Beneath the Lilac Tree

by archangelBBQ

"Been there, done that." It's been many years, but Mai and Naru finally meet again. Or has it? Moving forward this time, Naru is determined to change the past, even if he cannot predict how it will shape their future. Together the twins, Mai, and Lin will create SPR from scratch, though things are certain to be much different this time around.

10. Part X

Part X

Naru did not immediately recognize the dreamscape as such. He was walking down an empty school hallway, the dim lighting muting the colors and blurring the edges of his vision. It felt as though he was viewing the world through a wet pane of glass or perhaps walking through a sloppy watercolor painting, the edges indistinguishable and running together. Was it his vision or was it his mind, unable to focus on the details? He couldn't tell.

"Oh good," a voice suddenly said beside him. "You're here."

Naru turned to face his brother, who appeared relieved, a tentative smile twitching the corners of his lips. While the hallway was blurry and muted, his twin was as clear as if they were standing in a well-lit room instead of the dim hall. The realization that he was in a dream—in Gene's dream—came almost immediately.

"What am I doing here?"

Gene shrugged slightly in response to his question. "I figured I usually forget most of the details anyway, so I might as well have you here to see it for yourself. I know you always hate it when I'm trying to relay a dream about a case but can't recall even half of it."

"You think I'll have a better chance of remembering?" He asked dryly.

"Well, it doubles the odds, doesn't it, Noll?" Gene's lips curved in a smirk. Turning his head, he raised his arm, pointing down the hallway ahead of them. Naru squinted, unable to distinguish anything at a distance. "Down there. There are some kids in one of the classrooms. Let's go."

"How I'm here is what I would like to know," Naru mused as they walked. "You just politely knocked and invited me into your dream?"

Gene made a face. "Basically, yes," he grinned sheepishly. "Honestly, I only did half of it. I just created a link for you to come here... you actually had to cross it."

"And that's what you did when you showed Mai the dream about her apartment fire? Created a link for her to join you?"

Gene nodded. "I remember that now. But I still don't remember her being there when I saw what happened." He shrugged slightly, shaking his head.

"Could you bring anyone into your dreams, then?"

"I doubt it. I can make a successful link with you through our psychic connection. I couldn't do that with just anyone."

Naru frowned pensively. "Just Mai, but…"

"—only because she's so receptive to others' psychic abilities," his brother finished for him.

Naru's frown deepened. "She only seems receptive to yours, Gene," he said quietly.

They stopped in front of a door. Gene glanced up at the sign above, noting that it was the music room. From within the room they could hear raised voices: girls were arguing. Gene reached out and slid the door open silently, stepping inside the room, his brother close behind him.

The girls, in identical winter school uniforms, were nearly impossible to distinguish. Their hair was styled nearly the same way and both were scowling at each other. One of the girls was standing, her arms folded across her chest, her face mirroring the sister who was sitting with an instrument case across her lap. "—all I'm saying, Natsumi, is that he's bad news. You'd be better off if you stayed away from him."

It was Kaori who spoke. Her twin, Natsumi, rolled her eyes. "You're just like Mom and Dad, Kaori. Study hard. Do your homework. Practice more. Don't go out with boys. You're just jealous that you don't have someone who wants to be your boyfriend."

Kaori's eyes flashed. "Don't you dare compare me to our parents, Natsumi! And I wouldn't care if you had a boyfriend if it wasn't him. What do you see in him, anyway? He's mean and such a bully. And doesn't he have the lowest scores in his class? They say he's going to have to repeat a grade."

"Yoshimasa's not mean. You don't even know him, so how can you say that? He's funny and he's always nice to me. And he's not stupid. He just doesn't have time to do his homework because of his part-time job."

"What's his part-time job? Shaking up kids for money?" Kaori bit back. "He's certainly not working at the neighborhood konbini. And don't pretend you don't know what family he comes from. They certainly don't need any extra money in their business."

Natsumi stood up so quickly that the chair fell over behind her. "Shut up, Kaori," she said, her knuckles turning white as she tightly gripped the handle of the case in her hands. "He's not like that. He's not like his family." She took a deep breath, trying to calm her shaking voice. "Whatever. Your opinion doesn't matter, anyway, and there's nothing you can do about it. Go back to your friends and leave me alone." Natsumi said, whipping around and stalking out of the room. Gene and Naru quickly sidestepped the door as she passed.

"Fine! See if I care what happens. But you'll regret hanging out with him. Don't say I didn't say so," Kaori called after her retreating sister.

"This is only the beginning of the divide that grew between them," Gene said quietly. "I have a feeling we're going to need to learn more about what happened afterwards."

...

Mai was humming to herself as she walked down the street, tipping her head side to side with her footsteps. In the early morning there were few up and about as of yet: she saw a cat sitting on a roof and bid good morning to an older woman sweeping leaves from the walk into a dustbin. Even the main thoroughfare at the edge of her neighborhood was fairly quiet. As she walked, she mused over the details of the case, turning each piece of information over in her mind, trying to find connections and questions for which to seek answers. Already there were many, many questions; she hoped they would be able to get answers to the most basic ones so that they could help Murata-san.

She frowned to herself as she pushed open the door to the just-opened supermarket, bending to pick up a shopping basket. If it was the work of a spirit, it was a violent one; and the intensity only seemed to be growing. From their preliminary research of Murata and her family, they'd only been able to illuminate a few details of the situation. Her parents seemed to be a rather well-off, if not completely normal, couple: her father was a mid-level executive at an international company; her mother a housewife that devoted much of her free time to volunteering with children's groups. There appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary about the family. She'd found one article that referred to the twin sisters from five years ago, when the girls took first place at a prefectural music competition. She'd also found the obituary of the sister—Murata Natsumi. The obituary did not state the cause of death, only some of what they'd already known.

Mai paused her musings to tick off her shopping list in her head, glancing at the basket. Her kitchen was in dire need of several staples—mainly rice and miso—but as she was out shopping anyway, she had figured she might as well pick up some vegetables. Next to the tub of red miso and bags of dried wakame seaweed and shiitake mushrooms, she also had a daikon radish, carrots and a wrapped parcel of enoki mushrooms. She nodded to herself, satisfied. Last would be the rice. Pausing at the display, she passed over her usual one kilo bag of rice for the heftier five kilo. After all, she was now making rice every evening for four, instead of one.

Leaving the store, struggling under the weight of her purchases, she was distracted from her reflections on the Murata case as she noticed a man staring at her from down the street. At first she thought he was perhaps looking at something behind her, but as she approached she could see he was blatantly staring at her, following her movements. She observed him through her peripheral vision. He was smartly and fashionably dressed in a dark sport coat, straight pants and a black scarf tied around his neck. His black hair was cropped close to his head and he wore thin-rimmed glasses. It was hard to ignore his stare and she couldn't help but tentatively give him a closer look. As she did she realized he did not appear to be Japanese. She paused as she neared him, wary, afraid to meet his gaze but reluctant not to.

"Sorry," she started uncertainly, "can I help you?"

His face brightened as she addressed him, his dark brown eyes glimmering as he spoke. "Ah! I must admit I was wondering if you would say something." He said, answering her in English. "If you could see me, that is."

She understood immediately. "You must be Aahil."

He smiled charmingly and she was struck by how straight and white his teeth were. "I am."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was watching you, quite obviously," Aahil said. He gestured to the heavy bag in her hand. "May I take that for you?" He did not wait for her reply before lifting it out of her hand. As he did she noticed he wore two silver rings on his left hand and side-by-side they began to walk down the street back to her house.

"That's not what I mean," Mai said, realizing that if she wanted answers from him she would probably have to be extremely direct—otherwise he'd certainly try to evade answering her questions. "Why were you watching me? Did Lin-san send you?"

"Not exactly," he said vaguely.

"You didn't know I could see you, though?" She pressed, curious. "Can't you… make yourself visible to humans if you want to?"

"I possess the capability," Aahil said, "but would only do such a thing if my Master requested." He could see that she was becoming frustrated with his indirect answers and smiled to appease her. "Considering… recent events, my Master has requested that I do not stay too close to their apartment. I am afraid I have become a distraction to one of the twins."

"Oh," Mai said, suddenly feeling sorry for him. As if sensing her thoughts he shook his head with a smile.

"Do not pity me, Taniyama-san, there is no reason. I am connected to my master just as those brothers are connected to each other. I do not require physical proximity to be close to my master, let alone to serve him." He nodded slightly to her. "My master asked if I could determine if you would be ready when they came to pick you up to go to Arakawa."

"Of course," Mai scoffed, offended that Lin would doubt her punctuality. "I don't oversleep as much as I used to. At least not for work. I haven't in years."

Aahil once again smiled at her in response and she was suddenly struck by how his long eyelashes framed his large dark eyes. If Aahil were visible to the human world, no doubt he would create an even bigger stir than the twins generally did.

"You didn't need to stand there watching me, though," Mai muttered. "It kind of freaked me out at first."

He laughed. "I apologize. I suppose my curiosity had the better of me." He smiled apologetically. "I did wish to know if I was visible to you, Taniyama-san."

She regarded him curiously. "You're not disobeying him by talking with me, are you?"

"Of course not!" He seemed shocked at the suggestion. "I could never go against my Master's wishes."

His words made her even more curious. "You really are loyal to Lin-san. You don't… serve him out of duty, do you?"

He shook his head. "He saved me from a terrible fate. The day my Master dismisses me is the day I descend into something akin to what you would call hell." As he spoke, a chill ran down Mai's spine, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.

"No," Aahil said, smiling wistfully. "Some serve their masters half-heartedly and some despise their masters for their servitude. I am not like that. I am bound to my Master by my gratitude to him, and that is perhaps the strongest bond we could form. Besides," he turned toward her, his smile broadening. "He is rather a good chap, wouldn't you say?"

Mai couldn't help but smile even though she still felt unsettled by his earlier words. "Yes."

They walked in silence down the street, Mai's house coming into view. It was Mai who broke the silence. "Aahil-san," she started, but he shook his head and cut her off.

"Please. Only Aahil."

"Aahil," she began again tentatively, "I'm sure you know Lin-san better than I do. I'm afraid… I worry that he's lonely." She looked at the ground, biting her lip. "When we came back to this time.. it worked out for me, Naru and Gene. The three of us together. But Lin-san…" Tears formed in her eyes as she spoke and she brushed them away with the back of her hand. "He must miss his wife so terribly."

"Of course he misses his wife," Aahil agreed, "But I wouldn't say he's lonely. You underestimate what you do for him. What you three children can offer him." He gestured to the grocery bag, lifting it slightly as he spoke. "This is important, Taniyama-san. Please do not stop eating dinner together."

"I won't," Mai promised.

"He will meet his wife again, sooner this time than before. And she will love him, just as she once did." Aahil said. "I may not be able to look to his future but this I know for certain."

At his words, a wave of relief rushed through her and tears slipped down her cheeks. "Good… I'm glad."

He smiled at her as they stood in front of her house, holding out the groceries for her to take. "I'll leave you here, Taniyama-san. I'm sure we will meet again in the future. I'll let him know you'll be ready when they come by."

Mai shook her head. "No need… I'll walk over there after I put the groceries away."

He inclined his head. "Very well. The door will be unlocked for you, even if no one answers." He paused before speaking again. "Oh," he said, as if an afterthought. "Be sure to tell your lover that you saw me. I'm sure he will be very interested to know." Mai blushed at the intimation but nodded, and the shiki Aahil disappeared into the shadows beneath the lilac tree.

...

There was no answer when Mai went to the apartment but the main door clicked open for her anyway, so she let herself in and walked up to their flat. Once again, there was no response when she knocked, but the door was open so she went inside.

"I'm coming in," she called quietly, excusing herself as she slipped off her shoes and stepped inside. The main room was empty and nearly silent but for the sound of water running in a nearby room—someone was taking a shower.

She went to the kitchen and had turned on the hot water when Gene appeared from the hallway, fingering the top buttons of his shirt.

"Oh, good morning, Mai," he said, not seeming at all surprised to see her unannounced in his kitchen. "Slept well last night, I hope?" he asked, his voice light and playful. He took a plate from the cupboard and slid a piece of bread into the toaster. "Ready for the day?"

"As always," she said cheerfully. "Want some tea or coffee?"

"Mn, tea, I 'spose," he said, turning his head and yawning behind his hand. "If you make a pot then it'll be ready for Noll and Lin too."

"Where is Lin-san?" Mai asked as she set out teacups on the counter. "He went out?"

Gene cocked his head, considering her. "How do you know it's not Lin in the shower?"

"Oh." Mai blushed. "I just… just assumed."

Gene shrugged dismissively. "Well, you're right," he said, turning his gaze to watch his toast. "Noll woke a little late this morning. He's in the shower. Lin's loading up the rest of the equipment into the van. He should be back soon."

Mai nodded, carefully spooning the tea into the tea strainer. "Gene," she started slowly, unsure of how to begin. "Yesterday you saw something, didn't you? When Murata-san was coming. You knew she was coming but it was more than intuition. You saw a vision of it, right?"

Gene nodded simply, leaning against the counter. "Yes."

"Did you see… the spirit that Lin's shiki told him about? The boy?"

"He said it wasn't a boy," Gene corrected, "at least not anymore. And no. That's not what I saw." He shrugged again slightly, his gaze intent on the toasting bread. "It was such a simple vision, Mai. I saw her walking from behind and I knew she was agitated and that she was coming to see us." He looked up at her. "That's all. Really."

"Is that so?" Mai tried not to sound disappointed but she knew Gene could see through her. She had almost been certain that something meaningful to the case had happened and she was annoyed that she was once again in the wrong.

Gene smiled apologetically and straightened. "Actually," he said, "why don't I just show you." Before Mai could speak, he stepped toward her and took her hands, lifting them to press against his cheeks and leaned his forehead against her own. "A picture's worth a thousand words, that's what they say, right?" but she could not tell if he had actually spoken or if she had only imagined him saying it.

She saw, then, the vision as Gene had seen it. It was dim and shaky—she felt as though she was walking behind Murata-san down the street, watching her through a hand-held camera, her view jostled by each step. It was definitely Murata-san—she recognized her even though the vision never showed her face. As Gene had said, the vision was accompanied by the certainty that she was walking to the office of SPR.

The vision ended then and Mai opened her eyes. Gene had released her hands, but they were still resting on his cheeks and his face was still tremendously close to hers.

What Mai and Gene did not see was his brother standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall with a look of jealously upon his face. Naru turned his head away, his hands gripping the towel that was slung around his neck and retreated down the hall.

"How did you do that," Mai murmured, and Gene smiled in response.

"A bit hard to explain."

She gazed up at him, slowly releasing her hands from his face. "Sometimes... I think you look so much like your brother," Mai said quietly, her eyes searching his.

"We are twins," Gene said jokingly, though the smile had disappeared from his face. The bread popped out of the toaster and he stepped away from her, putting the toast on his plate and taking it to the table, turning his back to her.

"Other times I can't believe how different you are," she continued, her voice dropping even quieter as she turned back to the tea. Her eyes followed the steam as it curled up from the liquid and slowly disappeared into the kitchen air. "When I look into your eyes, I see and I don't see. I don't feel that way with Naru."

"And you probably shouldn't," he said quietly. "It's better that way. Isn't it, Noll?" He did not look up as his brother entered the room.

"Hn," Naru said quietly, passing the table to cross into the kitchen, heading toward Mai.

Mai turned, a smile forming on her lips as she saw him. "Oh, good morning, Naru—" her words were cut off when he took her hands and kissed her hungrily, his body pressing hers against the counter.

"Naru," she squeaked softly when he released her lips, blushing furiously and her eyes darting to the table where Gene sat, his back turned to them. "What if—"

"Nobody's watching," Naru said lowly and kissed her again. As he released her, he gazed into her half-lidded eyes, dazed by his behavior. The blush returned to her cheeks.

"Lin's coming," she mumbled softly.

He released her and smirked, touching her chin. "Are you making tea?"

She nodded and turned back to the counter, glancing briefly at Gene's turned form. Even without being able to see his face she knew he was tense. Staring at the tea intently, she pursed her lips, wondering what Naru was thinking as he gazed at her, and what his brother could possibly be thinking, turned away from them.

...

Lin had returned to the flat and the four sat at the kitchen table, Mai leisurely drinking a cup of tea while the men hurriedly ate their breakfasts.

"You're up early today," Lin remarked to Mai.

Mai stuck her lip out at him. "I certainly wasn't going to be late, Lin-san."

A small smile turned his lips upwards, holding his hands out in a peaceful gesture. "Just didn't expect you to be here, waiting for us to finish breakfast, is all."

Mai watched him carefully, but she couldn't tell if he knew of her prior meeting with his spirit familiar. She averted her gaze to her tea when she felt Naru's eyes on her. The shiki was loyal to his master and certainly wouldn't keep secrets from Lin—but that didn't mean he'd had a chance to tell him yet, just as she didn't anticipate being able to tell Naru about meeting the spirit before the end of the day.

"What's on your mind?" Naru asked, lifting his teacup to his lips.

Mai felt her cheeks heat as all three turned their eyes on her. "Um, I guess it's just been bothering me. What Lin said yesterday about what his shiki said. That there was a spirit following Murata."

"Not just that," Naru said, speaking for her as he could see she was reluctant to elaborate.

Mai looked at the table and shifted in her seat. She knew full well that Naru could always see when she was not telling a whole truth but at the same time she was not ready to divulge her morning conversation with Aahil with the three.

Gene suddenly spoke, diverting the table's attention toward him and Mai felt her face relax with relief. "He said it used to be a boy," he said, spreading jam methodically on his toast. "Could it have been her sister?"

"It's not likely that Aahil would have been mistaken about it being a boy," Lin said thoughtfully. "Of course, there's no guarantee..."

"That's not what I mean, exactly." Gene said pensively, frowning slightly in thought.

"You mean, if she was lying about having a sister?" Lin asked. His voice did not betray the slight look of surprise on his face. "If it was actually her brother?"

"We'll find out what we need to know about her sister today." Naru said, and simultaneously drank the last of his tea and lifted his wrist to see his watch. "We need to go," he said, standing. He glanced at his brother, who still had a piece of half-eaten toast on his plate. "Hurry up, Gene."

Mai collected the dishes and took them to the sink, rinsing and putting them into the dishwasher. Lin returned from down the hallway and went to the door, stepping into his shoes and taking his coat. "I'll bring the car around," he said. "I'll expect you down in three minutes."

"Just need to brush my teeth," Gene said, finishing his tea and hopping to his feet, hurrying to follow his brother down the hall to the washroom.

As they returned to the main room, Gene took his brother's arm and pulled him aside, the two standing alone in the dark hallway. "I need to talk to you about the case," he said, "but first... I need to say something. I'm... sorry."

"For not telling me about the vision you had yesterday?" Naru said, an edge to his voice.

"If I'd thought it was pertinent, I would have mentioned it." Gene retorted. "No." He sighed and his voice dropped. "I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't mean..." He shook his head and sighed. "Just sorry. I wasn't thinking, I guess."

Naru exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. "No. You shouldn't... you don't need to apologize. I'm not angry with you. If anything, I'm frustrated with myself for feeling this way." He looked up at his brother. "I trust you. I trust Mai. I know... it's not rational."

"Maybe not rational but it's not abnormal." Gene sighed again and shook his head. "But when I shared that vision with Mai... she also shared a vision with me."

Naru's head snapped up, his eyes searching his twin's. "What?"

"A dream vision she must've had last night. She doesn't remember it—let alone know that she shared it with me. But there's no mistaking it. It was a vision about the case."

"What did you see?"

Gene shook his head again. "I could only catch glimpses of it. It's so faint and vague that I can't explain. It was a vision of Murata-san after her sister's funeral. I think it must have been the first appearance of the spirit." He spread his hands. "Maybe when we meet her, more pieces will fall into place and I can explain better. But as it is, I just don't know how to explain."

Naru nodded thoughtfully. "What do we tell Mai," he mused aloud.

"You're asking me?" Gene sounded dubious. "You're the one with all the bright ideas, Noll."

Naru shot his brother a sharp look. "Don't say that, aniki."

Gene winced at the term. "I'm your younger brother now and you know it."

"Always the drama queen." Naru rolled his eyes. "You'll always be my older brother."

"You trust me?"

"Of course."

"Even though I'm a boy who was foolish enough to walk into death and leave you behind?"

Naru breathed out sharply through his nose, a sound of disgust and amusement. "Absolutely I trust you, Gene. That will never change." A bitter, sardonic smile twitched at his lips. "I don't think you understand the feelings of a younger brother. I've lived long enough to know I will always compare myself to you. No matter what happens, I'll always think that you have qualities that are beyond my possession." He rested his hand on his twin's shoulder. "You're my aniki." He glanced down the hall toward the main room. Mai had returned to the room.

"Lin's getting impatient," she called to them, putting on her gloves. "I know we still have plenty of time, but he's in a no-park zone waiting for you."

Naru turned back to his brother. "Come on. Let's go." He smiled then, something halfway between a grin and a smirk. "We have a case to solve, Gene, and I have to say I'm beginning to feel intrigued."

"As if you weren't before," Gene said, shaking his head and turning to follow his twin.

...

Murata Kaori was waiting for them when they arrived, hovering on the inside of a closed gate and stepping out to the street as soon as the car pulled up. Mai noticed immediately that once again she was wearing predominantly black clothes. She wondered how much of it was fashion and how much was mourning.

"Good morning," she greeted them, bowing politely.

"Good morning, Murata-san," Naru greeted her from the front passenger window.

"Oh, please," she flushed slightly. "Just Kaori. Please." She pointed forward on the street. "You can park here for now. Until my parents return."

After the car was parked, the team followed her inside the gate and toward a large traditional house. Kaori led them up a narrow path toward the house, past a fork where an even smaller walkway led to a smaller house, shadowed by the main house. The four stepped up on the first step and following Kaori's lead, stepped out of their shoes as they went up onto the wooden veranda.

Kaori slid open the front doors and the four followed her inside. As soon as she stepped through the entryway and into the house, Mai's eyes began to wander and she had the sudden unexplainable feeling of familiarity. Had she been to a house like this before, she wondered, and what about it was so familiar? She did not notice that Gene took her coat from her after she slowly slipped it from her shoulders, nor that he was watching her with a curious look on his face. While it seemed impossible that she could have visited the house before, already it seemed so familiar. She was aware of Naru asking Kaori to show them around the house but she was distracted by the intense feeling. As they began to walk forward, Mai expected the feeling to fade—but if anything, she became more and more convinced that somehow she'd entered this house before. She closed her eyes and thought she heard the laughter of a child.

She opened her eyes when someone touched her elbow. Gene shook his head and gestured forward. "Not now, Mai," he said in a low voice. "There'll be time for that later."

Kaori led the four around the house, Naru asking questions about the rooms' usages while Gene and Lin looked for places they could place equipment. Mai held a notebook and a thermometer, recording the temperature of each room as they went. The house continued to be familiar as they went. As they entered each room she seemed already to have an idea what would be inside. She was not surprised to see a small grand piano or a painting by the famous artist Yokoyama Taikan in a sitting room.

"It will be difficult to record accurate data without the notice of her parents, definitely," Naru sighed as they finished. The four were waiting in the main entryway as Kaori had left them to retrieve her signed client agreement.

"Lin and I noted only eight places in the house where we could put equipment unobtrusively," Gene reported to his brother. "Besides her bedroom, of course, which will be up to her. The good news is that they're all in the areas she said she would be most likely to pass through or spend time in, such as the hallway connecting her bedroom to the kitchen, the living room and sitting room, et cetera."

"The bad news?" Naru prompted.

"No cameras," Lin said flatly. "There's no way we could possibly hide them. Unless Kaori-san could justify their presence to her parents. Our data would be restricted to audio and temperature. However," Lin paused, "there is one option. It is risky, however, so we would have to discuss with our client. I could cast a spell of suggestion that would encourage people to ignore the cameras."

"Of course," Naru mused, tapping his chin. He looked up at Lin. "How confident are you that it would work?"

Lin shook his head. "It's impossible to say. Certain people have greater sensitivities to spells of suggestion. I would have a better sense if I met her parents. I would also have to monitor it very closely. And if it did break, it would be impossible to redo. The jig, as they say, would be up."

"Could you ask your shiki to monitor the spell?" Mai suddenly said. "So it wouldn't break?"

Lin raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I suppose I could. However, bringing the shiki into this house—especially to play such an active role—would most likely disrupt our data collection. I generally avoid doing so unless things are very dire."

"In other words, the actions of another spirit may change the activity of the one we're trying to find," Gene said to Mai.

Naru spoke. "We could always take that route if necessary." He turned his head as Kaori returned. "Ah, Kaori-san. We're beginning to formulate our plan of action. We'd like to sit down and go over it with you."

...

After discussing their plans the four retrieved some equipment from the van and brought it into the house. During the discussion Naru had briefly mentioned that it could be possible to hide the cameras in plain sight from her parents. At this, Kaori had mentioned that her father was planning a business trip for the week and would be leaving the following morning, essentially meaning that they would only have to hide the cameras from her mother. "But how," she had asked, "would you hide them?" Naru had glanced at Lin but evaded giving her an answer, moving on to the next question.

The SPR team set up their various equipment under the curious gaze of Kaori, who hovered anxiously in doorways, watching as they placed microphones and thermographs behind or on the upper out-of-sight areas of shelves and cupboards, behind the piano and even behind indoor plants in several areas. To their surprise they were able to hide the equipment quite well. Kaori attested that her parents probably would not notice and admitted that she herself might forget where the equipment was located as it was out of sight.

As Naru and Gene returned to the van to retrieve the last of the microphones, Gene suddenly stopped, standing very still. His brother stopped as well, watching him. He appeared to be listening to something or to someone, and the short nod he gave seemed to confirm Naru's assumptions.

Gene turned toward Kaori, who was standing on the veranda, about to step down into her shoes. "What's that building over there used for?" He asked, pointing toward the smaller house that was on the other side of the garden, separate from the main house.

Kaori's eyes followed his gaze. "Oh, it's a guesthouse, of sorts. My mother's family stays there when they visit during the summer or New Years. But it's usually empty."

Gene glanced at his brother. "Would it be appropriate to ask if we could use it for our investigation?"

Kaori looked confused, shifting on her feet. "It wouldn't be a problem, but I don't understand why."

"On all of our investigations we set up a base where we can regroup and monitor the equipment," Naru said. "One of the challenges of your house is that we do not have such a place. However, if we could use a room in the guest house..."

"Oh," Kaori said. "Of course. And my parents hardly ever go in there, so as long as they didn't see you..."

"We shall be utterly discreet," Gene promised.

"I'll go get the keys," Kaori said, and turned back toward the house, hurrying inside.

"It shouldn't be a problem, not to be noticed there," Lin said, coming up behind the twins with a box of cables and wires held under his arm.

"You'll cast a spell?" Naru asked, and Lin nodded. "Good," he said. "I'm glad we don't have to resort to finding a hotel nearby." He glanced at his brother. "I'm glad you asked. Intuition?"

Gene shook his head with an apologetic smile. "Hardly," he replied, and his brother raised his eyebrows. "Lin's shiki came by and suggested it."

Naru then turned his eyes toward Lin, who gave a slight, wry smile in response to his questioning gaze. "I noticed it when we came in and asked Aahil to take a look around. He indicated it may be available and I thought she'd be more receptive to Gene's asking, rather than mine. Or even yours, for that matter," he added. "Not that she'd turn you down, of course, Noll, but I thought it would be better this way."

"I'm not complaining," Naru said shortly.

"What can I say," Gene joked quietly, spreading his hands. "I have a certain charm about me."

Mai came outside, stopping as she saw the three men standing there. "We're using the other house as a base, then?" she asked. "Does that mean we'll be spending the night?"

"Probably. We'll have to make sure it's all right with Kaori-san. Where is she?" Naru asked.

"Right behind me," Mai said, turning her head and looking over her shoulder. In a moment, the girl in question appeared.

As Kaori returned Naru gestured toward the side house. "Mai and Lin, I'd like you to go with Kaori-san and set up the base. We'll finish setting up the equipment in the house."

"Roger that," Mai grinned, and she and Lin followed Kaori down the side path toward the guest house.

...

As Lin and Mai were setting up the base, Mai waited until Kaori had left before glancing sideways at Lin. "Lin-san," she began. "Your shiki, Aahil..."

"Ah, yes," Lin said, not looking up as he connected cables to the monitors. "He told me you met this morning."

"I don't really understand," Mai confessed. "Masako said once that your shiki were like empty spirits. But Aahil isn't like that."

"No." Lin agreed. "Aahil is the exception. I don't believe Masako ever saw him."

"He said that he owes you," Mai said slowly, her interest getting the better of her. "Well, not exactly. But in a manner of speaking. That he's grateful to you."

Lin's lips twitched. "He said that? Curious." He finished attaching the last cable and rose to his full height, turning toward her. His eyes were apologetic as he met her expectant gaze. "I can see that you want to know what happened, Mai-san, though I'm afraid now is not a good time to tell you. I'm not even sure you would be interested if I began. It's a long story. And it was a long time ago."

"I guess you probably don't want to tell me," Mai said quietly, turning back to the shelving she was assembling. "I know it's not really my business, either. But I would be happy if you told me."

Lin's eyes softened and he nodded, turning back to his work. "I'll consider it, Mai-san. If there's ever an appropriate time, I'll tell you."

"It's a deal," Mai grinned, giggling in spite of herself as she remembered how different her relationship with Lin had been during the first cases of SPR—the first time around. They never could have spoken like this back then. Worried that he would think she was laughing at him, she continued. "So, does Aahil help out on cases?"

"He can," Lin began slowly, crossing the room and helping her with the shelves. "But he has his own limitations. Just as a medium may not always sense spirits, Aahil may not see them either. He is often more human than the spirits we encounter on cases, and therefore has no advantage. And I often cannot ask him to even enter a case area. Because he is perceived as both a human and a spectre, the spirits tend to be even more wary of him. Aahil does not have the experience nor has he the training in speaking with distraught spirits, as Gene and Masako do. And as you may suspect, he is not Japanese, and has no familiarity on the behavior of Japanese spirits nor can he communicate with them."

Mai nodded, wondering what advantage Lin had by keeping this shiki in his service. "Did Naru know about Aahil—last time?" Mai asked, not sure what prompted her question.

Lin raised an eyebrow at her. "As a matter of fact, no. Not at this time. He thought Aahil was like the other shiki."

Mai pressed her lips together. "When... when did he find out?"

He sighed. "It was at the lake, Mai-san, if you must know."

"But Gene knew?"

Lin nodded slowly. "Even though he could not see him. He knew he was different."

Mai's hands stilled. "Why.. why do you think he can see him now?"

Lin shrugged, turning his head away. "There is a lot about Gene's abilities that I do not fully understand, Mai. Gene's or Naru's. Perhaps it is only a natural progression. Or perhaps having died and come back to life has something to do with it."

"Then why can I see him?"

"I assume because Gene can." He finished the last segment of the shelf and stood up, signalling their conversation was at its end. "Let's move this across the room. Behind the desk, I think."

Mai nodded, knowing that she should be thinking about the Murata case, but instead, her mind was teeming with questions about Naru and Gene. What did Lin mean, that he did not understand either Naru or Gene's abilities? She glanced at him, falling into her once-common habit of putting her index finger at her lips, nibbling on her finger tip.

"Mai-san," Lin suddenly said, and she snapped to attention.

"Yes?"

"Focus on the case, please." His eyes were kind, even if he did not smile. "I need you to help me put the equipment on the shelves."

Mai flushed with embarrassment, ashamed and feeling very much like a fifteen-year old again, chastised by an adult. "Sorry. I'm on it."

...

Meanwhile, Naru and Gene had finished at the house. Naru was studying a piece of paper, his fingers drumming against his thigh as he thought. Lin had sketched a floor plan of the house to mark where the equipment was located.

"It's not ideal," he finally said, exhaling. "But it'll have to do for now."

"How long will you know if it's enough, before you put up the cameras?" Kaori asked.

"We'll wait at least one day." Gene said. "Since it's risky, with your parents, we'll only put them up if it appears necessary."

"We will continually re-evaluate our strategy, depending on the data," Naru added.

Lin and Mai returned to the room, Mai giving the three a huge grin and a thumbs-up. "All systems normal. The readings are all coming in on the computer, so we're all set."

Lin lifted his hand, checking his watch. "I should probably go now." He turned toward the twins. "I'll move the van. There was a shopping centre a few blocks away. When I return I'll go to the base and monitor the equipment from there."

Naru nodded. "We'll call if we need anything."

As Lin left, Kaori glanced between Mai and the twins. "Um," she started. "What do you need to do now?"

Mai glanced at the twins before speaking. "Actually, Kaori-san," she started, "we'd like to ask you some more questions about your sister."

Kaori's face tightened but she nodded. "Yes... yes, I understand. Perhaps we'd better go sit down. I'll make some tea."

...

Gene and Naru were waiting in the sitting room, alone. Mai had gone with Kaori to prepare the tea.

"Well?" Naru asked his brother expectantly.

Gene shook his head. "I haven't seen her sister. If she's here, I can't see her. And I don't sense much of anything, either. I know that doesn't mean anything, this early in the case, but..." His voice trailed off and he frowned. "But I think Mai did. Maybe it was related to her vision from last night. Did you see her, when we entered the house this morning?"

"I thought she seemed a little out of it," Naru admitted. He shook his head. "I was distracted. That's all."

"I think she'd have a vision if we let her wander around the house alone."

"Or if we let her fall asleep."

Gene nodded. "The question is if you want to do that right away..."

Naru shook his head, his lips tightening. "Mai will slip into something unexpected no matter what. There's no reason to push her in that direction. Not yet." He turned his head as the girls returned. Kaori walked in front, carrying a teapot in one hand and two nestled cups in her other. Mai, behind her, carried the other two cups.

"So," Kaori began, setting the teacups first onto the low table in front of them and then pouring the amber-colored liquid into them. "What exactly do you need to know?"

Naru glanced at Gene and then toward Mai. "Let's start with how your sister died. You said it was probably an accident."

Kaori's shoulders immediately stiffened. Mai could see that she was tense, obviously uncomfortable to discuss her sister's death. She sighed, then, with resignation. "Yes," she said, and the hard look in her eyes became pained, less defensive. "She overdosed." Kaori looked at her hands. "I should probably start at the beginning, though. Because everything began to change between us a few months before she died. And I don't want you to get the wrong idea about her."

"You said you began to grow apart," Naru began. "That you had different friends. Is that when things changed?"

Kaori nodded. "I didn't approve of some of the crowd she was starting to hang with." She flushed slightly, as if embarrassed by what she was about to say and how it would reflect upon her. "I guess you would say they were border-line delinquents. Skipping school once a while and underage drinking and smoking. But I don't think they really had much trouble with the law. It was just... little stuff." She pursed her lips. "But there was this guy she was seeing. He was different. I didn't like him." Kaori smiled bitterly.

"What was his name?"

"Yoshimasa Itaru." Her eyes followed Naru's movements as he reached for his cup of tea. "Honestly, I didn't know him that well because he was in the class above us but I'd heard enough about him. He had a reputation. It didn't happen at first, but I knew it would eventually. I knew when she'd started smoking," she continued, "mostly... cigarettes, but sometimes other stuff." She shook her head. "I didn't like it, but what could I do? I told her my opinion, but she didn't want to hear it. But I never knew she'd started doing anything more. Other drugs. I couldn't say when it happened. I would have said something, or gone to Mother and Father."

"They didn't know?" Naru asked. "About her smoking?"

She shook her head. "I'm sure they never even suspected. She was acing all her classes and she still spent most of her free time practicing." She sighed. "Even when things started changing between us, she still loved to play her violin. Her friends couldn't take that away from her."

"She was good?" Gene asked.

Kaori smiled sadly. "The best at our school."

"Do you think it was the influence of her friends, that she began using drugs?" Naru asked.

Kaori shook her head. "Only her boyfriend. They all smoked but only cigarettes. But everyone knew his older brother was a dealer. He'd dropped out of school three years ago but anyone who did anything at our school still got it from him." Her fingers tightened around the hem of her sweater. "I'm sure it's his fault. And he left our school. That proves it, doesn't it?"

"What happened?" Naru asked, curiosity audible in his voice.

Kaori closed her eyes, thinking. "The day after she died... Thursday. I heard he was at school, before anyone heard what happened. But that was the last day." She shook her head. "Someone said he went to live with his mother in Kanazawa. He probably didn't want to be questioned about Natsumi's death." She laughed bitterly, the sound sharp in the otherwise quiet room. "Not that the police could touch him. He's from a powerful family. I'm sure he was the one who gave her the pills. He was probably with her at the club and left her when he realized what happened, left her to be found by the cleaners. But they'll never put any blame on him for it. How could they? She took the pills herself."

Naru nodded slightly but he had a pensive look on his face. His eyes flicked toward his phone as the device beeped quietly, sitting on the table in front of him.

"Message from Lin-san," Mai said quietly, also looking at her own phone in her hand. "Seems like your parents have returned."

Kaori frowned, glancing at the clock. "I didn't realize it had become so late." She sighed and took out a notebook. "I told them yesterday that I would have classmates over to discuss a school project, so they shouldn't be surprised to see you. My dad should be getting ready for his business trip and my mother usually likes to visit friends on Sunday afternoons, so I'm sure they'll leave us alone."

They could hear the front door open and footsteps entered the house. "Kaori?" A woman's voice called. "Kaori, are you in here?" The door to the living room slid open, a woman standing on the other side. Her mother looked surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear, I didn't realize you had guests."

Kaori looked tired. "Remember, Mom? I said yesterday that some of my classmates were coming over to work on a school project."

"Oh, yes, that's right, well..." the woman's voice trailed off as she looked to the door behind her. There were voices in the hall approaching her, and the woman looked worried. "Well, maybe now's not a good time..." She couldn't seem to decide what to do, however, and her indecisiveness proved enough time for the approaching people to appear. Beside her in the doorway a middle-aged man appeared—obviously Kaori's father—but next to him was a young blonde man.

Mai would have stumbled backwards in shock if she hadn't been sitting. Naru controlled his surprise and shot Mai a warning look, who managed to hide her boggled expression before anyone else noticed.

"—her classmates, working on a school project," Kaori's mother was explaining to her father.

"Kaori, this is John Brown. Father Ogawa introduced us to him. He thought it would be good for you to meet."

"Nice to meet you," John said amicably, smiling brightly. "Mind if I join you? I may not be in school anymore, but maybe I can help you with your project."

Kaori opened her mouth to speak, her expression instantly indignant and annoyed, but Gene spoke first. "Of course, Brown-san. We can always use new opinions in our discussion."

The mother seemed relieved. Her eyes swept over the table, seeing their teacups. "I'll bring a fresh pot of tea and some cake."

John stepped across the room, taking a seat next to the twins. As he sat he looked at Mai curiously, unsure whether or not to speak. "Aren't you... did we meet before?"

"Um," Mai started, glancing at Naru. "Yeah, I think so... um, you were there, on the street, and helped me up when I slipped."

John's eyes brightened with recognition. "Ah! Yes! Forgive me for forgetting. I hope you're all right. I'm John Brown. Please take care of me," he said politely, re-introducing himself.

"Taniyama Mai. Likewise," Mai said. "It's nice to meet you."

"I am Shibuya Kazuya," Naru said, dipping his head in greeting.

"Shibuya Ichirou," Gene supplied with a grin.

Kaori's mother returned to the room with a tray. There was an extra teacup for John and five plates with a slice of a Swiss roll cake on each. She poured fresh tea and passed out the cake. The woman was obviously nervous and left as quickly as she had appeared.

John glanced behind him to make sure the mother was out of earshot before turning back to the three. "Let me speak frankly, please," he said, picking up the plate and portioning off a small bite of cake with his fork. "You're not here for a school project, are you?"

Kaori looked shocked, opening her mouth to retort, but Naru held up his hand to quiet her. His expression was calm as he lowered the teacup from his lips. "You're right, Brown-san. And now I can only assume you're here for the same reason we are."

"How did you know?" Kaori blurted.

John smiled apologetically. "I saw your advertisement in the paper," he said, directing the statement toward the twins. "Your office just recently opened, did it not?"

Naru nodded, glancing between his brother and Mai before returning his gaze to John. "Correct."

John set his fork down on the plate, the cake nearly half eaten, and reached for his cup of tea. "Your mother," he started, nodding toward Kaori, "told Father Ogawa that you were acting strangely and that you claimed a ghost was following you."

"She doesn't believe me," Kaori muttered bitterly. "I can't believe she would even admit to such a thing."

John held up his hands gently. "She may not believe in such things, Kaori-san, but we do, and we take such things very seriously." He turned toward the twins. "What do you say we work together, Shibuya-san, Shibuya-san?" He flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, how should I address you? My Japanese classes never mentioned meeting twins."

"Ichirou and Kazuya is just fine," Gene said with a smile. "And yes. We'd be happy to work together."

The SPR team may have been content to let John into their investigation but Kaori did not seem as pleased. "Natsumi went to church even less than I did." Kaori muttered, frowning. "I don't know why Mother thinks a priest can help."

John opened his mouth but Naru spoke first. "That may be so, Kaori-san, but it never hurts to have more experienced people working on a case with a dangerous spirit." He looked as though he was going to continue when Gene gave a small twitch of his head. Once again the door slid open.

"Sorry to interrupt again," her mother said. "Kaori, your father and I are going to visit the Tsuchida's. We'll be out about an hour or so. Are you and your friends going to eat lunch?"

"We'll figure something out, Mother," Kaori said.

"Okay," the mother said, and bowed to the rest of the group as she left. "Please make yourselves at home." The door slid shut again and John turned toward Naru.

"Would you show me your equipment?" John asked and Naru gave a half-nod, half-shrug.

"Now is a good a time as any," he said and rose to his feet. Gene followed the two, leaving Mai and Kaori sitting alone.

"Kaori-san," Mai began slowly, lowering her tea, "would it be all right if I asked you if anyone else in your family has died?"

Kaori looked surprised. "Well, actually, we did have a younger brother. He died when he was three."

"How long ago was that?"

Kaori paused, considering. "It would have been... almost eight years ago. He was five years younger than Natsumi and I."

"Could you tell me how he died?" Mai asked.

"Traffic accident." Kaori said shortly, and then frowned slightly. "But I'm not sure why this matters.."

"It may not. Thank you for telling me anyway," Mai said quickly.

"You really don't mind a priest inviting himself into your investigation?" Kaori asked. "I mean... I guess if you don't mind, it's okay. And I do... want it resolved, no matter what."

Mai smiled at the girl. "We don't mind. It's as you say, we want it resolved. The quicker the better, right? Brown-san has his own experiences to draw from and he may think of things that we don't." She turned her head as the three young men returned.

"If you don't mind, we have just a few more questions for you, Kaori-san," Naru said, bending to pick up his notepad as he sat. "You said that your sister was doing well in school. Can you recall if she seemed stressed about anything?"

Kaori shook her head. "I honestly didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She was more excited for Christmas than I'd ever seen before, but that's just because she had a boyfriend." Kaori made a slight face, as if to show that she was disgusted but Mai knew the girl was actually jealous. "Of all things, she knit him a scarf. How stereotypical can you get?"

"You don't happen to know if he got her anything?" Mai asked.

The jealous and annoyed look grew. "He bought her a bracelet." Kaori shook her head and the look disappeared, replaced by sadness. "She didn't skip class very often and she never missed a lesson. She didn't seem to be spending as much time with her group of friends. Maybe she was spending more time with him. But honestly, the last week before she died..." Kaori's voice trailed off as she paused, her eyebrows pulling together as she tried to blink away tears. "Things seemed normal again, at least more normal than they'd been. I was hoping maybe she'd lose interest in him and things would just go back to the way they were."

Mai nodded sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Kaori-san."

Kaori shrugged, looking away and composing herself. "I really don't think it was suicide, if that's what you're wondering. Some of my relatives may want to justify it and say that she was troubled but I just can't see it that way. Of course, there's no way to know for sure, but..." She shook her head again. "Accidents happen."

Naru glanced at his brother, giving a slight nod. "Thank you for answering all of our questions," Gene said, tipping his head. "We appreciate your honesty. I don't think there's anything more right now."

"I think we should head back to base now, to check the data readings," Naru said, and turned toward John. "You're welcome to join us."

"Let me take these to the kitchen for you," Mai said, gathering the teacups and plates, stacking them neatly on the tray.

"Oh—" Kaori opened her mouth to protest, but finally nodded. "Okay. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no problem," Mai said with a grin and left the room, carefully holding the tray.

The four had been speaking when Gene suddenly stilled. Naru stopped mid-sentence, noticing the change in his brother's features.

"There's something..." he began quietly, his eyes unfocused. Kaori, seeing his face coupled with his words, drew in her breath, her eyes growing wide with fear.

Naru's phone buzzed and he lifted it to his ear. "Lin," he said swiftly. "What is it?"

"The temperature in the kitchen just dropped 11 degrees." Lin's voice sounded far away. "Static just started on the sound monitors—"

But Naru was already out of the room, rushing down the hall. "Mai," he whispered under his breath. "Idiot!"

...

Mai had just set the tray of empty teacups and dessert plates on the kitchen counter when she felt a tingling sensation at the base of her spine and the hair at the back of her neck began to rise. The room, too, seemed colder than it had been when she'd entered. Lin-san will see the change on the monitors, she thought calmly. She heard a sound behind her and she turned. The noise was coming from the cupboards on the opposite side of the room, the contents inside rattling against each other and the doors themselves shaking on their hinges as if begging to be opened.

Who are you? The voice seemed to come from nowhere and even though Mai had been preparing herself for any sort of supernatural appearance, gasped in spite of herself. Why are you here?

She felt as though someone had opened a freezer door in front of her: a wave of cold air suddenly blowing over her and she reeled backwards in shock. Instinctively she covered her face, her fingers forming the protective mudra that Monk had once taught her and readying herself for kuji-kiri—the nine cuts—if necessary.

Why? The voice demanded again, and Mai felt herself stumbling forward as her vision turned black.

...

"Sure is quiet up here," a girl's voice said.

Mai opened her eyes, blinking as she focused on the scene in front of her. She recognized immediately she was on the roof of a school. Two teenagers were standing by the chain-link fence that lined the edge, a girl and a boy. They were both in school uniforms, though the boy's jacket was slung over his arm and his tie was loose around his neck.

"And what a beautiful day," the girl continued, lifting her head to gaze at the sky. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. "Practically still feels like summer."

The boy reached in his pocket and retrieved a pack of cigarettes, lighting up and then holding out one to the girl.

The girl was obviously hesitant. "I don't know, Itaru-kun. At school? I mean, cutting class is bad enough..."

"Oh, c'mon, Natsumi," the boy said, grinning at her. He was handsome in an unruly sort of way and it was obvious that Natsumi was completely susceptible to his charming smile. She slowly reached out and took the cigarette, smiling shyly. He lit it with his lighter.

"Atta girl," Itaru said, and putting his arm around her shoulders he lifted his gaze to the sky. "Man, what a beautiful day."

...

The door to the kitchen was open and Naru rushed inside, thinking of the hundreds of possible consequences of his actions and rationalizing that none of them were very probable. Mai lay crumpled on the floor but the kitchen was otherwise still as he flew to her side. "Mai," he whispered, his hands cradling her head.

"I think she only fainted," Gene said from behind him. "She'll come to in a moment."

Naru hadn't even realized his brother had been on his heels and he felt the sting of embarrassment at his loss of focus. Gene seemed to know what he was thinking because he scoffed at him. "Don't be ridiculous, Noll, we were all worried—" his words stopped abruptly and he looked up, staring hard at something his brother could not see.

"Aahil," Gene finally said quietly. "Lin sent you?"

"As soon as he realized it was Taniyama alone in the kitchen," the spirit replied. "But the spirit left before I arrived." He nodded toward Mai on the floor. "It was a small shock. She'll be all right. She didn't hit her head when she fell."

"Does that mean..." Gene's words trailed off before he started again. "You were here when she fainted?"

The spirit familiar nodded toward Gene and then glanced at the brother, who was staring at his twin with deep scrutiny. "I have nothing to add, so I will go. My Master only wanted me to be here if necessary." As he spoke, the shiki disappeared.

Gene turned toward his brother, an apologetic look in his eyes. "He's gone. He said he didn't see the spirit."

"What else—" Naru began, but stopped as he felt movement as Mai turned her head. She opened her eyes blearily, blinking slowly.

As Mai opened her eyes she realized immediately she was on the floor, her head propped up and gently held in someone's hands. Naru looked down at her, his expression concerned, relieved and eager all at once. What happened, his eyes were asking her, but she wanted to ask him the same thing.

"Ugh," she groaned. "I'm on the floor."

Gene let out a relieved laugh and Naru's lips twitched in a smile. "So it would seem. What happened?"

Mai closed her eyes. "I heard a voice. Who are you, it asked me, and why are you here."

"What did you see?"

She shook her head. "The spirit was so hazy. It was hard to distinguish. I couldn't see anything definitive about it. I just heard the voice." She opened her eyes and began to sit up. "I'm okay," she told the twins. Suddenly noticing that both Kaori and John were standing in the doorway, the former with her mouth hanging open, she repeated herself. "I'm okay."

"You fainted," Gene said frowning and sounding worried. "Did it attack you?"

She shook her head again. "No, it didn't. Not this time." She frowned, considering. "It was hostile, but more confused than anything. Maybe even.. scared."

"But you think next time it would attack?" Naru asked seriously.

Mai bit her lip. "I don't know. Maybe." She sighed and shook her head as if to clear it. "Let's go back to base. I want to see if Lin picked up anything on the mics."

...

However, the recordings from the microphones in the kitchen did not offer any further illumination. Kaori and John looked around the room curiously, studying their base, while Naru and Gene pondered over the readings from the thermographs and Lin continued to watch the monitors.

"It seems to suddenly spring up from the kitchen," Gene said, gazing at the monitor with a pensive frown on his lips. "There's absolutely no fluctuation in any other room."

"You mean, it saw its target immediately and went there." Naru said.

"It seems that way," Gene muttered. "I think it's identified us as a group. It knows that we're outsiders, but more than that—it knows we're there for Kaori-san. Mai was singled out because she went to the kitchen alone. It probably wanted to make its presence known to her—to us."

"To frighten us off," Naru mused.

Mai couldn't listen. She felt disgruntled, tired and ravenous. It was, after all, approaching mid-afternoon and all they'd eaten since breakfast was the Swiss roll cake with their tea.

"Let's go back to the house and eat something," Kaori said sympathetically, hearing Mai's stomach rumble. "I'm hungry too." She turned toward Lin. "Lin-san, have you eaten?"

Lin dipped his head apologetically. "I have, but thank you."

She then turned to John. "You're welcome to join us, Brown-san."

"Thank you," John said with a bright smile, noticing the change in Kaori's attitude toward him.

With that they returned to the main house. Noticing that Mai's hands were shaking, Gene instructed her to sit down and wait while they prepared the food. Lunch turned out to be a mixed collection from the Murata's refrigerator and freezer: dumplings, pizza-flavored breadsticks and a tossed vegetable salad, complemented with fresh rice that Kaori put in the rice cooker.

"Sorry it's not a whole lot," Kaori said, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Usually I just eat whatever. There's chips and cookies in the cupboard too, if you're still hungry."

"No, it was good," Mai said, leaning back in her chair with her tea. She felt much better after the food, the dull tired feeling that had been clouding her mind finally easing away. "Thank you very much."

Naru had been quiet all through lunch, listening to the small talk between the others. "Kaori-san," he began. "Your sister's violin—may we see it?"

Kaori nodded and the four followed her from the dining room into the sitting room with the piano. She reached underneath the piano and picked up a violin case, setting it on top of the piano as she opened the clasps.

"You play piano, don't you Kaori-san?" Mai asked.

"I do, but I really haven't been practicing much recently."

Gene ran his hand gently over the top of the smooth polished wood. "Did Natsumi-san also play?"

She nodded again. "As children, we always played together. She didn't really practice anymore, after she got serious about violin. But she still liked to play a little bit." Her gaze slipped from the room as her eyes unfocused. "Even when we stopped spending time together at school, when we had different friends... sometimes, when I was practicing, she would come in here to listen. She really liked this Chopin etude I was learning at the time."

Naru gestured toward the piano. "Would you play that for us? Please?"

Kaori hesitated but stepped toward the piano, lifting the key cover. "I haven't played it in a few weeks," she warned, but sat down and began to play.

As she played the piece, Naru touched the violin case carefully, picking up the instrument and turning it in his hands before placing it gently back into the velvet case. There was a small pocket covered by a flap in the top of the case, which he slid his fingers into and retrieved a small folder piece of paper. Rather than unfolding it, he slipped it into his pocket.

Kaori stopped playing when they heard the sound of the front door opening, dropping her hands into her lap. "My parents must be back." She shrugged slightly as she stood. "Let's go back to the other room. We can't really pretend to work on a project in here."

They had only just sat down in the other room when Kaori's mother appeared at the door, twisting her wedding ring around her finger nervously. "Ah, Kaori?" she said, "I need to speak to you a moment."

Kaori sighed and followed her mother into the hallway, sliding the door shut behind them. Gene found himself closing his eyes and following them with his awareness without a second's hesitation.

"What is it?" Kaori said, sounding annoyed.

Her mother frowned at her, disturbed by her tone. "Ritsuko called me while we were out. You know her due date is soon, right? She's not feeling well and was hoping I could come and take care of the boys for a bit, and help out around the house. What with Hiroaki-san's work and all."

"Oh." Kaori almost sounded relieved. "Ok."

Her mother looked anxious. "I thought I would go. I hate to leave you alone, with your father's trip... You don't mind?"

"No, it's fine."

The woman bit her lip, looking at her daughter. "I can always come back sooner, but I thought I'd stay until Thursday. It's only Yamanashi.."

The daughter shrugged. "It's just the school week, Mom. You don't need to stay here. Go help Aunt Ritsuko. You were going to go tonight?"

Her mother nodded and hesitated again before speaking, changing the subject. "Have you been able to talk to Brown-san?"

"Not really," Kaori lied. "We're still working on our project."

Her mother nodded. It was obvious that she was worried about her daughter, even if Kaori was blind to the fact and she didn't know how to express her feelings or how to address the current situation. "I hope you'll talk to him, Kaori. Call him sometime this week, okay? I think he can help you."

"Okay," Kaori said shortly.

"Anyway." Her mother sighed, sounding resigned. "I'll be back on Thursday, at the latest. I'll call you every night."

Gene opened his eyes. "Her mother is going out of town," he informed the table.

John looked somewhat startled but Naru simply nodded. "How very convenient for us," he remarked. "We'll be able to use the cameras after all."

...

Shortly after Kaori returned to the room John stood, apologizing that he had to leave. "We should return to base as well," Naru said, standing. "There's some more research we should attend to and there's the matter of getting Gene and Mai into your school tomorrow."

"Jiin?" Kaori asked, tilting her head with a puzzled look, articulating the name with a more Japanese pronunciation.

Naru could have cursed at his slip, instantly berating himself for being so careless. His brother, however, just laughed. "My nickname," he explained to Kaori. Seeing that she wanted him to elaborate, he continued. "It's a long story."

"Habit," Naru said through a tight jaw, not failing to notice the way John was watching the two curiously.

"Just the way we call him Naru," Mai teased in a singsong voice. "Naru for Narcissistic! It's so apt that I can never remember to call him Kazuya-san."

As much as he loathed the fact that both of their identities had been revealed—in a way, at least—Naru could see that this had drawn the attention away from his blunder. "Really?" Kaori was asking, looking both dubious and surprised.

"You may not have noticed yet, but he's actually terribly narcissistic," Mai said. "He's egotistical and arrogant, self-centered and pretentious..."

He frowned at her. "Mai," he warned.

"Yes sir," she giggled and stopped, giving a wink to Kaori. The girl giggled, too.

"Only Ichirou-san and Taniyama-san are going to the school?" John asked.

"Lin and I will monitor any activity remotely," Naru said. "We thought it prudent not to draw too much attention at the school, as visiting twin students certainly would."

"Ah," John said understandingly, nodding in agreement. "I see your point."

"I'll go make sure my parents won't notice when you go to the other house," Kaori said, turning to leave. As if suddenly remembering her manners, she bowed at John. "It was very nice to meet you, Brown-san."

John returned the gesture. "Likewise, Kaori-san. I hope we'll meet again soon." He turned to Naru. "You have my contact information. Please call me if there's anything I can do. Otherwise, I'll plan on seeing you tomorrow afternoon."

The four left the house, Naru and Gene slipping on their shoes and stepping down to the walkway. Naru immediately strode forward, hands in his pockets.

Behind them, Mai was lacing up her shoes on the veranda. She winced as she saw Naru stalk off, knowing that even though he would never admit it, what she had said had hurt him.

John was standing on the walkway in front of her but he did not turn toward the front gate to leave. "Taniyama-san," he instead started tentatively.

Mai looked up from her shoes and was struck again by how young he appeared. "What is it?"

John flushed slightly, a pink spreading across his pale cheeks. He glanced to the side to make sure the twins were out of earshot. "I don't know why, but I feel like I've forgotten something. Something I should apologize for." He gazed at her earnestly. "If there's anything... Whatever it is... I'm sorry." He shrugged, running his hand across the back of his neck. "I guess that's all I'm trying to say."

"Don't be silly," Mai said, but her throat seemed tight and her voice unnaturally high. "There's nothing for you to apologize for, John-san." At this she blushed deeply and corrected herself. "I'm sorry, Brown-san."

"No, it's okay," John said quickly, smiling. "You can call me John. I'd prefer it if you did. Actually," and as he spoke, Mai felt a warmth spread across her chest. "Can I call you Mai-san as well?"

"Yes," Mai said, failing to keep the grin from spreading wide across her cheeks. "I'd like that."

"Well then," John said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mai-san."

"Bye-bye," Mai said, waving as she stepped down from the house and watched as he left the gate. She exhaled slightly and looked toward the side house where Naru and Gene were disappearing inside. "They could have waited," she muttered and hurried down the path to follow them.

...

Gene spoke as he slid the door shut behind them. "What are you thinking?"

Naru raised an eyebrow at his twin, stepping out of his shoes once more as they entered the house. "You can't tell?"

The elder brother snorted, placing his own shoes on the rack. "Don't give me that, Noll. If I wanted to guess or suppose I wouldn't ask you."

Standing in the entrance hall, Naru was silent, a small frown crossing his features as he thought. "Do you think it's the sister?" He finally asked his brother.

Gene spread his hands. "It seems likely, doesn't it? Heck of a coincidence if it isn't."

Naru nodded, fingering the folded piece of paper in his pocket. "True. The timing of her sister's death. And there's every reason for her sister to believe her death was Kaori's fault and to want retribution for it."

"Kaori was certainly disapproving and she did warn her sister about that boy, at the very least, if not his crowd." Gene frowned. "And yet... I can't see how it could be. To blame her sister for it all? It's a bit of a stretch."

"The blame could stem from the fact that her twin is still alive while she is dead," Naru pointed out. "Logical rationalization is rather rare in the spiritual world."

"True." Gene pointed impatiently at his brother's hand, which held the piece of paper at his side. "Are you going to open that or what, Noll?"

Naru smirked at his twin and began to unfold the paper. "Patience, Gene," he said, and held the unfolded paper between them so that they could both read it.

Sis - I know things have been different lately, and I'm sorry. I want things to go back to the way they were before. I want us to be friends again.

It was obvious that there had been additional writing on the paper, but the pencil had been erased and was impossible to decipher.

"Who wrote it?" Gene asked.

His brother frowned, fingering the edges of the paper. "It's hard to tell," he said slowly, "There's a lot of regret and loneliness attached to this paper, but none of the bitterness I would expect from Kaori. If I had to guess I would think it was Natsumi."

"Hmm," Gene said, tapping his chin. He turned as the front door slid open and Mai stepped inside.

"Hello," she said, stepping out of her shoes. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Not really," Naru said, and Mai's lips pursed at his brusque manner. Gene, noticing the tense atmosphere, rolled his eyes at his brother, as if to say how dumb can you be. His twin seemed to sense the words anyway and shot his older brother a glare. Stay out of it, his eyes said.

"Naru, can I talk to you a second?" Mai sighed, shifting her weight and hoping that Naru wasn't going to insist on his brother's audience for what was about to transpire.

"Gene can—" Naru started, but his brother was already walking away down the hall.

"I'm going to check in with Lin," Gene said over his shoulder and the two stood in silence, looking at each other until they heard Gene's footsteps die away and the faint sound of a door opening and closing.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said," Mai blurted. "Obviously I wasn't really thinking when I said it and if I'd thought you'd take it seriously I wouldn't have said it at all."

"It's fine," Naru said stiffly. "It's for the best that you said what you did. I'd rather John and Kaori remember that I am Naru rather than Ichirou as Gene."

"Yes, but—" Mai stomped her foot, frustrated. "Obviously it's not fine, Naru. If I hurt your feelings I want you to say so, so I can apologize. I want us to be honest with each other."

"My feelings have nothing to do with it," Naru said coolly. "And I can see you care so much about being truthful, as you were quite sincere before."

"You know I was just saying that. You know I don't think you're as arrogant as I said!"

"Well, you certainly had us all deceived."

"It may be true that when we first met, I did think those things about you," she admitted. "But it was only because you fooled me."

He narrowed his eyes. "So it's my fault?"

"Argh," Mai ground out, "You are being particularly stubborn, Oliver."

The use of his real name stopped Naru before he had a chance to retort, and Mai stepped toward him, taking his face in her hands and rising to her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. "I will never call you Naru again if you really think I'm calling you narcissistic," she promised quietly. "If deep down you think I'm actually insulting you or that it means somehow that I love you any less." She kissed him again aggressively, pushing him against the wall. He responded by pulling her close to him, his hands holding her small waist and daring to slip lower.

"Say that again," he breathed, his eyes closing as her lips trailed along his jaw.

"I love you," she whispered, nibbling at his ear. "Don't forget it, Oliver."

A true smile spread to his lips and he chuckled, shaking his head and pulling himself away from her ministrations. "It's too strange to hear you call me that." He kissed her lips one last time and stepped away from her. "We'd better stop. Any longer and I won't be able to resist you."

"And what would be wrong with that?" Mai frowned, sticking out her lower lip in a pretend pout.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. "Well, it's not terribly professional, is it." His eyes softened slightly and he leaned forward, placing his hands at her cheeks and kissing her forehead. "Thank you, Mai. Let's get to base before we give them a chance to speculate."

Mai giggled. "What would be wrong with that?" She repeated with a coy grin. "We're all adults, Naru. Surely—"

"Maybe so, but that's not why we're here." Naru retrieved the piece of paper from his pocket and passed it to her as they walked down the hall. "What do you think about that?"

Mai read it and frowned, her eyes moving over the words. "Natsumi wrote this?"

"That's the current assumption, yes."

"Hm," Mai mused, lifting her finger to her chin. Naru could not help notice that her reaction was nearly identical to his brother's. He slid open the door to the room that was their base, both Lin and Gene turning to watch them enter. Gene raised both eyebrows and gave his brother a grin.

"Not now," Naru said shortly, giving his twin a warning look.

"As you wish," Gene grinned.

"That's the note?" Lin asked Mai, and she nodded, passing it to him. Lin glanced over it before passing it back to Naru. "Are you going to give it to Kaori?"

"Not yet, certainly." Naru folded the paper again carefully and returned it to his pocket. "I wouldn't want to cloud her judgment if it turns out this is the spirit of her sister trying to hurt her." He turned toward Mai. "Do you think it's the sister?"

"Um," Mai said, turning her head and looking aimlessly at the shelves. "I dunno yet. Not especially." She put her hands together. "Oh, I can tell you now. I was waiting until John and Kaori left."

"What did you see?" Gene asked.

"When I fainted in the kitchen, I saw a memory..." Mai's voice trailed off. "It probably doesn't seem very pertinent, but I saw Natsumi and her boyfriend. Itaru-san."

"Was it the spirit's memory?" Mai gave a small shrug. Naru tapped his pencil against the table. "If so, that confirms that the spirit is Natsumi."

"Maybe," Mai said, but she sounded dubious. "Regardless, I could see that Natsumi was completely infatuated with him. It may have gone against her better judgement, but she was definitely taken by him."

"And he?" Gene asked. "Did he seem to return the feelings?"

Mai paused, pondering this. "Yes," she finally said. "Not the sort of blind infatuation that Natsumi seemed to have, but he was clearly really fond of her. He didn't have any ulterior motives by being with her." She made a face. "Well, maybe blind infatuation sounds a little strong. But you could see that she wanted him to think well of her, even if it meant doing things she didn't want to. Like how she took the cigarette. And she didn't seem like the type of girl that would be cutting class for any old reason."

"Young love," Lin said quietly, almost as if speaking to himself, "is often so foolish and insecure."

"It might be a good idea to talk to this Yoshimasa Itaru," Naru said. "We can look up the Yoshimasa family in Kanazawa, but if what Kaori said of him staying with his mother is true it could mean we'd be looking under the wrong name. I'd like our actions to be based on more than hearsay, anyway, so there's no reason not to get additional information. We can ask Kaori who his friends were and I'd like you," he nodded toward Gene, "to ask around at the school and see if you can find anything more conclusive. One of his friends must have his phone number."

"Will do," Gene said.

Naru turned to Lin. "How's our progress with getting Mai and Gene into the school tomorrow?"

"There's a couple of last things to be finalized," Lin said, leaning back in his chair and resting his ankle on his knee. "I should have the student IDs by tonight and we'll know tomorrow morning into which classes they'll be placed." He glanced at Mai. "Perhaps you could ask for Kaori's assistance. We'll need to know what supplier the school uses for uniforms—or rather, where we can buy some."

"I'm on it," Mai said, nodding.

"What pretense are we going on?" Gene asked. "Visiting students?"

"No, just regular transfer students," Lin said. "The school administration is aware that it's a short term matter, but for all intents and purposes your classmates will think of it as permanent."

Mai smiled. "Won't they be disappointed," she murmured.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gene teased with a grin.

"Just don't let any girls get a crush on you," Mai warned. "You'll break their hearts."

"I'll be purposefully mean," Gene promised with a dashing smile. "I'll do my best impression of Noll." He glanced at his brother. "Are you sure you don't want to go?"

"It would be too noticeable," Naru said, shaking his head. "And if the spirit appears at the school I need you to be there, not me."

"You'll be entering the school under the guise of siblings," Lin said. "You can corroborate a story to be step-siblings or half-siblings as you like, but Mai will be in Kaori's year, and Gene the year above."

"That'll work out well, then," Gene said with a nod. "Didn't she say that Yoshimasa was a class ahead?"

Naru nodded and lifted his wrist to glance at his watch. "We have a couple hours before we need to start thinking about dinner. Lin, I'll take over if you want to stretch."

Lin nodded gratefully and the two switched places. Mai had been texting on her phone and looked up. "Kaori says there's a department store nearby, actually, that carries the school's uniform. She said she told her mom she's stepping out and we'll go together. Gene, if you let me know your size I can pick yours up for you, too."

"Sure, thanks," Gene said.

"I'll go with you, actually," Lin said.

"Oh—" Mai appeared as though she were about to protest. "You don't have to if you don't want to, really..."

Naru shrugged. "We can handle things here while you're out. It'd be prudent not to send the two of you off alone somewhere, considering that the spirit's already shown itself to you, Mai."

"Ok. Well, we'll be back."

After Lin and Mai had left, Gene glanced at his brother with a grin.

"Don't even start," Naru warned.

Gene held up his hand. "It's just nice to see you made up so quickly. That you finally came to your senses. That's all."

His twin sighed. "Please don't tell me you were spying on us."

Gene snorted. "As if. You guys are just plain as day. Though I don't imagine Lin could tell what happened..."

"Well, at least that's something," Naru muttered.

His brother rolled his eyes. "Heaven forbid, Noll, that Lin have even an inkling that you and Mai were snogging."

...

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully. Kaori went with her parents to see her mother off at the train station. At her request, the SPR investigators set up several cameras within the house in areas she had promised her father would certainly not pass through before he left for his business trip the following morning. As an added precaution, Naru and Gene agreed it would be best if Lin cast the suggestion spells on each one. Mai had hoped to watch the spell being cast but Gene had insisted she start on dinner.

"We might as well take advantage of having a kitchen right next to our base. We may not be so lucky next time and we'll be eating instant ramen or take-out."

"Anything you could throw together would be better than that, Mai-san," Lin said, looking up for a moment from his concentration. He had been sketching diagrams on a pad of paper—formulating the spell, Naru had said.

"I guess Kaori did say we should eat anything in the fridge and if they have vegetables we might as well cook them..." Mai agreed, looking over her shoulder at Lin and Naru with the cameras as Gene steered her toward the kitchen.

"I'll help, but you need to tell me what to do," Gene said, a huge grin on his face. "I'm pumped! This is exciting, isn't it."

"What, making dinner?" Mai laughed. "Or the case?"

"Well, I was talking about dinner," Gene admitted sheepishly, watching as Mai poked through the Murata's fridge. "Maybe I'm just hungry."

"You're always hungry, Gene."

He shrugged. "You're a good cook, you know that, Mai? You really are."

Mai laughed again, pulling a leafy cabbage and some mushrooms out of the refrigerator. "Well, it certainly didn't happen overnight. But I'm glad to hear you think so." She took an onion and some carrots and passed the lot to Gene. "This'll have to do."

"What are we having?"

"Just yakisoba." Mai smiled. "I saw noodles in the cupboard and there's pickled ginger in the fridge at the guesthouse. Should be pretty easy to throw together. Let's go."

...

By the time Mai and Gene prepared dinner and brought the plates up to the base, both Lin and Naru were sitting at the desk, watching the monitors.

"Kaori and her father returned not too long ago," Naru informed them, turning his head as they entered.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" Gene asked, setting two plates on the table.

"None whatsoever."

"Come eat," Mai beckoned, and sat down at the computer when Naru stood up. "I'll keep an eye on it. You guys just relax for a moment."

"Hardly fair," Lin said, but he acquiesced and moved his chair to the table, picking up the chopsticks. "Thanks for dinner."

"Thanks for dinner!" Gene said, clapping his hands together like a school boy. His brother snorted. At that, Gene looked at his brother curiously. "I don't even know anymore. Can you cook, Noll? Or did you always let Mai make you dinner?"

"What are you implying?" Naru frowned.

Gene shrugged as he shovelled some yakisoba into his mouth. "I'm just curious what skills you managed to pick up in your past-future life."

"I could follow recipes," Naru said stiffly. "But I was never very good at improvising." He glanced at Mai. "Not like Mai. She can't follow a recipe to save her life."

Mai giggled. "Yeah. That's probably why I'm so bad at baking. Your leaven-ers and alkalines and whatever have to be so precise."

A small smirk lifted the corner of Naru's mouth. "Inevitably, the harder you try to follow a recipe the more likely you'll forget something basic."

"Like that one time I made Luella's favorite muffins—or at least they were supposed to be—and forgot the salt and the baking powder!" Mai grinned and cringed at the same time, shaking her head. "That was awful." She turned her head back to the monitors, sighing. "How strange," she murmured. "To remember something that never even happened."

...

The evening progressed without incident and soon night had arrived. "Her father's gone to bed, so I'm going to loosen the protections on the spells and rest for a bit," Lin said, standing. "Wake me earlier if anything happens, but I'll plan on waking around midnight for the next watch."

Naru nodded. "Make it one," he said. "Midnight's not long enough to get some decent rest." He glanced at his brother, who had been yawning steadily for the past hour. "Why don't you go to bed too, Gene. I'll take the first shift." He glanced at Mai. "And Mai, I suppose."

Gene couldn't help but yawn as he nodded, glancing apologetically at Mai. "You're okay to stay up?"

"I'm fine," Mai said, "I'm actually not tired at all yet."

"All right," Gene agreed. "But don't forget we have school tomorrow. Go to bed if you're tired; Noll and Lin can keep an eye on things tonight." He followed Lin into the next room where they'd laid out some futons and the base was suddenly silent but for the quiet humming of the electrical equipment.

"I met Lin's shiki," Mai suddenly said, breaking the silence, looking up at Naru as she spoke. Sitting at the computer, he was writing something down in his notebook. She didn't have to see the paper to know that words and phrases were underlined or circled, drawn together with long strokes of the pencil across the page. He was thinking, she knew, considering all the aspects of the case and their connections to each other. She hesitated, wondering if now as the right time to have the conversation, but as he hadn't signalled for her to quiet, she continued. "When I was walking home from the supermarket this morning."

"Is that so?"

She waited for him to continue with questions but he did not. "He said he was just checking to see if I'd be ready when you guys were," Mai continued, glancing back at him, but his eyes remained steadfast on the notepad. "And that he was curious if I could see him."

"I bet he was," Naru remarked dryly.

"Lin-san said he thought I could probably see him because Gene can, but that doesn't make any sense," Mai frowned.

"It doesn't?" He asked, his pencil hovering above the paper.

"No, not at all." Mai shook her head. "I thought he was probably disobeying Lin-san by talking to me, but I guess not," Mai said, shrugging. "I asked him that, too."

"Did you talk about anything else?"

Mai thought for a second. "I don't think so," she finally said. "At least, not much. I asked him about Lin-san."

Naru cocked his head slightly, considering her. "What about Lin?"

Mai flushed. "I was worried that he was lonely." She looked embarrassed, turning back to the monitors and trying to study the temperature readings, but they were absolutely constant with no fluctuations. "It probably sounds pretty dumb. Our conversation wasn't very long. But he did say I should tell you."

Naru nodded slowly, his pencil tapping against the page. "Gene said... he thought you had a dream last night about the case. About Kaori, shortly after the funeral." He met her gaze.

Mai looked surprised. "Gene said that?" She looked at her hands. "I don't remember."

Naru shrugged slightly and his eyes returned to his paper. "He could have been mistaken."

"Yeah," Mai murmured, though her tone was unconvinced and uneasy. Her eyes stared blankly at the monitor, watching the quiet inside of the Murata house. All was still and she was unable to focus on their case. Why had Gene thought she had a dream, if she couldn't even remember herself? She bit her lip and tapped her fingers anxiously on the desk, remembering again what Lin had said earlier in the day.

"We haven't discussed how much we're going to pay you," Naru suddenly said calmly, looking up again.

"Oh," Mai began, surprised, a flustered look coming over her face. "I dunno, Naru, you don't really have to—"

"Nonsense. You're an employee of SPR, aren't you? And you were paid at BSPR. There's no reason not to be paid now."

"But I wasn't working for you," Mai protested. "I was working for Madoka."

"What difference does it make? Our relationship doesn't change anything. Not to mention that BSPR, as the parent company, would be horrified to hear that I wasn't paying one of my investigators properly." Seeing her apprehension, he waved his hand nonchalantly, gesturing at nothing. "Consider it a formality, if you like, but there's no getting around it. What did I pay you last time?"

"Um..." Mai bit her lip. "What was it? Maybe 800 yen an hour for clerical work, and 1200 on cases? Something like that."

"Well, we'll definitely have to give you a raise," Naru said. "But you'll have to keep track of your time. Perhaps you'd rather be salaried?"

"Sure," Mai said, shrugging. "Honestly, it doesn't matter to me..."

He ignored her. "At 1500 yen an hour, if you worked an average of three regular days and two part-time, that'd be roughly 30 hours a week, so that'd be 45,000 yen, but taking account for the inevitable overtime... maybe 80,000 yen?"

"A week?" Mai asked sceptically.

He smirked at her. "I'll run it by Lin and Gene for their approval." He turned back to the computer. "I'll get it entered into the payroll system after this case."

"As you wish."

"Naturally," he smirked at her and she swatted at his arm playfully. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I can't very well have you be destitute, can I?"

"Why does everyone think I'm so poor?" Mai sighed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "Not that I'm not grateful for the exorbitant salary, Naru..."

"Exorbitant?" He scoffed, and then sighed, lowering his eyes to the paper in his lap. Frowning, he pushed it aside and turned his gaze instead to the computers in front of them. "I can't do anything for you as I am right now, Mai. The least I can do is make sure you can provide for yourself."

"Don't say that. Just because we're here now..." Her voice trailed off and she placed her hand on his gently. "It doesn't change anything. Not really." The two remained in the same position, her hand touching his, watching the monitors in silence until Lin came to relieve them.

...

Naru hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep when he suddenly blinked, finding himself again in the dreamscape standing next to his brother. "You brought me back to your dream again?"

Gene shook his head, his lips pursed and eyes serious. "While it's true that I brought you here... this isn't my dream." His brother's expression turned puzzled and he continued. "This is Mai's."

---

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I cannot express my gratitude enough, but I'll keep trying. Please leave me a review or drop me a note to let me know what you think! You know how I love hearing from you. You are my editors, you spot my errors and you catch inconsistencies when they appear, and your ideas make me consider new thoughts for the direction of the story, so please do let me know. Your fellow readers will thank you :)

Thank you again! See you again with the next chapter!