I'm going to level with you all, this fic will get jacked up to M… eventually. For now, it will remain T, and the next few chapters will be… kind of filler, though kind of not. As much of the romantic growth happens within the cases, I can only do so much without them, but right now, they need to calm down after the case… and Mai is starting to work on her own thing that was mentioned a few chapters back… with the adorable little Kit, Yasu.
Anyway, on with the reviews:
master kiwi sama: thank you also, sorry I can't put your name in right. Fanfiction won't let me.
Raven Avonia: the way I've always seen life, is that every person's personality changes. Your experiences with people or situations in general change you, and that's what I wanted to do for Mai's personality. She's a strong character. Also, I really get annoyed when they have generic abilities, so many of them I looked up on the internet to give me ideas. It's nice to know that someone appreciates it.
Lizzieeliza1998: Tell me what you don't understand, so I can explain it… if I can.
Fabian1ninja1: Thank you
Glass Dragon's Rose: Ha. He'll never admit it, though.
Animeloverdj: duly noted.
Vampgirl1309: I typed as fast as I could.
RichkeyZero: first, love the profile pick. That's one of my favorite manga. Second, you're welcome.
Joys: oh…there's plenty…
MirandaLovespie: … I didn't mean to. It just…. Happened. It still confuses me, to tell you the truth. I agree with you. And trust me, Mai isn't over powered. The key to having as many powers as Mai is balance, and she does have some rather debilitating weaknesses. Which… kind of makes the situation a bit worse…. And as for if Cassandra becomes a problem… well, we'll see.
ShadowSheki: can do!
KazeNiNaruu: thanks!
MirandaLovespie: I haven't left, just had a nasty case of writer's block. Sorry for the long wait. Really. I'm so sorry
Fanficluver4life: thanks.
Also, I'm actually going to focus on one of the other characters for a change… well, more, one of my ships in this- Kuroda is actually gonna get some action in this…
And if you lot didn't see this coming… well, I did drop a few hints… actually, like five… or more.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE SONG OR GHOST HUNT
Chapter 13- Taking My Heart by Storm
I am torn apart by you, it's a spell I can't undo
Oh, I can't escape it now
I'm in too deep to get out
You're taking my heart by storm
I'm lost in your love, lost in your love
I can't hold back anymore
I'm lost in your love, Lost in your love
Ruelle, Storm
Winter Hall, three days later
Mai winced as she endured all of her… rather loud lectures. Even Yasu seemed angry at her, though how the little fox kit seemed to know that she'd done something stupid, and dangerous (as everyone had yelled at her, especially after seeing the video), she didn't know. She sighed, as she shook her head.
She was walking through the forest behind her house at the moment, clearing out all the traps and shit that the poachers put out. She'd have to do something about that, soon. As she was getting tired rather quickly at this point- having your heart nearly ripped out by a pissed off ghost tended to have that affect- she couldn't do anything as of late.
A soft hoot caught her attention, and she watched, as a gorgeous, white barn owl swooped. Mai thanked god for her oddly good night vision, now, as the bird was truly lovely. Though… something seemed different. Not wrong… but… odd about the way it hunted.
She frowned, cautiously approaching the raptor. It looked at her. She froze, until she realized something. Look was the wrong word.
The owl… was blind. It shouldn't even be able to hunt, Mai, thought, amazement coursing through her veins. How the hell was it doing that? She pushed her confusion in the owl's direction. Careful not to spook the poor thing, but not able to control her own natural curiosity.
The bird did not seem to mind, though it did not answer. Honestly, the animal looked rather healthy, aside from the fact that it could not see. She reached out to touch it with her uninjured hand (the fire that she'd thrown at Cassandra had, in fact, harmed her, as she had not been in control). The feathers were surprisingly soft. She smiled. "You're so pretty," she cooed softly.
The bird hopped onto her other arm, letting her pet it. she let out a soft sound of joy- she couldn't help herself.
"Mai!" another voice- Anabelle- called. "Where'd you go?"
She turned, surprised a bit that the owl on her arm did not spook. "Over here." She called back. Her cousin came into view, looking relived.
"You shouldn't come out so far… you're not at your usual strength." She said, a small frown on her face, grey eyes narrowed and dark. Mai gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm fine. I'm not that far out." She replied. "I know my limits, Anabelle."
"Really? Because the last time I checked, you used way too much of your own psychic and magical energy to cast not one, but two spells that were far too advanced. You lost control, burned your own hand, caused a monster lightning storm, and nearly got your heart torn out by a crazy-ass she-demon."
"Cassandra isn't a demon- or she wasn't completely turned into a demon. Not yet. She still isn't. she's just on the verge of it… and really, Anabelle, I know what I did was stupid."
"I'm surprised you didn't get another aneurism…" her cousin growled. Mai chuckled. "Yes, well…"
"Don't even." Anabelle growled. "You did something stupid."
"Yes, I did. I believe I more than made up for it, Ana." The now disgruntled psychic grumbled. "you'd think that a million times of me saying 'sorry' would be enough for the lot of you… but no." her own eyes narrowed. "Excuse me if I did what I felt I had to do to save John! For the record, none of you would have done any different than what I did- and don't you dare say you wouldn't have." She snapped as her cousin opened her mouth in rebuttal.
As was expected, the other young woman was silenced. Mai was right. Any of them would have done the same to save one of their own. Mai threw her hands up. "Oh, for the love of all that's holy, I'm fine. I didn't die. I barely even got hurt. You can go tell his majesty, who I know is here to screw off."
"Are you talking about Takeshi… or Dr. Davis?" her cousin asked, tartly, letting her cousin's now fowl mood go. Mai let out a hiss.
"Do not mention that name! HE's the biggest hypocrite of the lot! I was stupid and reckless? What about him?" she snarled. "Last time I checked, I haven't put my life at risk just because someone on my team pissed me off. I didn't take on a god, and I didn't use my powers knowing that I could die if I did!"
If she was completely honest with herself, his complete 180 shift had confused the hell out of her. She didn't remember what had happened in the hospital, though her cousin had told her that he'd gone in to see her; her experiences in the past with the younger Davis twin was that of chillingly biting remarks on her intelligence. When she'd gotten out, he'd ripped into her first. Not even Lin had been able to get a word in edgewise as the young Parapsychologist yelled at her- for half an hour.
Yelled. Not lectured. He hadn't just left it at a scathing remark about her intelligence. Oh, no, he'd let it rip, complete with a fantastic show- what with tables and other furniture ricocheting around, crashing into each other, and windows breaking (the floor and walls as well bore fissures). He'd been well and truly pissed, which was something that Mia had, up till that moment, never seen. It had been terrifying, as his displays of temper usually ran cold as ice. This had been…. Well, completely the opposite of what Mai and the rest of SPR had ever seen.
It had been explosive, to say the least, and not just metaphorically. Mai winced at the memory. However, she did not think about that. Currently, she was still pissed that they all seemed to think that she needed supervision to walk around her own house.
Anabelle, who had started to guess (with amazing accuracy) what was going on in her cousin's mind, hid a smirk. Oh, she was confused and angry, all right, and they had been making it worse. She shook her head. "Dr. Davis isn't here," she said to her cousin. In fact, the researcher had left a few minutes prior.
"Whatever," Mai grumbled. "I don't care." She stroked the owl on her arm with a finger, and the gorgeous thing cooed. Mai's face changed, from anger to a sweet smile. "I think… I found another one like Yasu…" she murmured.
Completely used to the abrupt shift in topics, Anabelle didn't have to guess what Mai was talking about now. The girl's temper blew rather quickly, always had, if what the former members of SPR had told her was true.
"Another animal with psychic ability?"
"Yeah. She's blind, but can hunt perfectly."
"She can hear her prey, too…" Anabelle felt compelled to point out. Mai grinned. "Yeah, but not from that far away. She's a raptor. She can't see, she can't really hunt. Not unless she's got something else to compensate."
"So… what are you getting from her?"
"I'm not sure, yet." Mai looked spectical. "I can't quite get a grasp, but… well, I'll make her a little home in the barn. She can stay there, for now. It's warm and dry. I'll be able to study her from there." She was starting to plan.
"And her name? you already named Yasu…"
"Ah… we'll figure it out…. I don't quite know…" She stared hard at the bird, her eyes went a bit wide. She smiled. "Masa." She said. "her name is Masa."
"Why that name?"
"Masa means 'elegant'. It… it fits." She murmured. Anabelle looked at the bird and frowned. She supposed that her cousin was right. She shrugged. "Well, okay. I'm heading back now." She said, turning toward the mansion. "I'll tell everyone you're okay."
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Davis Estate, outskirts of London
"You know, she has no idea what happened in the Hospital room." Eugene drawled from his chair, angling a look over to his brother over his book. Oliver studiously ignored his brother. "And now, she's pissed off at you… again. Because you let her have it."
"She deserved every single word." Oliver growled. Eugene smirked. "Oh?" he asked. "Because from what Lin said, you did the same thing."
"And it nearly got me killed." Oliver snapped. "She should know better."
"Noll, you do realize that this is Mai we're talking about? Mai Taniyama, the girl who rushes headlong into dangerous situations in the head of the moment? The girl who pissed you off enough to do the stupid thing with the god in the first place, because she was pissed off at you not doing anything?"
Oliver could say nothing to this. His brother had a point. Mai had never been able to stop herself from doing reckless, stupid things on a good day. Throw in a friend that was in danger because of a homicidal ghost…. Well, those were circumstances that Mai had no problem putting her own skin in danger, even if it meant her own Life.
Which, oddly, had been his point. She needed to stop doing that.
Eugene watched his brother, chuckling at the fact that his brother was twitching with annoyance. He knew full well what was going through his twin's mind (made easier, because Noll's normal mental blocks weren't present for whatever reason). He clearly saw the images in his brother's mind, concerning Mai, and her penance for trouble- most of which ended up with her getting gravely injured in some sort of freak accident- or haunting.
He shuddered. "I don't think it's ever going to get that bad…" he said. At least, he amended to himself, he hoped not.
Oliver glared at Eugene. "Then you don't know her as well as you think you do, Gene." He snapped. "What part of 'trouble magnet' don't you get? She's got this radar…. And anything within fifty kilometers that is dangerous seems to hone in on it."
"It's not that bad…"
"Don't kid yourself, brother, dear," Oliver hissed. "We both know it's true."
Eugene winced, and shook his head.
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London
Kuroda sighed as she strolled the streets of London. So many things she'd always wanted to see, she mused, and she finally had the chance to actually do it. She could go to Big Ben and the London Eye… she could just… roam the streets. But, the problem was, that as a little girl (or teenager), she'd always seen herself… with someone.
His face had changed throughout the years, going from some sort of prince charming she'd seen in the movies, to random boys she'd found attractive, but still, the fantasy of having a romance while roaming the streets of London (or anywhere, really) had just... always been there.
Some girls wanted a romantic walk on the beach. Kuroda just wanted someone to share a walk through a crowded street with.
She smirked as she wandered into a store. Before they'd left for England, the girls had had a… sleepover of sorts (they already lived together, but they'd taken over one of the drawing rooms, Sakurako had even been present there, and Takeshi had steered well clear of that half of the mansion). One of the truth or dare questions turned into a discussion on what the perfect date was.
Emiko said a normal movie date was best, while Izumi maintained that the beach thing was her favorite dream. Sakurako told them about her first date, which was on the beach as well. Tohru said that she didn't much care to go out, and that she'd like someone to just come over and hang with her. Psyche really liked the idea of staying in and cuddling on the couch with a movie, while Anabelle just shrugged. She didn't say anything, and had just frowned.
Now that Kuroda had met Adrien, she could only shake her head. She paused as she looked at a pretty blue vase, and then recoiled with a wince at the price of the thing. Dear god, why was everything so friggin' expensive?
She grinned as she remembered Mai's thoughts on the question. A case. Yes, the most romantic date to the brunette had been hunting a bloodthirsty ghost. Kuroda snickered at the thought, and then wondered why the hell she wasn't dating Oliver 'obsessed-with-my-job-which-happens-to-be-ghost-hunting' Davis.
"Possibly because they haven't gotten on the right wavelength, yet." A voice said behind her. She screamed and jumped, whirling around to face…
Takeshi-san. She felt her face color up. "Kami-sama, Takeshi-san…" she whispered. "could you warn me, next time?"
The tall man just smiled at the young lady. "I was actually sent to find you, Kuroda-san." She sighed as she felt her heart drop a bit. 'San', he'd called her. Kuroda- san. She didn't like it. Couldn't he just call her Kuroda?
She shook her head, and sighed. "why?" she asked. Takeshi smiled. "We have to get back to the mansion." He replied. "Something about dinner, according to my aunt."
Food didn't sound good right now. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry… she just had problems eating (or talking, or breathing) around the man who was their version of Lin-san.
Because the fact was, ever since she'd met him- that cold night in October two years ago when he'd come to escort Mai to her grandmother's hospital room, Kuroda had been in love with him. Of course, she knew it was hopeless. He was four or five years older than her. He wouldn't ever look twice at her. Large, dark eyes dropped away from his back, and she sighed in defeat.
She didn't know that he'd heard her.
She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she did not see a quick glance in her direction, nor did she realize that he had stopped, and turned around. Not until she ran into him… she felt her face heat up as she registered this. Her head shot up, her stormy grey eyes wide, as she felt her temperature heat as his hands wrapped around her upper arms. She wondered vaguely if Emiko was around somewhere.
She liked to prank Kuroda quite a bit by messing with her temperature. But she knew, even through her dim thoughts that this was him. It was all him, and she did not have any way of combating this because he felt so warm, and she didn't want to move, and dear god, she could feel his muscles through his shirt, and had to stop herself from actually trying to kneed his abs because that was so not right….. and….
"Kuroda, is there something wrong?" he asked.
'Yes', she wanted to say, 'You're driving me insane.' Instead she cleared her throat, though her voice came out rather squeaky, and she stuttered. "N-no, Takeshi-San. W-why would there be anything wrong?" for the love of any god out there, please, let me go…
"Because you've been acting this way for a while." He said it bluntly. "I have to ask. What is wrong?"
She didn't know what to say, if he didn't see it… well, of course he didn't. She tried not to let it affect her all the time. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Takeshi-San. I've just been worried about Mai…" she lied through her teeth, of course, though her excuse was legitimate. She was worried about the other young woman.
Takeshi sighed, but let her go. He wouldn't get to the bottom of this – whatever this was- easily, and he knew that. Through her half-truths, omissions, and outright lies, he had figured out that something was bothering her. Something had been bothering the girl for a long, long time, though this only seemed to manifest in his presence.
The man- indeed, four years older than Kuroda-san's twenty years- was at a loss. He did not know what was going on with the girl, and he doubted that he wanted to know.
He had a feeling that told him that finding out would change the course of their friendship for good. So, for now, he let it slide. It was truly something that he shouldn't bother with.
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Winter Hall, England
When Kuroda walked through the mansion door, Sakurako sighed. Her nephew looked bewildered- though she had expected that, what with the fact he wasn't even aware of the young woman's feelings for him.
If truth were told, she had a feeling that Takeshi wouldn't really take it well, in the first place, though the older woman snorted at the thought. For Kami's sake, it wasn't as if Kuroda was still in high school. Takeshi wasn't exactly all that older.
Four years. That was about the same difference in age as his parents. She rolled her eyes. Her brother had had the same reservations as Takeshi was sure to have, though, and that was one of the biggest hurdles that they had.
But she also knew that her nephew was slowly falling for the young woman as well, though he didn't seem to realize it. She also knew better than pointing this out to him, knowing that any progress he'd have made would come to a screeching halt.
She chuckled. How long, she wondered, would it take? Kuroda's room was situated right next to his, after all- that wasn't an accident on Sakurako's part. She'd just have to wait and see where it went.
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Cambridge University Dorms
Yasuhara lay on his bed, taking advantage of the rare lazy day that they'd been presented with. He smirked to himself as he thought of the events that had followed the case, from Oliver 'I-don't-do-temper' Davis had indeed lost his at their small, brunette co-worker.
Nearly reducing the girl to tears, he had noted at the time, though Mai hadn't given into that particular reaction, deciding to fire back some well-aimed barbs of her own. At least she'd only gone after a ghost, not a pissed off Kami….
He snorted as he remembered that small trip. Of course, Naru had had to prove that he was stronger than a god, because why not? But when Mai does the same thing, oh, suddenly, it's bad, and you shouldn't do that.
And the crazy witch wasn't even a god. She was just a crazy ghost, bent on killing every male in the world. And now, the small woman had the ghost as a shiki. He shook his head, and then turned his thoughts to one of the other new additions to the gang.
He didn't quite what to make of Tohru. She seemed to be a quiet girl… and yet, Yasuhara knew that the young woman-along with the twins and Kuroda had been in the same gang as Mai…. He was surrounded by yankies, he realized with a wince. All of whom, if he was correct (and he usually was) could kick ass quite easily.
He'd always known that Mai had it in her… just not enough to actually join a gang.
"What's got you so broody? I thought that was Davis' job… or my brother's." Finn joked. Yasuhara frowned as he looked up at the other young man. "I'm not brooding." He said. "I don't brood. I… think." He grinned. "I was thinking about the last nasty little case."
"Oh, with the raging she-devil?" the Irishman smiled wryly. "Aye, that's a bit of a weird one, I'll admit. However, I do believe the lass handled it on her own." He smirked, and Yasuhara snorted. "Yeah. I know, I watched the whole thing, same as you."
"I've never seen Davis look so pissed off. That was quite a show. One that I hope never to see again."
"Yeah, you and the rest of us. I didn't even know he had a volcano mode…"
The two sat in silence for a while after that, before Finn spoke again. "So, what do you think of the other girl?" he asked. "Tohru?"
Yasuhara shrugged before telling the other man his speculations. "We haven't seen what she can do yet, psychically, anyway. I only know what I've heard about her, but she's pretty tough." He shrugged. "I won't know much until I can see her abilities, first hand."
"I thought as much…. She doesn't seem to want to use them, though, and that might be a problem…" Finn pointed out. "She probably thinks there'd be more of a problem if she did use her power." Yasuhara pointed out. "Either way, she doesn't really want to find out if she can control it."
"She doesn't seem to think that it's a possibility." Finn returned. "And the others?"
"Well, from what I've heard and seen," the analyst said, "Miss Emiko can control the body's temperature of herself and those around her, while Miss Izumi can control the temperature around her in general. Pretty odd, but they are linked to one another. It's fascinating, really."
"Now, you're talking like they're science experiments." Finn drawled. "I don't think either of them will appreciate the sentiment."
Yasuhara just snorted. "I'm just saying what I'm thinking. Not my fault." Finn snickered, and shook his head, before sighing.
"Do you think that we'll get another case like that, soon?"
"Let's hope it's not until Naru's done being grounded." Yasuhara paused for a second before he burst out in laughter. Finn blinked for a few seconds as the sentence registered in his mind, before he too, burst out laughing.
Leave it to Davis to get grounded at the age of 21.
Priceless.
Okay, so, that's that. I'm sorry it's a bit short, and that you had to wait so long. I just wanted to focus on the other characters for a bit. Ones that I've kind of put on the back burner. Emiko and Izumi are gonna have to make it in soon, they're kind of silent here, but that shouldn't be for much longer. Anyway, thank you all for sticking with this for so long. I'm sorry for the wait.
Please, for the love of all that's holy, review. I love them.
Angel of Pandemonium