Sunday

For a brief moment, she had no idea where she was.

Shooting up from her bed in a cold sweat with a cry, Mai looked around and the distinct feeling that she wasn't where she was supposed to be faded away as she realized she was on her bed in her apartment and her alarm clock was blaring from the side of her bed.

Ripping the blanket from her body and throwing her feet over the edge of her bed, Mai's stomach churned as she thought of the terrible nightmare that her subconscious had cruelly subjected her to while she slept.

Mai tried not to think of it but as she raised her hands to cover her ears, her eyes fell shut and the images flashed by.

Gene's unsmiling face in the framed picture staring at her. The sound her shoes made against the ground as she walked closer. A coffin where a haunting bouquet of white chrysanthemum's lay on top. The fragrance of the floral arrangement lingering in her senses as she placed a kiss against the cold skin of his forehead.

There were three hard bangs against her bedroom wall and Mai jolted, the sound of her alarm clock no longer muffled and in the back of her mind but now loud and intruding. Her nosy neighbour whose own bedroom seemed to share a wall with hers stopped banging against the surface when she finally reached over and shut her alarm off.

Mai let out an exhausted sigh and ran her hand through her hair, the strands falling over her shoulders and shoulder blades as she pushed them out of her face.

Today was her last day working for Ayako's mother.

"Today will be a good day." Mai tried to say in a convincing manner but her own encouragement fell flat and she felt the anxiety and dread creeping back in as she remembered why today was her last day. Tomorrow she would— "No, no, no! A good day!" Mai waved her hands above her head like she could actually wave away the dark cloud of thoughts as she stood from the bed and went to turn on the shower.

Happythoughtshappythoughtshappythoughts, she repeated in her head as she stepped under the running water, reaching for her shampoo bottle. Happy thoughts—

The distant sound of her nosy neighbour flushing her toilet reached her a second too late and she let out an anguished cry as the water turned scorching hot. Jumping away from the steaming water, Mai desperately wiped at her face as the vanilla scented shampoo began streaming down her forehead and into her eyes.

Today was going to be a looooong day.

Dr. Matsuzaki had been called in to work before Mai even arrived at the household.

"She called it a farewell gift." Ayako said as she popped a chocolate covered almond into her mouth.

Mai blinked down at the gift. "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything but... why did she give me only one heel?" She asked the red head as she reached for the black velvety heel that Dr. Matsuzaki caught her strutting down the marbled foyer in on her first week working for her.

It was Ayako's idea that they play dress up with her mothers designer items and Mai thought that with the familiarity that she glided through her mothers walk in closest that she secretly did it often. She had practically forced Mai to stick her feet in a pair of heels that probably cost more than her monthly income after Mai refused nervously.

While weary at first an hour later she found herself walking up and down the foyer with Ayako at her side, who was also wearing a different pair of ridiculously expensive heels her mom owned along with an obnoxiously floppy hat, while they spoke in haughty high pitched tones. Ayako had been in the middle of snapping her manicured fingers, gesturing for an imaginary waiter to refill her wine when her mother walked in, staring flatly at the two.

"If you scuff those heels I'll skin you alive." She had simply said before marching past them, leaving the two awkwardly standing in the foyer looking like idiots.

Mai had taken off the heels with the delicacy of someone disarming a bomb after the women's comment and replaced them gently back on the display cabinet in her walk in closet, taking one last moment to stare at the pair of elegant footwear longingly.

The shimmery charm that hung from the small buckle on the ankle strap caught her attention and brought her back from the amusing memory and Mai stared down at the single heel. It was all black with a thin heel and an ankle strap, finishing off in a pointed closed toe. The shoe was so simple yet elegant and classy and Mai couldn't for the life of her figure out why she had been gifted one half of the pair.

Ayako smiled in amusement as she watched Mai run her eyes over the heel in wonder. "She said it was so you would have to come back for the other one." Turning away as she saw the emotional look fly across Mai's face, Ayako started gathering their iced coffee they picked up on the way to the Matsuzaki household. "My mother likes to act tough and scary but she's a softie. Took me until I was like twelve to realize that when she snapped at me that I was walking too slow and snatched my hand up that she wasn't being mean and just wanted to hold my hand. A real piece of work that one."

Mai snorted and wiped at her teary eyes, clearly amused by her words. "S-sorry." She apologized when she saw the glare Ayako shot her. "I can see that, though."

Ayako rolled her eyes and the two made their way out to the large backyard that belonged to her family and Mai smiled softly as they stopped under the thick camphor tree that Ayako was so fond of. It was large and wide and provided them with shade from the hot summer sun but the most striking thing about the tree was the sacred rope wrapped around the trunk.

"This tree is alive." Ayako had said to her after Mai asked about it.

Sacred ropes were mostly tied around trees at a Shinto shrine, so Mai was a bit surprised to see one in her back yard.

"When I was a little girl it was speak to me. It told me a lot things and it even told me when patients at my parents hospitals were going to die, which got me in a lot of trouble." She had finished saying to a shocked Mai. "It was what made me want to become a priestess."

Mai had never asked before how Ayako became a priestess when she was a spoiled daughter of doctor parents but the reason had left her speechless. She herself didn't feel anything different about the tree compared to other ones but she guessed certain people were just attuned to different wavelengths and accepted Ayako's words without question.

"Are you and Naru going to be okay tomorrow?" Ayako suddenly asked after she took a sip of her beverage, glancing at the younger girl.

Mai stiffened and looked from the camphor tree to the grass underneath her. "I think so." The uncertainty was clear in her voice and Mai let out loud sigh, her shoulders slumping forward. "I'm so scared that he will turn me away."

Ayako frowned as she observed her before looking off into the branches of the tree, squinting at the light that peaked through the leaves. "I don't understand, Mai. You haven't told anyone anything." She looked back to her with seeking eyes. "What happened between you two? That day we abandoned the Miiyama case..."

"I don't want to talk about it." Mai turned her head away with a cringe, trying to not remember the venomous way Naru had spat those words at her. Still feeling Ayako's eyes on her, Mai glanced with a serious expression. "But... I will tell everyone the truth soon. I promise."

Ayako held her gaze for a moment longer before she nodded. "Okay. I'll wait."

"So... what was this about Bou-san and you?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively after a moment and Ayako's eye twitched.

"Don't start." She warned dangerously, although the mood noticeably lightened with the change of topic.

Mai smiled in response before she glanced back up at the tree, feeling warm and much more relaxed than she had when she first woke up. "Thank you, Ayako."

Today was a good day.

Monday

"I'm sick. I'm deathly ill and I can't—"

Madoka smiled sweetly, her hands firm on Mai's shoulders as she leaned in to her ear from behind. "If you do not move up these stairs in two seconds I will have Lin come down and carry you up."

Mai paled at her words before she gulped and glanced back to the stairs, where her feet had planted themselves firmly, unmoving the moment she glanced up and saw the familiar door at the top with the words 'Shibuya Psychic Research' displayed in frosted letters. It was like a survival instinct that she suddenly froze.

After another moment she slowly placed her foot on the first step and then the second and she was making her way up to the door with robotic movements.

"Not so hard, was it?" Madako glanced back at Mai in amusement before she pulled open the office door, the bell ringing out and making Mai's stomach drop in horror.

Oh god. What if Naru came out of his office when he heard it?

Before Madoka could glance back, Mai found her feet moving automatically and she stepped into the office. The sense of familiarity was washed away by a hard cringe of distain at the hot murky atmosphere that hit her immediately as she entered.

"What the—" Realization hit her about why the office was so humid it could be a sauna and her eyes swung to the seating area, stopping on the wall lined with bookshelves as Madoka disappeared around the corner, tittering about how rude Lin and Naru were that they couldn't be bothered to come out and say hello.

Her feet took her there before she even decided she was going and she found herself peaking behind the smell space between the wall and the shelf where she could see the thermometer. Last year after they had discovered the bookshelf had been placed in front of the device that controlled the central air, they moved the shelf a bit away from the wall so that Mai's smaller hands could fit through just enough to turn the dial.

In the beginning it was annoying that every time the temperature outside changed she had to squeeze her hand in the small space to adjust the central air but it was a funny quirk that she eventually came to accept about the office. God forbid that Naru just move the wall of bookshelves to the a different area of the office but he was adamant that it stay as it was.

I bet he's totally miserable right now in this heat, Mai snorted as she reached her arm through the space only to frown when she was met with a resistance that wasn't there before. "Did someone move this shelf back?" She wondered out loud as she withdrew her arm.

Her fingers hooked around the corner of the shelf and she prepared herself, getting a grip on the floor and she yanked. The shelf made a sharp noise against the floor and jerked forward. Mai grinned a second too early at her assumed victory and the shelf tipped towards her, just barely but enough for her eyes to widen a fraction when an arm shot past her head and steadied it instantly.

"Did you not learn the first time around?" A low voice asked from behind her.

Mai stiffened and her hands immediately withdrew to her chest, brown eyes staring at the hand in front of her.

"Naru! Where do you store the paper towels?" Madoka's voice called from the area where the small kitchenette was. "I spilled something and I can't—"

Naru stepped away from her and she watched his hand fall from the shelf. "There are none." He answered Madoka in a monotone voice and the women replied in shock, asking how they could not have paper towel. "I haven't been shopping for supplies in a while. That was never my job." Mai flinched as she slowly turned to watch him make his way across the office space, his back to her.

That was definitely a jab at her.

As Madoka huffed about him being lazy he reached for his office door handle and suddenly spun to look at Mai, eyes unreadable and tone flat. "Ask Lin for the company card when you go out to buy paper towels." The door shut behind him as he disappeared without waiting for her reply and Mai felt a hot flash of anger and embarrassment at his demeaning words

He was such an asshole.

The next few days passed like so.

Naru didn't come out of his office very often and when he did, it was never to request anything of her. Oh no. He was doing everything in his power to avoid speaking to her and more often than not she came in to work everyday or even one time came back from a quick washroom break to find a sticky note attached to her desk with instructions on things he needed done written down.

The thought of him sneaking out of his office when she went to the washroom and running to place a note on her desk before she returned was ridiculous and it made her aware of how far he was actually taking this whole cold shoulder thing.

The couple of times he had spoken to her, it was curt and cold with no room for anything more.

He hadn't even asked for tea yet.

"You wanna be petty? Oh... I can be petty." Mai was whispering furiously to herself as she walked by his office door with a tray of freshly made tea, stopping to make sure that the smell of it lingered before she continued her way past the door and stopping at the last door. "Lin-san?" Mai called out politely as she knocked.

"Come in." Lin's voice answered her almost immediately and Mai peeked her head in.

She smiled at him. "Tea?"

Lin paused for a moment, observing her smile that was much more cheery than it usually was when aimed at him. "What is it you want?" He asked bluntly without bothering to beat around the bush and she deflated a little. "Sit. I'll take the tea."

Clearing her thought, Mai entered his office and quietly shut the door behind her before setting the tea on his desk. She noticed that he hadn't turned away from her and that he was probably impatient to return to his work and considered her next words as she took a seat on the free chair.

"Um... I uh," Stumbling over her words she glanced over his shoulder and the sight of the Yin Yang symbol on a Chinese themed calendar he had hanging on his wall made her pause as her thoughts veered off in a completely different direction. Asking about Naru swept away, she turned to him with new resolve. "I thought I didn't have a lot of psychic power?"

"Psychic power?" Lin repeated blankly.

Realizing she was being too vague, Mai continued. "When I messed up the order of the Kuji when I tried to use the Nine Cuts on Kaneyuki, I didn't think it was possible for me to injure myself so severely that I ended up in the hospital."

The Chinese male considered her words for a moment before he turned back to her. "Well, to be precise that wasn't the only reason you ended up needing medical care. You also had a concussion and second degree burns but I understand what you mean. I don't think it was possible for just simply messing up the order of Kuji to cause such a reaction."

"Huh?" Mai recoiled slightly in surprise. "You don't think the Nine Cuts back firing caused the injury on my back?" That was obvious to her. It hadn't even come into question.

"No. I believe you're physical injury on your back was the result but the erratic vitals and coma like state you were in for hours after is what I'm putting into question." He clarified and watched as her brows furrowed inwards. "I read in your report that you did it twice." She nodded and he carried on. "The first time you messed up the order and felt a stinging sensation on your back but you were okay to try a second time, which you did and successfully warded off Kaneyuki."

"Yes, the second time I tried I really put all my energy into it." Mai recalled and shuddered as Urado's haunting stare flashed through her mind.

"Do you know what Qigong is?" He asked suddenly, seeming like he was on the verge of something because of her last comment.

Mai nodded slowly as she looked up thoughtfully. "Yeah, isn't it exercising and meditation?" Mai had seen older people practicing Qigong at a park once and it was comprised of fluid movements and poses that seemed focused on breathing techniques and stretching.

"Most people use Qigong in that manner, yes. However Qigong can also be used to direct chi." Lin explained to her patiently and she felt herself relax a bit.

"Chi? Like... uh.. what martial arts people use?" Mai scratched her head, tilting her head to the side. "Sorry, Lin-san. This kind of stuff I've only seen in movies..." She admitted sheepishly expecting him to be annoyed at her lack of knowledge but she was surprised when Lin simply nodded and reached for the printer, pulling out a blank piece of paper and grabbing a pen.

Mai watched as he drew a body on the paper, the head and limbs very clearly drawn and then he switched out the black pen for a red marker and drew a loose outline around the body and then vein line patterns across the arms, legs, and chest of the body. "This is chi." He pointed to the red lines around the body.

He saw something connect in her head the moment she looked down at the drawing. "Chi is like psychic power?" She asked and looked up at him in question.

Seeing that she understood somewhat, Lin moved on. "Chi, psychic power, PK, aura. These are all different words to describe the concept of spiritual energy. Most people release it. Usually it is only released and not used for anything but some people who have more than others might unconsciously use it. Like to create poltergeists, as Kuroda-san from your school did." Lin was explaining to her very calmly and only continued when Mai nodded in understanding. "Naru used to cause poltergeists when he was a child as well, except his were much more frequent and intense."

"R-really?" Mai's eyebrows went up in shock. She tried to imagine Naru as a child but the image couldn't come up no matter how much she tried.

Lin nodded. "So, his father asked me to teach him Qigong. Qigong is a technique that can amplify and control the emission of chi."

She slowly began to understand the connection between her actions during the last case and what he was telling her. "So... the light that Masako and spirits can see around me is chi?" Mai clarified as she gathered her thoughts and Lin nodded, waiting for her to continue. "And when I imagined that light and all the energy in my body going into my fingers while performing the Nine Cuts during the second attempt, I was..."

Seeing that her sentence had trailed off in an unsure manner, the Chinese man finished her sentence firmly. "... you were directing your chi."

"But I've never been taught Qigong?" Mai blinked up at Lin in confusion.

"No, but neither Kuroda-san or Naru had been taught Qigong when they created poltergeists. It's entirely possible for people to direct their chi without learning Qigong, people and psychics around the world do it all the time. Qigong is just one of the many ways to control it. The difference between Kuroda-san, Naru and you is that they were doing it unconsciously." His hand came up and he pointed the tips of his two fore fingers in the air between them. "You had put conscious thought into directing that energy to here and releasing it, right?"

"Right." Mai nodded and lifted her fingers as well, remembering how she had closed her eyes and imagined all the light and energy in her body flowing to her fingers. The feeling of it flowing through her body was unforgettable and the hollowness she felt after she released it more so. "I put everything I had into that last attack."

Lin nodded quickly at her words and Mai looked up at him. "Exactly. So, you messed up the order of the Kuji and it backfired, as we all were aware of." Mai saw his expression flicker, looking a bit like he had remembered something unpleasant before he got back on track. "Except, despite the physical injuries you received because of it, it shouldn't have affected you beyond that."

Mai leaned forward with wide eyes. "So Lin-san is saying that the cause of my erratic vitals and strange reaction was...?"

"Was because you, quite literally, sucked almost every ounce of spiritual energy you had out of your body in that second attempt." Lin finished her sentence and made a swiping motion with his hands from his chest into the air. "And you were left with almost nothing."

Everything made sense to Mai in that moment.

Lin was right!

"A-Actually, after I messed up the Kuji about a minute later... I felt essentially fine." Mai started to say as she thought back. "It was my second attempt, when I imagined all my energy directing to my fingers that I noticed a difference. After I released it I remember that I immediately felt empty. Then when Masako and I were running, I could barely lift my feet."

"You put all of your energy in attacking, correct?" Lin asked and Mai nodded curtly. He reached for the paper and pen again and flipped it to the blank side. "You've researched Onmyodo, so you're familiar with Yin and Yang?"

"Yes." Mai nodded again and watched as he wrote on the paper.

In the top of the paper he wrote 'Yin' and on the left side on the paper, he wrote 'Yang'.

"So, what are the attributes of Yang?" Lin titled his head towards her as he awaited her answer.

"Yang is affiliated with masculine, positive, white, and light energy." Mai listed off the top of her head and Lin pointed to the Yin side of the paper, his eyebrows raising in a silent question. "Yin is the opposite. So it aligns with feminine, negative, softness, and dark energy."

"Matsuzaki-san told you once before that the Nine Cut's and Kuji is all about the balance of Yin and Yang, right?" Lin asked her and when she confirmed he began writing once more on the paper, moving towards Yang first. "Yang is also associated with using against others, the offense." He wrote the word 'offensive' and then moved to Yin. "Yin is associated with benefiting self, so the defense." He wrote 'defensive'. "So when you use the Nine Cuts and the Kuji, it is a balance of attacking and defending oneself simultaneously."

"Huh... that makes perfect sense." Mai said, not surprised but incredibility intrigued. She had never thought about the Kuji and the Nine Cuts on such a deep level before.

Lin began drawing the Nine Cuts symbol on the paper to show that each cut aligned with either Yin or Yang. "It's all about balance but it doesn't happen naturally if the persons own Yin and Yang isn't balanced. Females are naturally aligned with Yin, the softer and more defensive side. Males are more aligned with Yang, the harder and offensive side. However, these alignments with gender aren't always true."

"How so?" Mai asked.

"Well, your balance can tilt one way or the other based on many different things such as certain lifestyle choices like diet but also mindfulness and personality. Hara-san is a perfect example of a balance between Yin and Yang. She is aligned with both the defense and offense and I believe that she is mindful of the balance to make sure it doesn't lean one way or the other. This mindfulness is what makes her a great medium. She is able to defend herself from unwanted spirits entering her body but also able to open up to them entering her body when summoning."

Everything he said was true. Masako looked and acted incredibility gentle until you pissed her off, then she was perfectly sharp and on the offense.

"Matsuzaki-san is more aligned with Yin but when it comes to the Nine Cuts, she puts more emphasis on the Yang to balance between the offence and defense. Whether or not she is aware she is doing it is the million dollar question but I doubt it." Lin saw the way Mai's eyebrow rose and he shook his head. "In the most respectful way, I mean. Although she is generally a bit clueless I think she has a natural affinity to the spiritual and knows what to do instinctively and adjusts as needed."

"Wow." Mai blinked and she thought about Ayako. This was probably the nicest thing Lin had and will ever say about the red haired women and she wasn't even present to hear it. "So, what about me?"

Lin's lip quirked upwards like he was amused. "It has always been obvious to me that Mai is more aligned with Yang than Yin."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Mai huffed, feeling offended by his amused tone.

"My point exactly." Lin retorted blankly at her outburst. "You are extremely hot headed and stubborn. Your affinity to Yang would explain why you were able to put so much energy into your attack but not the defense."

"That... is true." Mai nodded slowly with her chin resting in her palm as another thought came to her. "Would my imbalance of Yin explain why I just fall into the spirits memories and attract ghosts?"

Lin smiled, just barely, in a way that almost seemed proud and she tried to not let her mouth fall open. "Exactly. It is also why Kenji was able to possess you so easily. Naru could probably theorize better about your abilities but I've always thought that your intuition developed to be so strong about danger and ill intent because you leave yourself so open to it."

Wow, that also made a lot of sense. A girls gotta survive somehow and her abilities adjusted accordingly it seemed.

Mai took a moment to process everything she had learned during this conversation. Her own abilities had always been a mystery to herself and the only thing she felt comfortable with was astral projecting because she knew Gene would be there to guide her but now she felt like she understood herself a bit better.

An imbalance of Yin.... So that meant she was more attune to attacking and less to defending herself. "So, Lin-san. How do I correct that imbalance of Yin so I can better protect myself?" She asked after a moment of silence.

Lin raised an eyebrow at her before he looked off thoughtfully, leaning back in his office chair. He hadn't expected such a conversation to occur when she peeked her head into his office but he knew of her previous interest in Onmyodo and she was asking all the right questions so... "Give me a few days, Mai. I'll prepare something for you."

After a few more questions on her part and recommendations for her to read certain books from Lin, they realized that the work day had come to an end and said their goodbyes.

Mai stepped out of the office that day and felt that she finally had something to look forward to and that she had no idea where it was headed.

And that felt good.

I reeeeeally hope that last part made sense and you guys understand but if not I'll just clarify a bit.

So, Mai is more aligned with Yang the more offensive side which made it easy for her to direct her spiritual energy into attacking Urado. She has never consciously directed her spiritual energy or chi and just simply released it like most do, but that changed when she attacked Urado the second time, which is why it was much stronger than it was usually. Mai was under the impression she didn't have a lot of spiritual energy but the reality is that she wasn't able to consciously direct it until then. Her imbalance of Yin, the more defensive side, makes her more vulnerable to spirits and danger and so naturally her abilities adjusted to make up for that in the form of her intuition.

Also, I just want to make a disclaimer than the Yin Yang Theory is new to me and I did some reading up on it before writing this chapter but it's not gonna be perfect and I mean no harm.

I hope you guys enjoyed these two chapters in between cases even tho naru is being an ass