconds later, "You were just talking to him a minute ago?"
"Yeah, so?" Mai crossed her arms with the thought that he was just teasing her for dreaming about him.
"What about?"
"He said he was looking for me – that he needed to tell me something," Mai blushed, "I should've known that you would never look for me without a good reason…"
"What do you mean?" Naru questioned, eyebrow raised.
The red in Mai's cheeks grew more vibrant as she stumbled over her words, "What do I mean? A-Are you stupid? I don't know!
He frowned. "I don't understand."
To Naru's surprise, Mai was suddenly scowling at him. "I knew you were a stupid jerk who had no feelings, but is that really your answer after making me say all of that embarrassing stuff?! After a couple of those dreams I thought that maybe you were like a normal human being and that maybe your spirit had popped out to come see me and that the actual you is nice and smiles and even cares about me! That's what I thought!"
Naru lowered his head in thought. "…I can't leave my body. I don't have that gift."
"I know," Mai said, embarrassed, "That's why I'm saying–"
"No."
Mai paused, wondering what Naru was thinking in his complex brain. Was he secretly laughing at her? Did he think she had some sort of mental disability? Why was he being so quiet?
"Since when did you start having these dreams?" The narcissist inquired.
Mai, who suddenly felt like she was at the doctor's getting a check-up, looked at him in confusion. "Since the beginning."
"It's not me," Naru said, his eyes narrowing.
"What?"
"That's not me," he put a hand to his head, as if feeling sick. "That was Gene. Eugene…"
Mai's heart felt like it had dropped into her stomach. They were twins after all; completely identical when expressionless. But that didn't explain how she had seen a physical apparition of him. "But he's de–"
She stopped herself, knowing exactly what that meant.
"That means Gene is still wandering around this world," Naru said, looking towards the direction of the lake. "He probably has leftover business."
"He told me…that we might not meet again," Mai said, her eyes downcast with grief.
Naru nodded. "Yeah. If we find his body…"
The brunette was at least able to connect the rest of his sentence.
"What the HELL is that idiot doing?" Naru exclaimed, causing Mai to nearly jump out of her own skin, his voice raising to a point that Mai had never heard before. "Getting lost on his way…"
Under other circumstances, Mai might've laughed. Naru even called his brother an idiot. Maybe she shouldn't feel to bad about herself then? She said sheepishly, "He was probably just worried about you, Naru!"
"I'm not so desperate that I need him worrying about me," he replied without mercy. "That idiot was probably acting as you're spiritual guide. He must've noticed that you had potential when it came to spiritual powers, so he stayed around to bring them out."
Mai blinked. That actually made sense to her.
"Geez, he should hurry up and cross over," Naru sighed. It was a certain sigh that she recognized. He would always use it when Mai got herself into trouble or said something stupid.
"He really was worried about you. He was probably trying to be useful and gave me clues to help you," she reasoned, with a wide smile.
"It's none of his business," Naru concluded in response.
Mai's smile dropped. "It's called kindness," she deadpanned.
"Or stupidity."
The brunette laughed. Gene must've had a heart as big as the ocean to have dealt with Naru for all the years of his life. "I heard from Lin-san that you two were also orphans."
Naru's eyes softened. "Just like Mai."
"Yeah," she smiled. Then the realization hit. "Wait, is that why you let me work for you?"
Naru was silent for a moment before he could think of the words he wanted to use, "How do you say it? Pity? Self-identification?"
"Pity for someone in the same situation, you mean?" she said, surprised that they could talk about this subject so lightheartedly.
"I also thought you might be living in bad conditions."
Mai thought back to her apartment where she lived. It was slightly ratty, a lot of bugs, but its not like she was living in horrible conditions. She smiled at the thought of Naru being concerned over her. "Did you live in bad conditions?"
"Yeah. I was also a troubled kid," he admitted.
Mai nodded, imagining a mini Naru giving an attitude. "You helped me a lot. Thank you," she said quietly.
"Don't thank me. We just had spare money," Naru said nonchalantly, looking away. "We needed more people anyway."
"Why did your brother come to Japan, anyway?" Mai wondered.
"There was a request for an exorcism. He also wanted to investigate Japan's Shinto-style exorcisms," Naru said, his tone exhausted. He walked closer until he could lean against the tree next to Mai.
"So he experiments too? Did he ghost hunt?" Mai asked, shocked.
"He did," Naru confirmed.
She wondered if Martin and Luella tagged along too? The thought made her laugh. "What was Gene like?"
Naru thought for a moment. "He was kind of like you, always sympathizing with clients – crying with them and laughing with them. Except he was a lot quieter."
Mai glared at him. "Sorry I'm loud," she said, shifting her weight. "How did you know he was here? Psychometry?"
"Yeah."
"So you know?" Mai inquired, her voice quiet. That meant that Naru had actually felt Gene's death. It also meant that Mai had been horribly wrong when she had yelled at Naru for not understanding what it felt like to die during the Urado case.
"Yeah. He was probably halfway through his trip, when I borrowed his clothes and saw it," the teenager's eye darkened as he described the event, "First I saw an intersection. It was late at night and all of the stores were closed. There was a 'no walking' traffic signal across the street, but there were no cars. I stepped out onto the street when a red sports car swerved out of nowhere and hit me. The woman got out of the car. I could only see from her knees down. She screamed and got back into her car before running over me again."
"She purposely ran over him again to kill him?!" Mai looked at Naru through tear-filled eyes.
Without response to her question, Naru went on. "Everything turned green, which usually happens when someone dies. He was dragged on the ground and put into the trunk, wrapped in a yellow blanket, and thrown off of a boat into a lake."
"Oh my god," Mai covered her mouth, knowing that it was open wide from the shock of what Naru was saying.
"He was stupid for getting in the accident to begin with."
"I can't believe you're saying something like that!" Mai exclaimed, nearly slapping Naru on the arm before she managed to calm herself, "Has the woman been arrested yet?"
"No."
Mai shuffled her feet, arms behind her back as she thought on the subject. "I feel like if we got this on the news, they would be able to catch her. The only bad thing is that the media will find out your identity and that would be a problem…but still–"
The blue-eyed boy sighed, crossing his arms, which he had unknowingly un-crossed at some point in time. "That's not the problem."
"Eh? It's not?"
"The problem isn't my identity. The problem is, what if they put my picture out?"
Mai frowned. "I know the girls will make a fuss, but –
Naru could've rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid. What do you think Gene's killer will do when she sees a person with the same face as the one she killed?
Mai glanced over at him worriedly.
"Until we find out what type of person our killer is, it's best to avoid any attention."
Mai's frown deepened. "I hope she's found soon…"
Seeing Naru's conflicted features, Mai smiled sheepishly, pushing herself off of the tree that they were sharing. "Well, I'll go back to the cabin now. I don't want to get in your way or anything."
The boy, who prided himself in his intelligence, looked up in confusion. "Get in the way? How?"
"Well," Mai shrugged, a blush rising on her cheeks, "maybe you need to do something that you can't do while I'm around."
Naru looked at her pointedly.
"You know, maybe you need to cry or something…?"
He looked away. "It isn't something to cry about."
"What? Aren't you sad?" She asked in surprise, leaning forward.
Naru smirked. "I'm just a stupid jerk who has no feelings." Mai blushed, hearing him quote her earlier words.
The brunette sighed. "You aren't being honest with your self."
"Everyone dies," Naru explained, looking in the direction of the lake. "In 100 years no one we know will be alive."
Mai scowled, rolling her eyes. "That's not the point.
"Yes, it is."
Mai paused momentarily, unsure of how to continue on with the conversation. Lucky for her, Naru spoke up.
"You'll probably see him again."
Mai looked up, surprised by his words. "Huh?"
"Gene."
She smiled and laughed. "You mean after 100 years?"
"In your case, probably 200," her employer almost smiled.
"I'll live forever because I'm stupid."
"Probably."
"I wish you would deny that."
"It's better not to lie."
Mai laughed, leaning back on the tree again. She hadn't laughed that hard in a long time.
"Naru!" Lin came into the clearing panting heavily. Leaning forward with his hands on his knees, the onmyouji took a moment to recuperate. Mai had never seen the tall Chinese man so disgruntled before in her life.
Sensing the urgency in his assistant's voice, Naru uncrossed his arms, pushing himself off of the tree. "Lin, what happened?"
"They found it."
"Oh my god, what happened?"
"A body? Seriously?"
"I thought they were just filming a drama?"
"No, it's really happening!"
Naru pushed through the crowd followed by Mai and Lin. Mai blanched, stopping in her tracks as a bundle wrapped in a yellow blanket came into her view. Naru stopped along with her, halting Lin as well.
'A yellow blanket, just like Naru said.'
Taking a deep breath, Naru continued to walk on, weaving throughout the crowd to the spot where the soaked bundle lay. The divers pleaded for him to stay back, but Naru simply ignored them, lifting the edge of the blanket.
The two divers blanched, covering their mouths in disgust at the sight before them.
With a dark look in his eyes, Naru folded the blanket back how it was originally, hiding his brother's face. He stood for a moment, staring at what once was his closest friend, his confidant, his flesh and blood, his twin, before leaving the scene.
"Good morning," Mai mumbled weakly as she stumbled out of bed the next morning.
Ayako, who was in the kitchen fixing breakfast, turned around to greet the teen. "Ah, you're awa – Oh my god! What's with that face?!"
Mai couldn't blame her. Her eyes so swollen and puffy, she could barely open them. She had cried so much last night, she was sure she had given a new meaning to the phrase 'cry me a river'. "I can't see very well," she informed with a laugh, wobbling across the room in a pathetic attempt to locate the bathroom.
"You were up late, weren't you?" Ayako sighed, throwing the brunette a sympathetic glance.
"Yeah, pretty much…"
She had decided last night to tell Ayako and Masako everything, even about her dreams with Gene. She even thought, much to her disappointment, that she might've seen him in last night's dream. But now that his body had been found and he was able to return home, there was no reason for him to still wander.
That afternoon, Martin and Luella arrived at the campgrounds. After seeing the body, Luella cried a lot. Unfortunately, Mai couldn't seem to find the right words to comfort the woman whom, although she'd only known for little more than a week, had become rather close to.
After dinner in the girls' cabin (which no one really had the appetite for), Luella came to talk to Mai, who was sitting out on the veranda.
"How are you doing, Mai?"
The teenager smiled solemnly at her words. Even after seeing her son's dead body, she was still concerned about other people. "It's so unfair. You never should've had to see that." She wiped away at a stray tear.
Luella looked down at her hands, which had come to grip the railing, knowing that Mai was referencing to Gene's body. "A mother should never have to attend her child's funeral. But life is unfair and the world is full of injustice."
At the woman's word, even more tears escaped. "I'm so sorry."
Luella then smiled, rubbing the teenager's shoulder. "Don't be sorry. Things happen for a reason. Some good has even come from Gene's death."
"What good could've possibly–?" Mai said through her soft sobs, whipping around to face the woman, only to realize that she was staring at her pointedly.
"It brought Noll to Japan. Here, he met a wonderful group of friends that he knows he can rely on," she said, and Mai could feel her love for her son in her voice. "That's what I meant when I asked you to stay by his side. Because, whether he is willing to admit it or not, Naru thinks of you as a valuable friend. Possibly even more."
Mai could feel a familiar heat rising in her cheeks. "W-What?!" she stuttered, unsure if she had heard Naru's mother correctly.
Luella laughed. "My son isn't completely heartless."
Mai made a face. "Could've fooled me."
Smiling, the woman took Mai's hands in her own, slipping a small picture frame in them. Mai looked down in surprise to see the very picture she had seen in Marin's study.
The next day Gene's body was confirmed by the morgue and returned to England.
"Okay, so I closed and locked all of the windows," Mai said, counting off on her fingers. She glanced around the room once more to make sure everything was ready for them to leave. "Looks like everything's packed up…"
"Are we ready to go?" Ayako inquired, falling back onto the couch next to Bou-san.
"Naru and Lin aren't ready yet," the brunette said with a yawn.
Bou-san gave the office a good sweep with his eyes. "Wow. I can't believe we're saying good bye to this place."
Mai smiled, "It'll only be for a while."
That's right – a few days after returning to Tokyo, Naru called Mai up to tell her that he had managed to renew the contract on the office and that they would be keeping the Japanese branch of 'SPR'. Fortunately, Naru would be the head.
After Gene's burial and some time in England, Naru would be coming back to run the office, just like old times. And Mai couldn't be happier.
"How long will it be until they can come back?" John asked, concerned.
"They're not sure," Mai informed, leaning on the arm of the couch. "A lot has happened after all. In the mean time, Mori-san will be taking charge of the office."
Ayako laughed, "It's a good thing you don't have to find a new job, Mai!"
Mai leered at the priestess, "It's a good thing you wont have to pay for my living cost."
"My wallet isn't that small."
"Good to know for future reference."
Lin exited his room, indicated by the click of his door. "Are you going away, too, Lin-san?" Bou-san inquired out of curiosity.
"No, I'll be staying here for a while…" he glanced down at Mai who had wondered to his side.
In the background they could hear Ayako fussing over why Naru was taking so long.
"Hey, Lin," Mai mumbled, "You know when you said you didn't like Japanese people before? You said there was someone who said the same thing as me. Was it Gene?"
Recalling the memory, Lin's lips tugged upwards so slightly that Mai could barely see it. "Yes."
'Naru was right. Me and Gene are alike.'
"Finally! What were you doing?" Ayako whined, standing from the couch. Only then did Mai realize that Naru had left his office.
"I don't remember making this a meeting place, so don't complain," Naru said harshy, turning away and walking towards the door.
A hot wave of embarrassment crashed over Ayako, who struggled to remain calm. Bou-san laughed, "Just ignore what he said and move on!"
"Well, I guess we can leave now," Yasuhara smiled, standing up.
"Yes," Masako nodded, bringing herself to her feet as well.
"I'll go ahead and get a cab, then!"
"Don't run or you'll fall!"
Mai turned to Naru and said, just barely over the racket, "What should I do with the spare key?"
"Just keep it. Madoka should come soon anyway," the dark-haired teen said as he shrugged on his coat. He reached into his pocket. "Here, I almost forgot."
"Huh?" Mai was surprised when the boy handed her a plaid handkerchief. However, there was something hard and rectangular within its folds. Unwrapping it, she gasped in realization. It was the picture! "This is–!"
"My mother forgot it. I don't think that she minds, either," he said, his face void of emotion.
"I can…keep it?" Mai inquired slowly.
Naru didn't reply before he turned away from her, making his way towards the door, which was agape as if just waiting for them to exit.
"Wait, Naru!" Mai called, grasping for his sleeve.
The boy halted.
"Mai, Naru, are you coming?" came Bou-san's voice from outside. With a dark blush on her face, Mai called back that they would be there in a minute.
Naru waited patiently. More patiently than ever before, in fact, as Mai realized that he was actually a very impatient person. Releasing his arm, she took a deep breath, praying that she didn't embarrass herself.
"I really like you."
He stared at her blankly, which really surprised her more that it should have.
"Didn't I say that I don't like it when people care about me?"
Mai's red face seemed to become even more so. "That's not what I meant Naru! Geez, you're so slow…I meant…I like you in a very special way."
A smile came to his lips, but when she looked into his eyes, she knew that the smile had been empty.
"Me, or Gene?"
Mai could've sworn she felt her heart stop at that moment. Naru looked as if he had been betrayed. She'd never seen this expression on his face before, and it was because he thought she loved his dead twin brother?
"What do you mean…? No, that's not…" Tears formed in her eyes. "I didn't know! I didn't know it was him…"
Naru looked away.
"But during our last case, I saw this picture on Martin-san's desk of you two and it kind of clicked, even though I was in denial..."
He looked up at her in what seemed to be shock.
"But it's you Naru. It's always been you," she sobbed, rubbing her eyes. "No matter how many times Gene has lead me through a dream, or smiled at me, it was the you in real life…your tea-obsessed, narcissistic, smart-aleck–"
The words died on her lips as Naru rested his hand on her head.
She looked up in confusion.
"Okay," he said, this time with a genuine smile.
"Okay?" she inquired.
"Okay."
Dammit, I didn't know how else to end it! I hope you guys aren't super upset with the way I reformatted things, but I felt like this was the best way. Also, I took some liberties with Naru's story of how Gene died (you will see why in the future!) and also with Martin and Luella's visit. Also this chapter is super looooooong! I really wanted to get this done, but towards the end I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out how I wanted the confession part to go, so I avoided it lol.
Review, let me know your thoughts!