Back once more, with this weeks chapter~ In this chapter, we get to observe the missing moments from when Mai made her way to Naru from her POV, and more importantly, you get to enjoy the two of them bantering some more, because I was feeling generous. Hopefully it's as fun to read as it was to write! This chapter has been beta read and from there has been edited, but any remaining mistakes are of course my own. (Please don't look too hard at the sudden appearance of the assistant, he was there the entire time I swear!). Also, did you guys know that this fic is officially past the 100k point (by ao3 standards, which is what I use since the author notes are posted separate on there. If you use FFN for it, then you get all those additions and it's a LOT more, oops?), what on earth? Thank you all so much for sticking around so far, and I hope you're strapped in for the long haul because there's still a ways to go forwards yet.
Just a heads up in advance, and this pertains to updates for Nefelibata as well as this (just in case you're a reader of both, since I know a couple of you are~) I am heading home again for a couple weeks as of Friday. I've been working hard to prepare chapters for while I'm away (3 weekends, but only two weeks) so that I don't miss any updates, but if I'm late to upload a chapter at all, that is the reason why. Currently the next two chapters of TCOL have been written, so they won't be missed (with one more chapter of TCOL to be written, and 2 chapters of Nefelibata left to finish), but I may get side-tracked or forget from being out all day. Thanks in advance for being understanding if this does happen~
Review Responses:
SumCheeze: I tried to make them suit her while also connecting to her existing ones but it's a hard balance, so we'll probably start to see even more of a toll on her slowly from the constant usage (although her aura sensing to me is kind of like a medium, always mostly turned on and not at all draining). She is indeed, a great white light drawing spirits to her at every turn, and I fully intend for that to come into play from the moment she steps into their next case (which is not yet planned). Naru wishes he could contain that, but she'll manage no matter what. Haha, at least you considered it xD Feel free to throw my any hypothesis' you have anyway, they're always fun to read~ Thanks so much for the review, and enjoy this chapter!~
Kallen21: Well then, here it is! Please enjoy this chapter, and thanks for the review~
Joys: Wow, given the reviews I've read, I have to wonder how I left this chapter as far as ability explanations go? There's a little bit in this chapter, and then chapter 28 or 29 should have some more indepth explanations for you~ Oooh we'll have to see how that goes, although I can't wait for Luella to freak out over Mai getting hurt when she's actually present on cases, it'll be extremely fun to write~ Thanks for the review, and enjoy!
Ncisduckie: I had to go back and check what the hell I ended the last chapter on since I'm officially two chapters ahead with what's written (and terrified that I'm going to spoil something because of it, ugh, how do people do this? I've always been a write and post kind of girl!) so I honestly had to go and check. I'm so happy that you enjoyed the light-hearted ending that (hopefully) made up for the previous ending~ It's definitely going to be a harsh conversation, and very awkward with both Naru and with the Parents.
I'm so proud of you for getting your work done! Good job! I'm glad to hear that, since I've been winging this entire case ultimately, from an a4 sheet of basic notes that I deviated from like a chapter into start it xD Thank you so much for the review and I hope that you're getting through that book list, even if it's slowly~
CaitHawke4Ever: It's definitely going to be a thing (cue my first chance to have them argue over something and montage them being miserable for a couple weeks or something? It's not planned so I have no set plans yet, but it's entirely likely that we'll hit our first trip of angst for our favourite couple, and by extension, finally see some character progression in their relationship). The fireworks haven't happened yet, but they very well might... I'm happy you enjoyed their banter/flirting at the end to make up for the cliffhanger. Thanks for the review and enjoy!
RichkeyZero: You're very welcome, and yes, I thought I would be nice that time around~ Haha, you seem to be one of many people who want to know more about them. You'll get a bit of an explanation in this chapter, and another upcoming chapter, although not the whole story. Thanks for the review and enjoy!
Undertheskys: I'm so happy that you're enjoying things so far~ Wait no longer for your regular Sunday update, because it is here! Thanks for the review and I hope you continue to enjoy!~
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt
Chapter Key:
"English Speaking"
"Japanese Speaking"
'Thinking'
-0-0- Past Event -0-0-
Chapter Twenty-Five
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Sitting in front of the monitor around seven o'clock, Mai couldn't help but wring her hands together a little at the not-so-subtle glares she kept receiving from Naru every other minute, lip pulled into her mouth so she could chew at it nervously.
The rest of their team either didn't care or didn't notice (she was willing to bet on the former), their discussion continuing unhindered.
"What I don't get is, why take Oliver? Why not just possess him and get him to jump off the roof?" Madoka asked. There was a round of agreeing sounds as everything went quiet while they thought about the implications, the only sound was off the assistant in the corner turning the pages of the current file he was going over, still trying to find some information to help them.
"Is it possible that they couldn't possess Naru?" Yasu threw out, head tilted in contemplation.
Oliver shook his head, gaze momentarily averted. "I didn't have the charm on me anymore. There was nothing stopping them." He denied.
"Well, let's consider then. Out of the thirteen known cases of someone being possessed, or put into a trance, none of them have actually died. They've always gotten to the edge of the roof and then broken from possession, or out of the trance." Madoka informed them all.
"Which means it was likely that the same thing would have happened to Noll if they had possessed him or put him into a trance." Martin throws in, frowning.
"It's possible that maybe the spirit can't force them into jumping, right?" Mai asked, brows furrowed in concentration. "Isn't that a thing in hypnosis as well? That you can make suggestions to someone, but something extreme like killing themselves is enough to override it?"
Naru nodded, making her beam.
"It's more than possible. I'd say it's likely. But that still means that we have no idea why the spirit took me. Why go through all that effort?"
"Was it a distraction?" Yasu threw out.
"There weren't any attacks during that time." Lin denied, having already looked over the recordings.
Mai bit her lip harder. Nothing was adding up.
"Additionally, is there a particular reason for the difference between choosing to use a trance on these most recent occasions, and possession in all the previous cases?" Martin raised, adding to the ever-growing list of things they didn't know.
"We also still don't know whether the spirit is Jason or Elliot either." Madoka lamented, glancing at Naru. "You really don't remember anything that would help us figure it out?"
"Nothing. The most I saw was the shadow."
There was a collective groan from Mai and Madoka, causing the men to roll their eyes.
"This is ridiculous." Mai grumbled, head starting to hurt from all the thinking that she was doing.
"You're telling me. None of this is adding up at all, and I'm really concerned for the reasoning behind them taking Oliver." Madoka insisted, looking more and more stressed.
Martin shook his head. "We're just going in circles at this point. We'll call it a night over on our end and speak more on the subject tomorrow with fresh minds. I recommend that you do something similar. Take a break at least." The last part was directed towards Naru, who hadn't stopped working since they'd found him and spoken on the phone.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure that we take a break for the moment and we can speak more on the subject tomorrow."
Nodding in thanks, they all said their good nights before Martin closed off the video.
Shutting his laptop, he rubbed gently at his temples for a moment, before giving them a wry grin. "I should get you two back to campus." He sighed, pushing back from the desk.
As much as Mai didn't want to leave, she had to admit that he was right. They had already stayed longer than either of them had planned, and she did have a couple things she wanted to go over study wise before the new school week started on Monday.
Standing up, she rolled her eyes when Yasu held his hand out dramatically, refusing to move without help.
Grasping it, she tugged him to his feet. "Such an old man." She grumbled, shooting an apologetic look to Martin for the comment, only to see him chuckle in amusement.
"We should probably go say our goodbyes to Luella." Mai sighed. "And I need to go grab my things from the other bedroom."
"You two go grab your things then. I'll get Luella and we can meet you in front of the house." Martin decided.
Receiving affirmative nods from both, they all split up to do exactly that, and not five minutes later they were standing in front of the Davis' mansion once more; Mai relaxing in the peaceful air, despite the cool breeze that threatened to freeze her to death.
"You two get home safe, you hear?" Luella warned, pulling Mai into a hug as she broke the silence. "And I expect to see you again next weekend."
Mai laughed. "You tell the ghosts to stay away for a weekend and you have a deal." She bargained, grinning as she pulled away from the other woman's warmth.
"If that's what it takes, then so be it." Luella insisted, making Mai giggle.
"I'll be back in a little bit, dear." Martin promised, moving to press a kiss to his wife's cheek briefly, before motioned towards the car. "Come on you two. If we don't leave now, you'll never go."
Yasu pushed his glasses up. "Would that be such a terrible thing?" He joked, only to have his arm grabbed as Mai pulled him off towards the car, amusement clear on his face.
"Stop being so troublesome." The brunette grumbled, opening the door and getting into the back seat, letting Yasu take the seat next to Martin once more.
Shrugging, her friend waited for a moment as Martin moved to the driver's side, opening his door as well, before they both slipped in at the same time.
"It's all part of my charm." He stated finally, just to see the exasperation on his best friend's face.
"You have about as much charm as Naru."
Placing a hand to his heart dramatically, Yasu forced his most pained voice to the surface. "How could you say that Mai? After the love we fostered so carefully over the years! Did it mean nothing to you at all?"
Mai looked at him blankly. "Not a thing." She assured, face breaking a moment later when he put on his saddest puppy dog eyes. "Stop it, Yasu. You look like an idiot."
Turning his attention to Martin, who had quietly amused by their antics, Yasu gave him the most pitiful look he could muster. "See, professor? This is the kind of treatment I get for being the most amazing best friend ever."
Martin chuckled, not quite catching whatever Mai had muttered under her breath, but not bothering to ask her again given her eye roll.
"Now, now, you two. I could swear I was teaching young adults, not children." He warned.
Mai scoffed a little at that. "With how some of the people in our class act? I think that was a mistake on your part, professor." She informed, thinking back to the lovesick heart eyes half the class had towards Naru.
Shaking his head, Martin smiled wryly "You might be right about that one."
After that, the car fell silent, the rest of the ride passing by with the quiet murmurs of Yasu and Martin over what kinds of exorcisms were best in which situations and why.
Mai let that fall into the background though as she stared out the window, exhaustion seeping into her bones once more, despite how much of the day she'd spent sleeping. Even though logically she knew that she hadn't actually been sleeping, it didn't stop her from feeling a little bit bad for the wasted time. She'd even missed lunch with Luella because she'd had to rest after her trip to Naru.
'At least I got to help Naru.' She reminded herself.
She recalled how weird it had been to call out for Gene and have him turn up.
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As Mai's body sunk into the bed, and her mind went blank, she focused on nothing but the spirit she wanted to see, calling Gene's name out mentally as she moved into sleep, and then out loud once she found herself standing in familiar darkness.
"Eugene Davis, I swear if you don't show the hell up-" she warned angrily into the darkness, only to jump when she felt something touch her shoulder.
"You'll do what?" Gene teased, eyebrows raised towards her, mirth glittering in his eyes.
'Not the right shade of blue.' She noted, before trying to shake that thought immediately (although she had to wonder how she had missed it previously, given how often she spent looking at them – which -)
"Ooh, a blush?" Gene singsonged, grinning even wider, mischief showing on his features. "Thinking of doing something-"
Waving her hands in front of her quickly as her face flushed even darker, Mai shook her head. "Don't even finish that!" She warned, hand moving to clamp over his mouth.
Almost as soon as she'd done that, his tongue darted out to lick at it, making her squeal and let go; moving far back as she wiped her hand on her pants, absently noting the difference in how it felt in the spirit plane as opposed to the plane of the living.
"That hurts, you know." Gene whined, motioning towards her rapid rubbing away for his touch.
"Why do I even put up with you?" Mai lamented, throwing her hands in the air, giving him her most unimpressed look.
Shrugged, Gene gave her a curious look. "I don't know, why do you? You're the one who demanded to see me."
"Not demanded – asked."
"Demanded. So, what's up?"
Sobering when she recalled why exactly she had asked for Gene to come to her, she gave him a wry smile. "How much would it take to convince you to go to Naru so that I can use you as an anchor so that I can astral project to him?"
Gene frowned. "You want to use me as an anchor? I mean, in theory it might work, but it's going to be dangerous no matter how you look at it. Why do you need to get to Noll, anyway? Can't you just call him."
"He was taken earlier this morning. We've been looking the best that we can, trying to figure out where he ended up, but I'm worried. But since I'm far away-"
"You need something to help anchor you to him. He doesn't have anything of yours on him?"
"If you mean the charm, then he dropped it when the spirit attacked him, otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation."
Gene looked like he wanted to scream in frustration while being completely amused by their situation. "No not that- you know what. Never mind." He decided after a moment, sighing.
"Wait- what exactly does that mean Gene?" Mai insisted.
Smirking back at her, shrugging. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask the idiot scientist?" He offered.
Mai groaned. "I'm going to ask you about this again at a later point in time." She informed him.
Gene didn't bother to respond, going serious once more. "Okay. So, your plan is to use me as an anchor so that you don't lose Noll, correct? I'm guessing that the distance is making this harder so what you need isn't so much an anchor, as a guide to stop you from losing his aura, or spirit?" He asked.
Humming, Mai tried to think of a way to explain what she wanted to do (try, really, since this was going to be a first for her as well). "Sort of. Normally, since my spirit can find pieces of its own energy anywhere, I could go to that without having to worry about losing my way, or at least that's how I astral projected to him earlier. In this case, since that isn't possible, I want to anchor myself to you. It's the 'how' I'm unsure about. Unless you can just take me to him?" She asked, voice hopeful, but unsurprised when Gene shook his head.
"If only it was that easy. What you need then, is something on Noll, or on myself, that's a piece of you."
Mai nodded. "But even then, it'll be safer if you're there for me to focus on as well."
Gene's eyes lit up a little as he realised something else. "Wait, wait. If you just need something on us, then what's stopping me from going to Noll and doing exactly that?"
"You're right. It's so obvious now, why didn't I think of that before?" Mai asked, eyes wide in realisation.
Chuckling, Gene shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Your ideas were good in theory as well, but harder to execute or justify." He promised. "If you bring them up with Noll later on, I'm sure you two can discuss it for as long as you want."
Mai blushed at what he was implying, crossing her arms. "Yes. We will. It will be a beneficial conversation for the both of us." She insisted.
"It will be a beneficial conversation for the both of us." Gene mocked, dodging quickly when Mai made a swipe at him.
"Stop being such a jerk." She grumbled, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the same key that she always kept on her person, the one she had given to Masako back during the Urado case. "Don't you dare lose this."
"I won't. Can't make the same promise for Noll though." He warned, voice light. "Give me a few minutes to find the idiot and plant this on him before you try and project to him. I'll stick around after too, just in case. If something happens then, maybe, I'll be able to guide you back to your body."
Mai nodded in understanding, before making waving him off. "Be careful."
"I'm already dead. What's the worst that could happen?"
Shaking her head as he faded away, she settled in to wait, mentally counting down the minutes. If she concentrated hard enough then she could find her own aura that surrounded her key, stronger on that then anything else she owned from how often it was on her person, and feel it fading away. Unlike someone else's aura from afar though, this one stayed strong and clear.
It wasn't until she felt it stop moving, Gene's aura - even while they were still on the spiritual plane – faded and was almost impossible to find now.
A moment later his aura vanished from her 'field of vision', a sign that Gene had moved to the plane of the living for a moment, too far away for her to track, probably to plant the key onto Noll.
When he reappeared once more, Mai took it as her sign to focus instead on the aura of her key, following it, much like she had followed her charm earlier; although finding it much harder than she expected as she slowly floated through the darkness, projecting herself closer and closer.
When she could feel Gene's aura close by, she swallowed thickly and closed her eyes, letting her focus change from following her aura's trail, to putting herself back on the plane of the living, while still maintaining her spirit form.
Her eyebrows creased, and it took a moment, but eventually she felt a sort of shift in the 'air' and opened her eyes to see Naru's face in front of her.
From her aura vision, she could sense another piece of herself somewhere else in the area, but she brushed that off, focusing instead, back on Naru.
She'd found him, now she just needed to get him back to the others.
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Despite the exhaustion she'd felt from that adventure (or the way she'd passed out after stupidly rushing to get the information to Martin and Yasu), she couldn't help but feel proud of the memory of her achievement, and amazed that it had worked out so well.
She didn't have time left to consider that though, since they were pulling up in front of Cambridge's dorms.
Sighing, Mai forced her thoughts away for the moment – she would analyse things further later – and smiled at Martin instead.
"Thank you for the ride, professor Davis."
Martin smiled kindly at her, choosing not to mention how out of it the poor girl seemed to be. "No worries. Get back to the dorm safe, and I don't want to see you – either of you – at BSPR tomorrow until ten o'clock at the earliest. You've earned a break."
Mai opened her mouth to argue, but Yasu shot her a look.
"Don't worry, Professor. I'll make sure of it." He promised, before sliding out and waving the older man off, grin plastered to his face.
Turning to him, Mai glared. "I'm going to be there earlier than that." She insisted.
Yasu shrugged. "Sure, if you get up that early after not setting an alarm then be my guest. But Mai, you need to let yourself rest."
Before she could argue, her friend shook his head. "No. Just listen and walk with me for the moment."
Mai let her mouth click shut, eyebrows creasing as she fell into step beside him.
"I know that you want to help, but you've done a lot already. You can't control the dreams, I get that. But you're exhausted. You've used your abilities more over the past couple of weeks then you had in over a month back in Japan. And that's great, I can't wait to log our data and make some conclusions based on it, but you can't keep going."
He shook his head when Mai went to respond.
"Seriously, Mai. Just listen. If you don't, then I'll have to call Ayako and let her know you're being reckless."
"You wouldn't."
"You're right. I'd text her, and then let you deal with the fallout." Yasu agreed, pushing his glasses up.
Mai threw her hands up. "What do you want from me?" She asked finally.
"A million pounds."
"Yasu."
"I want you to get some rest tonight. Sleep properly, and let your body wake up as late as it needs to. It deserves a break. Everyone else will keep doing what they have to do to solve this case in the meantime, without you. It will be fine. They were solving cases without you for an entire year." He reminded gently.
Letting out a deep breath, Mai sighed. "Okay."
Yasu looked a little shocked for a moment. "That easy?"
Rolling her eyes, Mai shrugged. "You're right. What else do you want me to say? I can't always be there to help, and I need to let it go for now. I'll get some rest and go back in with a clear head tomorrow afternoon after my body has recovered properly."
Pleased with how well that had gone, Yasu narrowed his eyes a moment later. "Are you sure you're not just avoiding how mad Big Boss is that you didn't tell him that you passed out earlier in your conversation when he checked on you?" He teased.
Mai smiled a little. "Can you blame me?"
Yasu let that one go, grinning a little. "I suppose not." He admitted, stopping in front of Mai's door, amused when it took the brunette a moment to realise where she had ended up.
"You didn't need to walk me to my door."
"Of course I did." Yasu insisted, "I am, after all, a true gentleman."
Mai rolled her eyes, unlocking the door to her dorm.
"Good night, Yasu."
"Good night Mai. Try to have some actual sweet dreams for once."
"I'll try."
"And that's all we ask."
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When Mai woke to a bright room the next morning, she frowned slightly in confusion, before turning to check the time on her phone and gasping. True to everyone's expectations, but her own, she had slept until just before ten.
Stretching out under the covers of her warm bed, she blinked lazily at the roof, trying to find the energy to move.
Even though she'd slept for ages, she still felt lethargic, like her body had run a marathon the day before.
Letting her eyes fall shut, she took another couple of moments to convince herself to get up, before she actually managed to force herself out from under the covers; shivering as the cool air touched her exposed feet and hands.
Padding over to her bathroom, she quickly got ready for the day, brushing her teeth and getting changed, before getting her things together for when she'd leave to head over to BSPR.
Grabbing a Granola bar from her stash, Mai chewed on it slowly, checking over the notifications on her phone at the same time, and grinning a little at the picture Bou-san had sent her of John and Masako.
Apparently, they'd all met up at the church yesterday and they had managed to catch the exact moment one of the kids tripped John over, and straight into Masako.
Giggling a little at the image, she saved it, her heart heavy at the thought of her family back home.
She'd spoken to all of them since they'd left at least once over the phone, and they had a group chat that was a complete wreck, but this was the longest she'd been away from them in years and now that she wasn't keeping as busy, she couldn't help but miss them all.
Firing off a quick response to the image, praising Ayako on her timing, she let her phone go back to sleep, the black screen staring back at her for a moment before she snapped herself out of it.
'Time for a jog.' Mai decided.
Even though it was later in the day, things weren't too busy because it was a Sunday, and she was positive she'd feel better afterwards. Maybe her usual qi-gong would help her fix the way her abilities seemed to be jumping around under her skin.
Content with that decision, Mai grabbed her earphones, plugging them into her phone with a sigh before she grabbed her keys and set off.
As the music played in the background, she forced herself to let it fade away so that she could focus instead on the area she was in, enjoying the more garden-like areas that they had and relishing in them.
Even though she wasn't a fan of jogging with music (she much preferred to focus on the nature without distractions), it had quickly become clear to her that it wasn't an option with how loud the campus tended to be. Today was no exception, and she was glad she'd thought to grab them as she weaved through the people who were loitering, trying not to pay them too much mind as their auras were easier to spot than usual.
Before long, half an hour had passed, and the brunette was feeling much better, turning around to head back to her dorm room, relieved to feel that the tingling under her skin was already beginning to fade.
Stepping inside, she breathed deeply as she put her phone to the side, music paused, and slowly began to run through her qi-gong exercises, even more relieved to feel that her abilities seemed to have settled when she finished fifteen minutes later.
Considerably more relaxed now, Mai stretched out for a moment before grabbing some fresh clothes and taking a quick shower, only checking the time once she finished up, blinking in surprise when the time showed that it was a little before twelve.
Time seemed to have flown by without her noticing.
'Maybe I should grab food on the way?' She mused.
Firing off a quick text to Martin and Yasu to grab any orders they might have for the sandwich shop that she would pass by on her way, Mai grabbed her bag and double checked she had everything before heading out.
It was time she got back to work.