Naru never visited her after she woke up in the hospital, but he did pay for her hospital bills despite everything, which made her feel so much worse about their argument.

Apparently, she had collapsed after Naru stormed away in anger.

Mai woke up extremely confused hours after and was told the extent to her injuries by her doctor. The first was mild concussion, which he told her would heal in about two weeks time with a lot of rest and hydration, granted she stayed away from anything too extraneous.

The second was a streak of skin by her ankles where she had second degree burns, which weren't very big at all. Mai had Atsugi to thank for the fact that the burns weren't any worse or larger because he had put out the fire on her pants rather quickly.

The third was the most shocking to her.

The doctor showed her images of what her wound on her back looked like it and left her breathless when she saw it the first time. There were five horizontal lines and four vertical ones crisscrossing each other across the span of her back, the skin raised and bleeding from the cuts. He told her that it would heal in time and that she didn't even need stitches but depending on how clean she kept the wound and if she was careful then it might not even scar.

It looked incredibly scary and all the blood combined together made it seem deeper than it actually was but she was going to the completely fine. Her doctor was mostly concerned with her vitals, which had confused the paramedics first on the scene greatly. According to them, her heart beat had been erratic and she had high blood pressure, except they couldn't wake her up no matter how much they tried.

She had been dead limp and unresponsive for hours, her body going through changes periodically. Sometimes her vitals would return to normal, then they would quicken, and then return to normal. Eventually, when she woke up she lied and told him that she had a panic attack before she collapsed but the doctor insisted that she stay over night for observation incase anything changed.

"Why did you tell the doctor you had a panic attack before you collapsed?" Lin asked as soon as he stepped into her hospital room the next morning.

Mai averted her gaze as he took a seat in the chair next to her bed. "I—" She paused and closed her eyes, sighing softly. "I messed up the order of the Kuji and it... backfired. I didn't know how to explain my erratic vitals so that seemed like the best option."

Lin glanced to the side, where the images of her back laid on her bedside table. Mai thought that he had something else to say on the matter but instead he nodded and moved on. "Hara-san and Atsugi-san have been discharged already. Takigawa-san should arrive soon to take you home. I just came to confirm that you are alright and—"

"Did he tell you?" Mai asked quietly and he paused.

There was a beat of silence before, "Yes. He did."

Mai lowered her head as her expression twisted, desperately trying to hold in the tears. "I'm sorry, Lin-san. I know you grew up with him too and my decision probably hurt you as well."

Lin remained quiet for a moment as he observed her distraught expression and the way her fingers clenched tightly in the blanket over her legs. "You've spoken to him before?"

Mai nodded, sniffling. "Yes. Almost every time I astral project."

"Did he ask you to reveal where his body was?" Lin asked blankly and watched as her head snapped up. She shook her head eventually. "Did he ever indicate that he wanted to communicate something through you or ask you to relay a message to Naru?"

"No..." Mai answered in a daze.

Now that she thought about it, Gene had never once requested she do anything with the information that she knew. In fact, the only thing he ever asked of her was... "He asked me to save Atsugi-san." She said aloud without meaning to before looking up at Lin, gauging his reaction but saw no hostility there. "I... I've never known what he wanted from the beginning. Even now I'm so confused..."

"Gene was— is," Lin struggled for moment to find the right words. "—very smart. If he came to you and was acting as your spirit guide, then he had a reason. Which means if he ever wanted Naru to find his body before he was supposed to then he would have let you know. Putting all of the blame on you is irrational, especially when you're confused too."

Mai was at a loss of what to say from Lin's words, which sounded honest and she tried not to cry but she couldn't help it. The tears slid down her cheeks and she wiped them away hurriedly.

"I-I've made Naru so angry... he told me that he hated me." She cried softly as she looked a Lin. "I feel like I've betrayed him."

Lin looked mildly annoyed for a brief second as he thought of his young boss before it was replaced with exasperation. "He's confused too. He doesn't know what to think and he just learned that you can help him find his brother, who he's been searching for for a while now. But even he understands that all of the blame doesn't fall to you."

"Really?" Mai blinked in surprise.

Lin sighed and he gave her a humorless smile. "You should understand better than anyone. Naru hates not being the smartest in the room."

Huh.

"I think part of his reaction can be explained by the fact that he is spiteful because you were playing chess while he was under the impression you two were playing checkers." A little bit of mirth flashed through his gaze. "He is a terribly notorious sore loser and always been." Mai might have laughed at his words if she were not still so distraught by the way her and Naru parted.

She sighed and her shoulder slumped forward. "He fired me."

"Yes, well that is probably the only thing he felt he was able to control in that situation." Lin said as he closed his eyes, seeming to think for a moment. "He had his suspicions and theories, I'm assuming, after you accidentally called him Gene." Mai cringed at the memory. "And I believe he is not being all that truthful himself."

"What do you mean?" Mai frowned at him as she repeated his words in her head. "What could Naru possibly know about this situation that I don't?"

Lin shook his head. "I don't know what but I do know that he knows something. I can tell by the way he's been sitting in complete silence since yesterday morning. He has that look."

Mai understood what he meant immediately. When Naru was on a case and he was the verge of unraveling a mystery, sleep and eating were no longer important and he would sit for hours just theorizing until a light bulb went off in his head and he shot up, ready to solve the case. Whatever it was that he knew, it must be a big part of the puzzle if he hadn't already stormed into her hospital room to unravel everything before her in a smug manner.

Lin suddenly spoke up once more as she mulled over her thoughts, sounding faraway. "You said something before that really stuck out to me that makes sense now."

"What?" Mai tilted her head at him in curiosity.

He looked down at her with a look of understanding. "You said that when you astral projected that you saw orbs. Glowing orbs."

This again? She thought in bewilderment. "Naru mentioned that yesterday as well... why would that stick out to you?" It was such a random thing to remember and she had never even thought twice about it.

"It stuck out because Gene had the strange habit of seeing spirits as floating lights." Lin explained calmly and watched as her face dropped and her eyes widened. "You see, he was quite the coward when he was younger so we thought it was his way of perceiving spirits in a manner that wasn't frightening to him. Naru teased him relentlessly for it."

Suddenly feeling emotional, Mai laughed through another bout of tears. "I didn't know that." She sniffled and wiped her nose. "In fact... I don't really know anything about Gene besides that he was a phenomenal medium and how he died."

"He's more emotional and warmer than Naru but he can be just as mysterious." Lin replied and she thought that he might be remembering the boy as he looked off with a distant look in his eyes. He closed them briefly before slowly standing from his seat with a tone of finality. "Perhaps when you two are not at each others throats you can ask Naru about him."

Mai clenched her fingers in the hospital blanket. "Will he ever speak to me again?"

Lin reached out, placing his hand gently on the edge of her bed in a way that was strangely comforting for the usually cold and distant man. "Give him time, Mai. He'll come around." Was the last thing he said to her before he left, sliding the door closed behind him with a quiet click.

Give him time? Mai sighed before she nodded to herself.

And time she did give him, because before she knew it three months had passed and she was turning seventeen.

July 4th
Saturday

"Happy birthday!"

Mai smiled softly and she shared a warm look with Masako who sat at her side at the end of the restaurant table before they both leaned forward to blow out the candles. A flash of a camera caught the two of them in the moment and smoke began rising from the wax sticks, into the air above the table with a waxy smell.

"Wow, seventeen years old. How do you girls feel now that at any minute you'll have grey hairs and dentures?" Bou-san leaned forward on the table with a grin, his eyes flickering back and forth from Mai to Masako.

"As usual." Masako replied blankly and Bou-san pouted at her blunt reply which was not at all entertaining his teasing.

Mai glanced around the table, seeing the rest of their group gathered along the long surface with their beverages and plates in front of them, patiently waiting for Ayako to hand down pieces of cake that she cut.

Turns out, Mai was only older than Masako by three days and so when everyone found out they planned to have a birthday dinner at a famous cafe in the area on a day between their birthdays. Mai had turned seventeen yesterday and Masako was due to turn seventeen on the sixth, so it was a bit early but nonetheless Mai could see that she was thankful that everyone thought of her.

Lin and he-who-must-not-be-named were absent of course.

After being discharged from the hospital Mai had spoken to the police and simplified to them that she simply dropped the lantern while lost in the mansion, a claim that Atsugi confirmed without question. Ohashi arrived and told them that everyone was taken care of and they weren't going to be pursuing legal action because it was just an accident and the police seemed relieved they could focus on the bodies and bones that had been found.

Naru had explained to Ohashi that exorcism was impossible and purifying by fire was the best route to go and Ohashi followed his advice because a week later the news reported that the mansion burnt down, officially finishing the job that Mai essentially started.

Atsugi, after thanking them and her profusely also left with the promise that he would not be returning to work for Minami and Mai watched him go with a weight lifted off her shoulders until she spun around and saw Bou-san waiting for her patiently, asking why Naru couldn't be bothered to drive his employee home.

Everyone found out very quickly when they returned to Tokyo that Mai and Naru had a falling out that was quite serious and couldn't be fixed easily and they had taken to avoiding speaking about him all together and glancing nervously at her when he was brought up unintentionally.

Mai spent the last three months working for Ayako's mother as her assistant. Turn's out that doctors, especially ones who ran a general hospital, were quite busy and Mai found herself running errands more often than she was doing office work, which was perfectly fine for her because while the pay was no where near what she had been earning working for Naru, it was decent and she earned her living.

And it helped that a lot of her work days were spent in the Matsuzaki family home (mansion actually) they lived in together with Ayako following her around casually, talking her head off while Mai organized her mothers office files that were awfully messy and had no order. If she had an out of the house errand to run, more often than not Ayako was driving her there and it felt more like she was hanging out with her friend than actually working.

If she hadn't been recommended the job by Ayako then John told her she could pick up a part time job at the church working with the kids if she needed it or Masako had even offered to introduce her to the director of the show that Masako starred in as a medium.

It truly opened Mai's eyes to how networking and just knowing people could get you a job that you were not qualified for and while a bit bitter at this revelation at first considering her previous difficulties finding a part time job, she was thankful for her friends offers.

Rambunctious laughter jolted Mai out of her thoughts and she looked up to see that Bou-san had flicked a piece of his cake at Yasu but missed his face and now there was a streak of white icing smeared down the front of his shirt.

"My bad!" Bou-san laughed through his insincere apology and smacked his knee in true old man fashion, clearly pleased with himself.

Yasu wiped away the icing with a well rehearsed smile. "Haha, you know Bou-san? I'm positive that I saw you last weekend at a bar with a groupie—" A piece of cake was whipped at his face by the brown haired monk once more and it splattered against his square glasses before falling onto the table in front of him. His smile remained unmoving until he stood suddenly, his chair tipping bank and his neck turning red. "I'm gonna—!"

"Bring it on, kid!" Bou-san yelled back, swinging his arm in a circle and rearing up for a fight but his fear was clear to everyone and they understood it because Yasu rarely lost his temper but when he did, he was completely diabolical and petty.

Something in the corner of her eyes made Mai glance over her shoulder and she frowned as she watched Ayako quietly slip out of the cafe, her red hair disappearing as she moved to the side of the building. Mai followed after her without anyone noticing since the focus was on Yasu and Bou-san's argument and she found her leaning against the wall, digging her heel into the dirt with a cigarette hanging in her manicured fingers.

"You're going to die if you keep smoking those." Mai said bluntly as she approached her.

Ayako flashed her an annoyed glance before turning back to her heel in the dirt. "A smoke every once in a while isn't going to give me cancer immediately."

"You have doctor parents, you should know better than that." Mai rolled her eyes at her response and reached forward, snatching the smoke from her fingers and dropping it to ground. "But I wasn't talking about cancer. I was talking about Dr. Matsuzaki. She will actually strangle you if she smells cigarette smoke embedded into her couch again." Mai's foot covered the discarded smoke, putting it out in the dirt below it and Ayako let her, knowing she was right.

It had been a habit Mai only became aware of once she started working for Ayako's mother, but the red haired women smoked occasionally if she was upset or stressed about something.

"Everything okay?" Mai asked with a sideward glance at her.

Ayako let out a long breath, closing her eyes. "I'm just... I just..." She groaned and ran a hand through her hair, turning to look at Mai with a defeated look. "I have a boyfriend."

Right. Boyfriend. Thirty year old doctor at her parents hospital who she had been set up with on a blind date. He was alright but he was also incredibly boring and Mai couldn't figure out for the life of her why Ayako was even dating him at all. She was twenty three years old, fun, and attractive and there was no way he was keeping her attention.

"Okay?" Mai raised an eyebrow at her.

"I have a boyfriend." Ayako stressed once more with wide eyes. "So why do I care that he's hanging out with groupies?"

Oh.

OHH.

"Oh shit! You mean you—" Mai's jaw dropped as she realized what the problem was.

Panic flashed across Ayako's face, like saying it out loud had just confirmed her worst fears and she threw her hands up in a surrendering motion. "I don't want to talk about it!" She cried out as she ran past Mai, her high heels clicking against the pavement as she pattered away. "Forget I ever said anything!"

"W-wait, Ayako!?" Mai called after her in shock and heard the cafe door opening and closing as Ayako retreated back inside.

So Ayako had feelings for... "Bou-san?" Mai said with a confused tilt of her head.

Well, that was development she hadn't been expecting. She knew that Ayako's eyes had lingered on Bou-san's abs when he was getting bandaged by the paramedics that one time at Yasu's high school and that their frequent bickering could be classified as flirting but she never expected true romantic feelings to blossom from that. Ayako always complained about how Bou-san was like a kid so the fact that she seemed truly distressed by the situation was shocking.

Weird, she thought with a shudder as the image of Ayako and Bou-san being all lovey dovey flashed through her mind unwillingly.

Walking around the front of the building, Mai started to open the door and head back inside but took a moment to take in the sight of her friends creating a commotion at the table. Yasu was seated and seemingly had his revenge on the monk because Bou-san's face was covered in cake and he was currently picking icing out of his nostrils while Masako watched on, unimpressed. John was offering him napkins to clean himself up but she could see his lips were set in a firm line, fighting back a smile. Ayako had rejoined the group, hands on her hips as she scolded them.

Pulling open the door and grinned, Mai returned to her seat beside Masako. "You guy's are ridiculous."

And she wouldn't change them for the world.

When Mai returned to her apartment for the day, smiling softly and feeling warm inside from her day spent with the group, she came to an abrupt stop and her blood ran cold.

The figure standing in front of her apartment turned and Madoka smiled widely at Mai, waving. "Good evening, Taniyama-san!"

"Mori-san!" Mai blinked rapidly at her. "J-just Mai is fine..." She trailed off awkwardly.

"Then Madoka is fine as well." She replied easily.

"Um... then Madoka, why are you here?" Mai asked in an unsure manner. She assumed the women returned to England after their last case was solved so she was the last person she was expecting to see.

Madoka seemed to understand. "I came back to Japan to sightsee a bit." She explained casually before her eyes turned a little more serious as she observed Mai's unease. "Then I was informed of a certain quarrel that left you out of a job still hasn't been resolved and I just came to ask why you haven't returned to the office yet?"

"Huh?" Mai jerked her head back in shock. "Why? I mean... I was fired."

"Yes, I understand but three months is much too generous for Naru." Madoka nodded in complete seriousness, seeming pleased with herself.

"I'm not following?" Mai was lost. What was generous?

Madoka looked at the younger girl, taking in her expression and the uncomfortable way she was standing before she let out a sigh. "May I come in for a bit?"

"Sure." Mai said hurriedly and unlocked her apartment door.

After making two cups of tea and engaging a bit of small talk, the two of them were sitting at the round dinning table Mai had sitting near the kitchen.

Madoka's fingers tapped against the surface as she thought before she set her tea cup down, seeming ready to get down to business. "I don't know the situation or what caused the fight." Mai looked up in surprise. Naru hadn't told her the truth yet? "You see, Naru's father is my boss so anything they tell me will be eventually reported back to him so whatever it is, he doesn't want him knowing."

"Oh." Mai nodded slowly. "So then...?"

"But there is something you should know about Naru." The woman said with a tired look at Mai. "He is incredibly stubborn and unless it is blaringly obvious to him that he is in the wrong, you have to be the assertive one otherwise things will never change. So three months is a bit long to give him to think things over and I think it's time to come back to work."

"B-but what if he—"

"Mai. Like I said, I don't know the situation but I do know that Naru was upset with you and that is the reason for this." Madoka frowned softly at her. "I know it might be hard for you to understand where I'm coming from but whatever happened, I don't think it is all your fault."

Mai lowered her head with an ashamed look and her troubled eyes stared back at her in the reflection in her tea. "I've hurt him, Madoka. And I betrayed his trust."

She considered her words for a moment before she smiled at the younger girl. "Perhaps. But something I'm sure of is that Naru isn't entirely innocent in this situation either and the reason for that is because Lin believes that."

"Lin-san?" Mai recoiled in shock. She knew that Lin thought Naru was hiding something but the fact that he had expressed it to Madoka as well was a bit surprising to her.

"Yes, Lin. And he is not the type to insert himself into difficult situations so the fact that he believes something isn't right, and he knows the whole truth, means that something is not right." Madoka explained with a firm look, watching as the younger girl looked up in confusion. "I'm going to tell Naru today that on Monday, you will be returning to work."

Mai's mouth opened and then she closed it, unsure of what to think or say. "You don't think that... he will kick me out?"

Madoka let out a chuckle and her whole face relaxed as she looked at her, seeming sure of herself. "Mai, I think if you had returned to the office that very Monday after you two fought, he would have let you. He is stubborn, rude, and narcissistic but he would never leave you out of a job so suddenly if it meant it would hurt your wellbeing."

"How do you know that, though? He never indicated that I could return to work and we haven't spoken since..." Mai asked with doubt laced in her voice.

Madoka raised an eyebrow. "I know because the day he impulsively fired you he called me to request that I find some sort of assistant work for you and offer you a job out of office but then called back and said it was no longer needed because Ayako-san informed him you found work. He never even took you off payroll and according to the report he sent to his father, you're simply on a leave of absence."

What?

Mai stared at the older women in complete shock, registering her words.

Was that true? Would Naru have accepted her back if she asked?

She thought it was a bit strange that her personal items she left at the office were never mailed to her or no one had called her to request that she come and clear her desk out. Mai had taken it that he was so angry with her he didn't care to give her stuff back but what if he thought that she would eventually come back to work so there was no point in moving them?

Seeing that she still looked unsure, Madoka reached across the table and placed her hand over hers. "Mai, do you truly believe that this chapter of your life is closed? Do you believe that if you and Naru never spoke again, you wouldn't regret it?"

Mai looked up sharply, her words striking a chord in her and she knew the answer immediately. "No."

Madoka smiled and she stood, seeming like she had heard what she needed to. "Then I'll see you on Monday."

Mai watched her go, her heart racing in her chest and feeling sick with anxiety.

Monday she would be returning to work.