Hey guys! I was just looking over my recent reviews and I just wanted to say thank you for all of the comments and support! As well as all of the good wishes during these current times with this pandemic. I sincerely appreciate them and I am extremely grateful to have readers such as you all! Again, just really, thank you so much!

Take a quick break from the world and enjoy the next chapter!

A stunned silence could be seen through the room. Clearly, this was news to the Japanese members.

Not even being able to stand, Ayako turned and sat on the couch on the right side of the room. Monk was silent. And Mai felt like her heart dropped to her feet.

"Something like that could never be possible, right?" Mai's voice was quiet and hesitant. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear any more.

Luella looked sick from reliving the small details. "I wish that were true, but there have been so many accounts and even a few people detained and arrested."

"This is crazy," Ayako said. "If we knew this was the danger, we would have never agreed to let you come over, Mai."

"Who said I would listen to that?" Mai said incredulously. "My abilities are getting hard for me and everyone around me to handle. I have to be here."

"Besides," Madoka said. "They would have found out about her soon enough. You've built quite a reputation for yourself in Japan."

Mai would have blushed at the compliment if this were a different situation. However, she couldn't bring herself to focus on anything other than the gnawing fear in her stomach.

Martin eyed the group. "Regardless of your awareness of the matter, Michel is set in place to keep anything from happening to you."

She blanched at this. "Michel's got a family," Mai thought about Michel's son, who looked at his father like the earth revolved around him. "Why on earth would I put him in any harm's way?"

"It isn't up for discussion," Naru walked over to the door and grabbed his coat. "That is his job and he is committed to it." He couldn't believe that she would say something like that without considering what the people around her would think if she up and vanished. With the case file in hand, Naru walked out of his father's office.

"Why is he always so difficult," Luella stomped after him, grumbling under her breath as she went.

Martin's very serious gaze pinned her to the floor. "This is entirely your decision, Mai. We would have never kept this from you, but there was never an opportune moment to do so." He gripped his head. "I sincerely apologize for not telling you sooner, however, we felt that with your current predicament in Japan, there wasn't enough time."

She didn't think any person could ever be capable of doing something so heinous and vile. Sure, Mai had witnessed her fair share of murders and acts of terror that others inflict on another, but an emotional attachment behind each expression. This seemed like a pointless expedition that someone wanted to take and would happily hurt others.

"I'll stay." She thought about any considerations. "I don't mind if Michel watches out for me, but I won't hesitate to push him out of harm's way."

"Mai! You cannot possibly think that is a wise decision." Monk said gritting his teeth. "Then I am staying here until you come home."

"Me too," Ayako sided quite quickly with her husband.

"No." Mai's voice was nothing less of a command. "Masako is currently dealing with a difficult case, and I need you two there to support them. I will not be letting either one of you stay here."

Madoka and Martin shared a look. "We'll leave you the room," Martin said as he and Madoka left the office.

"Mai, let's think about this," Monk cradled his head in his hands, clearly frustrated. "Aside from maybe Naru, you do not have very much protection. Lin can only handle so much, and Michel will be there anytime you are outside the office or on a case, but what if he isn't around?"

Ayako added on. "These are things we need to consider, Mai. We should just call it now and head home. I just hope no one follows us back." The last part was a mutter, but Mai heard it.

"Absolutely not," Mai crossed her arms and stood strong by her decision. "You two need to stop thinking about 'what-ifs' because I will not spend my time contemplating a future that may not even come true. I am safer here. Lin will train me, Naru will be with me most of the day, Martin and Madoka are going to be at BSPR, and Luella will be at the house."

While it wasn't enough to sway Monk, Ayako seemed to be considering it.

"Whatever you two think about the situation is fine, and I will respect your opinion. But you two have to go back soon, I need you in the office, and I will be staying in England for the unforeseen future, or until I get a handle on these dreams." She didn't wait for a response and headed outside Martin's office.

Martin stood next to his receptionist and Madoka was nowhere to be seen. Mai guessed that she was visiting Lin.

"Martin?"

"Mai," He turned to face her. "Did you and your family come to a consensus?"

"Not quite," She looked down to the floor and then back up at Martin. "But I am old enough to make my own decisions. I am staying in England, and training with Lin."

He smiled. "Excellent."

Dinner was extremely quiet and Mai was no different.

While it rarely happened, she hated disagreeing with her adoptive parents. Her stomach always felt queasy and because of this, she picked at her food. When she wasn't picking at her food, she pushed it around on her plate, which was a shame because Luella's cooking is extravagant.

Some quiet conversation took over in some areas of the table, but the more she thought about her argument with Ayako and Monk it brought tears to her eyes. She hated not resolving conflict and never liked going to bed angry either.

She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. Probably a sob trying to escape.

Her plate was suddenly lifted away from her. Looking up she saw Naru's expressionless face and saw his plate in his other hand.

"We're leaving."

He didn't say another word, and Mai couldn't help her gawk at his expectation that she would follow.

But follow she did.

After he placed the dishes into the sink, rinsed them and placed them in the dishwasher, he walked out of the kitchen, and she kept up with his long strides. She still wasn't as familiar with the house in London as he obviously was, so she spent the walk-to-wherever looking at some of the pictures that lined the wall.

Some of them were family pictures, and others were candid shots of Naru and Gene. Thinking about both of them just reminded her of what happened to their birth mother. She looked forward and didn't look back at the walls.

Naru barely stopped his strides and walked into a room that had an arch instead of doors.

Right away Mai knew it was a library.

'How many libraries does one family need?' She then thought that the Davis' might not be a typical family, and retracted her thought.

"Why are we here, Naru?"

"Obviously to do something more productive."

She growled under her breath. "You are so lucky you are handsome," Mai said spitting fire in her words. "I don't think you know how much I want to punch you."

He cracked a smirk at her frustration. Naru took a seat on one of the love seats and Mai sat across from him on the couch.

"You seemed distracted."

A little surprised by the comment, she briefly wondered why he cared, but then remembered she was being observed for research purposes.

"Really? No, I was perfectly content to sit there are ruminate on how my godparents are probably disappointed in me."

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you," Mai had to bite her cheek to resist the urge to kick him in his shin. "They are not disappointed in you."

His voice was slightly softer now.

"Their worried, and the fear of someone they love being put in danger bothers them." He sighed at the look on her face. "Everyone in London would be worried as well, they care for you."

Mai looked at Naru stunned. "Even you?"

He paused, opened his mouth, but didn't answer the question.

"You know, you're pretty wise." She sat back and studied him a bit more closely. He stood and walked over to a bookshelf.

"It is much easier to watch a person's emotion from the outside," He grabbed a few books and placed them in a growing stack of books in his hand. "It is stupid to let emotions run your life. Logic gets affected and that leads to disaster."

Figures he would say something conceded. Despite the typical Naru response, Mai did appreciate his feedback and a new viewpoint.

"You speak from experience?" Again, no answer. Mai pouted but considered his words nonetheless. "I honestly never thought of that side," She said.

"Of course, you didn't," He placed a small stack of books on the table in front of her. "Your brain can only comprehend so much information."

And just like that, she hated him.

"Keep it up Naru. I really will hit you," Her eyes narrowed onto him for a few moments, and then she looked to the books. "What are these for?"

"Material for you to read up on," He opened the file he had on their upcoming case and began to read. "You need to know a few basic things before you start training with Lin."

Mai grabbed them, book by book and read their titles as she went.

"Can't you just tell me the basics?" She looked back to him, but he continued to read the file as if she wasn't in the room. "Why do I have to read all of these?"

In total there were three. They weren't thick, but from the brief glance at the covers, Mai figured they were dense. She suddenly didn't feel as much hate towards her textbooks when she was in university.

"And what exactly would you learn if I had to dumb it down for you."

"What did you say!?"

"You are just proving my point that you don't listen to me."

"I meant it in terms of frustration," She could feel a headache coming on, seemingly out of nowhere. But the cause of it was in front of her. "I would think, you being a genius, you would be able to pick up on that difference even if emotions stupefy you."

She internally grinned at the slight movement of his eyebrow, a sign of frustration.

"We are leaving for an initial inspection and evaluation in a few days," Naru said. "I would suggest you start reading."

Knowing he had won the argument, Naru didn't need to look up from the file to know Mai had started reading the first book of the pile.

She didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was late. The drooping of her eyes and constant yawning was a dead giveaway that she couldn't keep her eyes open for much longer.

Mai had moved from her position on the couch and instead sat in front of the coffee table with her legs crossed under it. It wasn't a kotatsu, but it was close enough, and Mai couldn't help the fact that she missed hers at her apartment.

But over the hours she had spent reading the book and barely making any headway, Mai could feel her head droop down, and knew that she would eventually fall asleep.

Sleeping suddenly like this had been an issue with Mai for a while. Ayako even had her tested for narcolepsy because she kept falling asleep in the office. It was concerning, but over time, Mai realized that it was more of a compensation for her growing abilities.

Without even realizing it, her eyes had shut, and she was no longer in the library. The familiar set up she had become accustomed to in the astral plane was a sign she had fallen asleep.

But this time she had a sense of apprehension. Her dreams recently have not been pleasant, and she wasn't in the mood to face a bad dream now.

Her head shifted from side to side, and her paranoid gaze looked past the wisps around her and out into the darkness. She half expected to watch a beast dive for her out of the shadows, but when the scenery around her started to shift, she knew that wasn't going to be the case.

She looked out into a large chunk of property gated and kept clean. The house that was sitting pretty in the middle was nothing short of a mansion. She figured the only thing missing were a few marble pillars. Sitting in the driveway was an old-looking car, and if she had to guess, Mai would say it placed the timeline during the 1950s, although history was not her forte.

With a quick flash, Mai was suddenly right in the middle of the foyer of the house. The staircase was a cherrywood brownish red, and the banister going up it was similar with gold detailing.

Without much delay, Mai snapped out of her observations and scanned the area for any detailing factors. When the walls didn't show much in the way of identifiable features, she started to look around on the table in the center of the area. Unfortunately for her, there was only a bouquet of flowers.

The quietness of the setting made her wondered where the inhabitants of the house were. She didn't wait long before yelling could be heard coming from the top of the stairs. Her foot just hit the bottom step when a man appeared at the top of the stairs. He was wearing a grey suit, and it complimented his blond hair and green eyes.

He was obviously angry and she assumed the person he was yelling at was a female due to the higher-pitched voice.

Sure enough, a woman could be seen in front of him. She also had blond hair, but it was disheveled and looked knotted. Her face looked sickly pale, and her brown eyes hollow. From this brief introduction to the two strangers, Mai immediately looked to both of their hands. Noticing the gold bands on each, she noted the information and watched the two interact.

"I know that, with time, you will regret leaving." The woman said. Her eyes seemed to be pleading with the man.

He shook his head and turned to start walking away from her.

"You don't understand, and I can't live with you until you correct your mistake." His voice was laced with malice.

Mai watched as the man, made his way to the top of the stairs. She had to double-take when he stopped, his foot hovering over the first step. His body developed a shake and his face contorted.

It was then that Mai noticed another presence standing behind the blond woman.

Another woman dressed all in black stood behind her. She was covered in what looked like blood and her black hair was soaked and dripping with water. What was once a normal-looking jaw, was broken and barely attached to the rest of her skull. Her clothes stuck to her like a second skin, and with a boney arm, she placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder.

As if a flip in her mind was switched, the woman walked towards her husband, who still couldn't move.

Time slowed as Mai watched as the man was pushed down the stairs.

Due to the unexpected nature of the event, Mai didn't have enough time to look away as his body slid and his bones snapped. Finally coming to rest at the bottom of the stairs was the mangled body of the man. Blood poured out of his nose, and his open, unblinking, eyes looked directly to Mai.

Gasping for breath, Mai backed into the table with the vase of flowers, and almost knocked the contents over onto the stone floors.

The movement and vocalization had the woman in black looking directly at Mai. Not thinking that it could be possible, Mai turned to look behind her to see if there was something at this time in the past that could catch her attention.

Unfortunately, that was not the case as she soon found the woman directly in front of her face when she turned to face forward.

Mai screamed as the woman's dead eyes watched her and her face was on full display. A pale hand grasped Mai's jaw and forced her to keep her eye contact with the woman for a longer amount of time than Mai wanted to.

A horrible shrill screech broke the silence, and Mai felt her knees buckle at the sound. While her mouth never moved, Mai could feel the rush of hot air from her breath and she gagged at the smell.

Suddenly a sharp pain bloomed across Mai's stomach and her own scream joined the woman's.

Alrighty! I hope you all enjoyed this new installment of where I channel all of my cravings for drama!

I forgot to say this in the last update, but please stay safe and sane out there!

~Cheers!