So, chapter 9 is up. Sorry it took so long. I had a hard time getting this one out… I was travelling and I usually sleep, however after a week of sleeping either on a floor or upright in a chair gets to just about anyone. In any case, here's chapter nine
Disclaimer: Don't own the song. Don't own Ghost Hunt.
Oh, and to answer reviews:
DragonQueenFire: I do not have a consistent updating schedule. I wish I did. I'm sorry. I try to update as often as I can… but… then writer's block happens.
Guest: thank you for the review.
Shayrulz: think of an emotional train wreck… with a naru/mai ending.
Ghost loves japan 77: wow, long name, anyway, no, she is not mad at SPR- just Naru. She will explain to them… eventually, though John, Ayako, and Monk kind of have a slight idea. And thank you.
Glass Dragon's Rose: thank you. I've never actually watched any of the Rocky movies (all the way through), but I'm glad it was that awesome.
Vampgirl1309: Mai is different from Naru. She's stronger than him in some things, but he's stronger than her in others. I'm trying to balance with these things. Does she have the capability psychic wise to knock him on his butt? Yes. But he does, as well.
Royal Panda: I did not even realize I put in a Harry Potter reference… it was a complete accident. But oh well. It's there… and as that was my first fandom, I am not surprised it wormed its way in there.
Joys: I don't know if you're reading it anymore, kind of hard to tell with guests, but I guess this chapter is for you.
And yes, the fox kit will be a part of the story- to all of you who wondered.
Chapter 9- Far from Home
Another day in this carnival of souls
Another night's ends, end as quickly as it goes
The memories are shadows; ink on the page
And I can't seem to find my way home
'Cause it's almost like
Your heaven is trying everything
To keep me out
Five Finger Death Punch- Far from Home
Watching Psyche use her bio-kesis was always amazing. The first thing that always got Mai was the fact that Mai and Psyche had a similar color to their aura- both had a deep blue. Though Mai's was deep dark blue, Psyche's was a paler blue more like twilight.
As she healed the fox kit, she gave Mai a look. "What the hell happened there, Mai? That wasn't like you at all." Mai huffed. "Look, just heal the fox. I don't want to talk about it, okay? It's not like I meant to do that…"
"It looked like you meant it from where I was standing."
"He started it!" she snarled. "He started it two years ago, when he left! He just left, Psyche. I was alone again. And what is the second thing out of his mouth when I see him again?" Psyche sighed as she stood up from finishing with the kit.
"The kit will survive. Though, I wonder…" she frowned, looking at the small animal. "While I was healing him, he seemed to be rather attuned to it. Almost like he was sensing my aura and was okay with me." She shrugged as Mai perked up. "I'm not saying that's what happened. It was odd, though, most animals try to fight their way out of any sort of human touching them." Psyche shrugged. "It's like he knows that I mean him no harm."
Mai grinned. "Maybe he does." She returned. "wouldn't that be something?"
Psyche snorted. "You know that everyone in there wants to rip into this." She stated. Mai sighed. "look… Dr. Davis was my boss… and like the dumb high school bunny I was, I fell in love with him… only, he was lying about himself the whole time."
"That clears nothing up." Psyche deadpanned. Mai snorted. "I didn't say that would clear anything up. I was just explaining why I'm so angry at him."
"He called you stupid, Mai. I'd be pissed too." In all actuality, Psyche had been seconds from punching the prick in the face. She wasn't the only one who felt that way, either. Anabelle had been preoccupied with her own issues, but Tohru looked like she was about to set the guy on fire (and, as her fire burned quite a bit hotter than anything found on the mortal realm, that would have been bad. Emiko and Izumi were glaring holes in the back of his head (the rise in temperature had not been all Mai's fault, after all), and Kuroda had actually lost control of her own PK for a few seconds (though she had not been the one to destroy the lab. That had been all Mai and Oliver's doing).
"What's done is done, Mai." Psyche said, handing the fox kit over to the young woman. "This little one will be fine. He just needs some TLC… but, unfortunately, I could only heal it to a natural extent, he's got a bit of a limp… that will slowly kill him if he goes back into the wild. He needs to stay here."
Mai let out a coo as she rocked the little animal in her arms. His fur was still orange, but it was slowly turning white, she noticed, for the winter. For now, she had to figure out where to put him to sleep…
And what to name him.
She smiled to herself as she brought the small creature in to the mansion with her.
It was a good thing she'd decided to, too. Turns out, if you put an adorable animal in with a group of females, they'll forget about the jucy gossip (that she really didn't have) and latch onto it with squeals of delight and awe.
That was, until the poor thing started to get spooked by everyone crowding him. She grinned as she excused herself to her bedroom.
Upon entering, another surprise came. The fox- who had long since woken up, but had been laying docilly in her arms- jumped down and started sniffing. She blinked as she watched. He turned back to her, and a thought- not hers- was pushed into her mind.
It was kind of a question. The fox had indeed picked up on her scent- as well as the others living in the mansion. However, there was another scent- one that didn't match anyone in the house, though it was weaker.
He asked her, as well as he could, who that scent belonged to. She pushed back her own sense of confusion. He told her that he smelled the same slight scent as the one in her room. She wondered what that meant.
As she put the kit down, she started to try and think of a name for the little fox. She was really tired of thinking of him as the kit, or the fox. She sighed as she lay down herself, and turned to her side. Maybe she'd have a name in the morning….
XXXXX- LINE BREAK -XXXXX
Davis Estate
Oliver's ears were still ringing from his mother. Eugene was waiting for him in the library. "you traitor…" he growled. Eugene looked up from the book he was reading, and his eyebrow shot up. "Me? A traitor? Oliver… how could you say that?" irony laced the elder twin's voice.
Oliver hissed. "Who told mother?"
"That was Madoka. Or did you forget that she and Lin were there the whole time?"
"Only Lin was there."
"That, brother dear, is where you are wrong. Madoka was in the kitchenette, talking to Richards- who you pay no mind to- when you and Mai put on your PK pissing contest… that she won."
"Did you have to put it like that?" Oliver groaned at his brother's choice of words. "And she did not win."
"Really? Because the fissures in the floor and wall are an inch deeper than the ones you created. She made a thunderstorm…"
"That just proves that she has less control than me over her psychic abilities." Oliver pointed out.
"And she poured tea over your head." Eugene smirked. "You've gone eu deu tea for the rest of the day- well, until you shower…" he smirked, "She got you… and she got you good."
"Are you quite finished?"
"Not by a long shot, but I do believe that the lady can take care of that herself. So, what did mom saddle you with as a punishment?"
"Father already saddled me with the punishment of working with her. What more do you want?"
"Do you honestly not want to work with her that much?"
"Not overmuch. No. She has no attention span-"
"Noll, come on. She's amazing. To exert as much control over her abilities as it is, she's good. You know she's changed in the four years since you've left."
Oliver snarled. "Then why don't you work with her?"
"Because I'm working with the lovely miss. Mallory." Eugene returned. "And I can't hog all the pretty girls to myself. That just wouldn't be fair."
Oliver gave a disgruntled growl. "Oh, go on, Noll. What's done is done." Eugene sighed. "Better deal with it." he said it bracingly.
"I don't' know how to deal with it." Oliver muttered. "She's always been an enigma to me."
"Best learn then, right, bro?"
The black clad brother rolled his shoulders. Eugene was right. He would have to make the best of having a partner that was over emotional and seemed, quite suddenly to hate the ground he walked on.
Whose fault is that? A voice in the back of his mind drawled. Oliver sighed. However, his brother was wrong on one count. He'd never be able to figure out Mai. No man could figure out a woman.
XXXXX- LINE BREAK -XXXXX
Cambridge University Dorms
He was pacing, Finn noticed, like a cat. It was maddening. As he tried to concentrate on a book, his twin was prowling about the dorm that they shared with Yasuhara… who was in the corner, watching and smirking… eating popcorn. Yasuhara seemed to get a sick sense of enjoyment out of the suffering of his more… serious minded peers- like Lin Koujo, Oliver Davis… and Adrian Connolly.
"How could she be so stupid?" Adrian growled. Finn's eyes narrowed.
If there was one thing that they couldn't agree on, it was Anabelle Fitzgerald. Though, for the life of him, Finn couldn't figure out why. He couldn't understand what it was about Anabelle that drove his brother nuts.
Which was funny. If there was something that Finn should understand, it was that. After all, he had been- at one point- in love with the same girl that Adrian had been pining over for the last year.
Then, there was the incident a year ago that had driven the young woman away from Adrian… she had told the elder twin her feelings.
Needless to say, it had not gone well. Finn still didn't know the whole story, Adrian wouldn't tell him. All he knew was that Anabelle's heart had ended up broken, and they had gotten into a fight… again.
Adrian had ended up in the hospital; Finn watched as Anabelle had stayed by his side until he woke up… then had left the next day.
This was actually the first time they had seen Anabelle since she'd left for Tokyo. "Careful, Adrian, you've started sounding like Boss." Yasuhara smirked.
"If you're talking about how Dr. Davis reacted to Miss Sullivan…" Finn drawled, "Than I have to agree. Really, Adrian, what the hell?"
"She didn't want to come back…"
"She might go back after she's done at Cambridge. Maybe she met someone…"
Adrian let out a growl.
Finn's eyebrow shot up. Oh, really? Odd reaction for someone who claimed to not care… none of this made sense in that case. "What's wrong, Ade? Feeling a bit jealous there?"
Adrian blinked. "What the hell are you going on about?" he asked.
"You just growled when I mentioned Anabee meeting someone. You didn't even do that with any of the girls you were dating when they moved on." Finn smirked. Yasuhara laughed. "wonder what Big Boss would do if Mai announced her engagement to someone else?" he smirked.
"You two are ridiculous." Adrian growled. "I am not jealous of whoever it is that get saddled with that particular sack of annoyance."
"I'm telling her you called her that." Finn drawled, enjoying the way his brother's face bleached of all color. "I'm sure that'll get you into another nice stay… at a hospital."
"No, she might just kill him." Yasuahara frowned in mock contemplation. "He did kind of call her both fat and annoying…"
"I did not call her fat." Adrian yelled.
"Sack of annoyance does kind of sound like you're calling her fat, brother dear."
"And that is exactly the kind of thinking that most women have." Adrian growled.
"Our point exactly. She is a woman. Even you can't deny that."
There was silence as Adrian considered his options. The situation was spiraling far out of his control and he knew it. these two would definitely tell Anabelle that he'd called her that…. And then he'd be in for it.
That was one trip to the hospital he could pass up.
XXXXX- LINE BREAK -XXXXX
Winter Hall, England
She stood at the of their bedroom, the shadows on the wall danced, giving her a cruel shadow play on what was going on. Tears flowed down her face silently, even while the knife in her blood-stained hand glinted in the dimmed light.
How dare he? After all they had been though? After all she'd done for him?
A broken sob tore from her throat as she watched.
Mai woke with tears on her own cheeks. She The fox kit was whimpering as it licked her face, trying to wake her up. She sighed as she sat up, and cuddled the baby to her as she checked the clock on her phone- 5:30 in the morning. "I'm awake," she mumbled, still bombarded with emotions of betrayal and sadness, both going to an almost manic extent….
For her. For whoever the dream was about, it was more than manic. She'd already killed. And she'd been about to do it again. She was going to need to tell Na- no. She stopped herself from finishing that thought. She needn't tell him. After all, he wasn't her boss anymore. She had full control of her Astral dreams, at least to the extent that she knew that she was having them. Her boss was Professor Martin Davis.
So, she'd have to inform Professor Davis of her dream. She got up, absently petting the small fox in her arms. He gave a yip and jumped out of her arms. She giggled as he scampered away. God, he was adorable.
She walked over to her closet and opened the door, and then, promptly backed away, startled.
She must have pressed something on accident, because in the week she'd lived there, her closet did not have a staircase in it. She looked at the fox, who sniffed at the doorway in the closet, and, deciding that it must be okay (or, perhaps curiosity had gotten the better of him), started to trot down the stairs.
Mai heard the yip and she hurried to follow.
She found him at the bottom of the stairs, paw-over-head, dusty and very annoyed. She laughed. "Okay, just curious, then, huh? Like Yasu…." She snickered as the little thing righted himself, and looked at her, expectantly, and then, he cocked his head to the side, pressing intrigue into her mind at the name.
"Yasu? You want me to call you that?" she asked, incredulous. A sense of contentment filled her.
"Yasu it is, then." She murmured. Though her attention had been elsewhere drawn. Specifically, to the bookshelves and desk
Once more, her grandmother had books on all things occult, and macabre. The complete works of Oliver and Martin Davis were on the walls, and (unlike the books at the Momohara mansion) had been hand-signed instead of having been signed once, and then printed with the signature.
She abandoned all sense of self- discipline as she traced the letters that he'd penned. Yasu yipped from the other side of the room, and the next thing she felt was a furry head nudging her bare leg. She looked down at him. "I'm okay." She said softly.
She looked at the familiar handwriting, and felt her heart ache, before replacing the book, and turning her attention to the desk.
Oddly enough, she saw more of his handwriting. Her heart stopped. She didn't know when, but he had been here….
She put the book down and walked to the desk where a black notebook was, sitting with the papers that also bore his writing. Her breath caught in her throat. She'd seen that notebook before. Her hand shook as she reached out for it. Her mind was reeling. It couldn't be one of his, though… that would be impossible. She opened the notebook.
Having learned English from her mother had come in handy, as she was fluent in it: reading, writing, and speaking, and had been for years. Something that she'd never told him though, she was sure that he knew. As it was, his handwriting was atrocious, and she could barely make it out- which had worked in his favor when he was her boss.
She had to wonder if her grandmother had told him about her own research, now, though she found that doubtful. Still, she had to make sure that whatever was in his journal did not pertain to her grandmother's research. If it did, she'd have to call him and ask for permission to use some of his notes in her own study.
Thankfully, she needn't have worried about that, though she did find interesting notes on other subjects in the psychic part of the field, relating to latent psychics, and how their powers evolved. Really, it was an interesting read, though she had to decipher the chicken-scratch he called handwriting. Did all doctors (even honorary ones) have bad handwriting? Was it a requirement? Shaking her head, she gave a soft chuckle.
Still, finding his notebook in her house…
Suddenly, the shirts she'd found in her room started to make sense… the smell of them… she froze. If he'd been here (and she had found out from Sakurako that the Davis family were good friends of her grandmothers, it would be odd to assume that they hadn't spent time at Winter hall), enough time to leave his notebook there… then it would be safe to assume that he'd left a shirt or two there…
But… that would only be in the room that he would have… that he would have… her face went red. It would be safe to assume that he'd left clothing only in the rooms that he'd… slept in….
She looked at the notebook in her hand, heart pounding.
"Dear Kami-sama…." She whispered in Japanese.
She went back upstairs. It was time for her to get ready to go to Cambridge that day. But first, she crossed to the Armoire and pulled out one of the shirts. She spread it out and stared at it. It was black- his usual color, she thought.
As she had sworn to never, ever hold her abilities inside again, she let her instincts take over. She found it amusing now, how he had once described her instincts as those of an animal. Well, she thought, when was he ever wrong? Her lips twitched.
Her senses had gotten quite a bit better in the years after he'd left. Her eyesight was ridiculously good- she'd gone in for an eye exam and tested at 20-10, and she could see better than anyone she knew at night. Her sense of smell was pretty good as well, much like a dog's (something that Kuroda had teased her about), her hearing was abnormally good, and – since she'd been studying martial arts for a few years, she'd gotten tremendously versatile and flexible.
Coupled with what he had pointed out about her instincts, she was the closest thing to an animal that a human could get. All she was missing was the tail… and fur. Not that she would ever tell him that he was right… She shook her head, and put the shirt back.
She chose jeans and a tank top before shoving her shoes on and heading downstairs for breakfast. She was the first one there- an anomality even now. She may have been better at waking up and being on time, but she still hated it, and still remained the last one to wake on a normal day…
Though, the days that she woke up from a dream were the ones she did tend to wake early on. Takeshi, who was at the table himself, noted this. "Another dream?" he asked. Mai nodded, still tired.
She got Yasu some raw meat from the fridge before pouring herself a bowl of cerial. "Yeah. Whover it is, she's not happy." She mumbled, yawning. Takeshi passed her the coffee pot and she sighed in delight as she put the cream in the black liquid.
Takeshi smirked. "One would think that you would pour an ungodly amount of sugar in your coffee…" he observed. Mai chuckled.
"I would… but I don't want to be like Daffy Duck today." She replied. Takeshi's eyebrow shot up as he eyed his student in confusion. Mai grinned. "You know, those times where he's literally bouncing off the walls with his crazy laugh? That's what happens to my mind when I drink that much coffee. Or, really, any coffee for that matter."
"And yet…"
"Special case. Remember, I usually get so much more sleep, so my body's not awake." She said it calmly as she took a sip.
Kuroda yawned as she walked in to the dining room. She took the seat to the right of Takeshi and put her head down on the table.
"Good morning, Kuroda-san." Takeshi smiled. She let out an almost inaudible mumble.
He slid a plate of toast over to her. "Here. There's coffee as well."
Mai watched as Kuroda (who had never been a major fan of breakfast- which Takeshi knew, as she had told them all before she didn't eat breakfast) looked blearily at the young onmiyoji before taking a bite of the toast. She sat up then, and took some coffee.
Slowly, the others trickled in, most blinked in confusion as they saw Mai sitting at the table. Anabelle yawned herself as she sat down.
"So, what was it this time?" Psyche asked. Mai shrugged. "I don't know quite a lot, yet. This is only the second dream."
"Why didn't you tell the professor yesterday?" Takeshi asked her. Mai winced.
"Uh... I was… kind of preoccupied…" she muttered. Anabelle snorted.
"Yeah, and by that, she means that she was breaking the lab with another one of the psychokinetics."
"What?" Takeshi frowned, his eyes narrowing at his student. Mai shifted uncomfortably, glaring at Anabelle.
She smiked. "She got in a fight with Dr. Davis."
"Can we not?" Mai grumbled. "I just got past the realization that I'm sleeping in the same room as he did when he was visiting."
At that, they all looked at her. Emiko and Izumi grinned widely. "Ooh, really?" Emiko purred. "Now that's interesting…"
"I found one of his notebooks on the desk in the hidden office." She grumbled. Sakurako grinned. "Sorry for not telling you…" she said.
"It's not like you could. I fell asleep as soon as I found that room." Mai replied.
"Well, anyway, I believe that it is time for the lot of you to head to school." Takeshi said. "We'll talk about yesterday when you get out, Mai."
Then, they were on their way to the university.
Today is going to be a long day… Mai thought, as she walked into the lab and saw Oliver standing there, customary scowl on his face. "Are you ready to work, or are you going to throw another temper tantrum?" he asked her.
Mai felt her spine stiffen. "Did you forget so soon that you were half of the reason that the lab got destroyed?" she asked. "I was not the only one acting like a child, Dr. Davis." She took a deep breath. Determination filled her. If he wanted to be a prat, that was fine. But she was not going to play his game.
He gave a humph. She would take that as a victory. "Let's get to work, Dr. Davis." She said. He nodded and led her away from the rest of the group. "Lin," he called, "We'll be in the White room."
Mai heard the hum of assent from the older ghost hunter as she passed. Yasuhara winked at her. She grinned back to Oliver's back. She decided that she should tell his father about her dream first.
"Dr. Davis, is the Professor here, today?" she asked. Oliver stopped, a shock passing through. He turned to look at Mai, whose brown eyes were curious. "Yes…" he answered, slowly, wondering why she wanted to know.
"I need to talk to him… it's… I had a dream. Again." She stated, frowning. "I don't know if BSPR is taking a case, but this is the second time I've dreamed about it, and I thought he should know."
"You could just tell me." He pointed out, frowning further. Mai smirked. "But… you aren't my boss. Ergo, I need to tell the one who is."
"That would be Madoka, then," Oliver growled, annoyed at his response to her denial. "I'll take you to her. She's on the way to the White Room." Mai nodded and continued to follow him. She frowned herself, as she thought of the dream.
Well, Dreams. In the first… she had been upset… upset and unable to go home… and angry because there was someone who was responsible for that. In the second dream, she'd been upset for a different reason, whoever he was had betrayed her in some way, and she'd found out.
Oliver stopped in front of an office door and opened it, revealing Madoka sitting behind the desk. "oh, hey, Noll. Mai. What's up?"
"Are you working on a case?" Oliver asked
. Madoka smirked. "Now, Noll, you know that your mother has forbidden you to work on any cases for a while…"
"Not me. Mai." He muttered, annoyed at, once again, being punished in that manner. He was twenty one for god's sake. He shouldn't be grounded.
"Oh?" Madoka perked up, grinning at Mai, who smiled back. "Its nothing much, yet… mostly just thoughts and feelings. Last night I was watching… well I don't even know. But I felt manically upset."
Madoka nodded. "Okay. Tell me about the first one."
"I was walking. Just walking. I couldn't go home… and it was his fault… Or, at least that's what I was thinking the whole time."
"And the second dream? The one you had last night?"
"Standing in front of a bedroom door, bloody hands, and a clean knife, watching something. I don't quite know. But I was thinking something along the lines of 'how could he betray me like this after all we've been through?'" Madoka nodded, as she wrote it down.
"Well, okay. You dream anything else, come tell me.
"My dress was white." Mai said. "That's the last thing…" she sighed. "I know it's not much to go on."
"It's only the second dream." Oliver drawled. "I am sure you'll have more. In the meantime, we need to go."
He all but steered her out, toward the white room. "This will be our workroom for the next few days." He told her as he opened the door. She nodded, and followed him in the room.
Here we go again...
Okay, there we go. Chapter 11 kind of dry, this one, but worth the read. See ya next chapter. Read and Review…
As always, Angel of Pandemonium