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.

13. Part XIII

Part XIII

It was the same dream; and yet, it was different.

She was watching the feeds from the monitors, discussing some mundane details of the case with Gene when the realization came to her suddenly, sharply and painfully like a physical blow. Where is Naru, she thought frantically, jumping up in a panic and looking around the base. Nothing looked out of the ordinary; the equipment stacked on the shelves the way it always was and the computers lined up as usual. There were even the few errant but familiar teacups, scattered on the table among the stacks of papers. But it was empty, without him; it seemed a pale imitation of a case when he wasn't there.

She wasn't alone with Gene in the base, not only Lin but Yasuhara and Takigawa were there as well. John and Masako entered the room but she ignored them; they were not who she was looking for. Why isn't he here? What happened to him? She demanded, and all eyes swung toward her own. Gene and Lin were watching her with uneasy and worried looks on their faces; the other four simply looked bewildered.

Who, Jou-chan? Takigawa asked gently, and she wanted to scream in frustration.

Is her psychometry picking up something from the house? John asked, the worry plain on his innocent face. Is it the spirit?

She felt like she was losing her mind. She knew he'd been gone for a long time; but at the same time she couldn't even imagine the possibility, let alone remember the circumstances. Didn't she just see him? What could have happened that he would leave her; leave his office, his work, his friends? Where did he go? Her hand fell on her stomach and she refused to look down, knowing what that swell meant. Just as before, she simply knew he was not the father of her unborn child. He'd been gone much longer than the five months along that she was in this pregnancy. Tears gathered in her wide eyes and slipped down her cheeks, but she made no motion to brush them away. Unseeing, she stood in the middle of the room and the tears continued to fall, grasping at a small enamel brooch she had pinned to her scarf near her throat.

Mai, calm down. It was Gene who spoke, Gene who guided her to sit on the sofa at the far end of the room, Gene who brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and knelt in front of her to take her hands in his own. Look at me, Mai. Breathe deeply. It's all right. Everything's going to be all right. Okay?

You shouldn't have brought her here, Gene, Lin reprimanded quietly, his voice pained. You should've known better.

Gene ignored him. Think of your baby, Mai. I want you to calm down and listen to its heartbeat inside you. Concentrate.

His voice was faraway now. Close your eyes. Listen. Good. Now relax. Relax, Mai.

Mai opened her eyes, passing a trembling hand to her forehead, even as Gene's voice echoed in her mind. Relax.

"'m trying," she mumbled aloud, wiping at her damp eyes with the back of her sleeve. She sat up slowly in the darkness, trying to breathe deeply to ease her trembling. It was just a dream, she told herself, willing herself to believe it.

Already she was beginning to forget the particulars, though two facts from the dream continued to shine clear in her mind. Firstly, that Naru was not there, and secondly, that somehow she was pregnant with another man's child. The thought of even having dreamed the scenario made her feel guilty and unfaithful. Even if he got tired of her and left—not that he would, she had to remind herself—she couldn't imagine ever being with anyone else.

Most of all, however, it was the absence of Naru in her dream that made her afraid. Just a dream, Mai, just forget it, it was just a dumb, stupid, bad dream—but she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling from her mind or ignore the pit of dread that had begun to grow in her stomach.

She rose from her futon and switched on the lamp, pulling a sweater over her thin sleeping shirt and avoiding her gaze in the mirror, afraid of what she would see if she looked. She hopped slightly as she pulled on her socks hurriedly and switched off the light as she left the room, sliding the door closed behind her as she made her way to the kitchen.

She set water to boil, finding solace in the simple matter of doing something—anything would suffice—to keep her mind from dwelling on the dream. She didn't even bother to make tea but poured the hot water into her cup, taking it to the kotatsu and sitting down and sliding under the blanket, relishing the warmth of the heater in the otherwise chilly room.

Mai was alternating between sipping and blowing on the hot water, trying very hard not to think of anything when there was soft knock at her front door. "May I come in?" a voice called.

She jumped at the sound. "Gene?" Mai called back, eyebrows furrowing. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her an uneven grin as he slid open the door. "I saw your light from the street," he explained, slipping off his shoes and crossing the open room.

She frowned in her confusion, though she was grateful to see him. "What are you doing up in the middle of the night?"

He shrugged, sitting down by her side and pulling the blanket of the kotatsu over his legs. "Couldn't sleep. I thought I'd do a circuit around the block." He paused, trying to laugh, though the sound was a little forced. "Maybe I knew that you were in distress and I should visit you."

Mai looked at her hands. "You joke about that, Gene, but after everything that happened today—yesterday—it could very well be true, couldn't it?"

He shrugged. "Maybe." He met her eyes, then, gaze softening and smiling gently. "You're in a bit of a dreadful state. Bad dream?"

"Yeah. Just a bad dream," Mai whispered. "I need to forget about it." Even as she said this, however, she knew she couldn't forget that sinking feeling—where is Naru in this dream, why is he not the father of my child—

"I'll listen, if it would help to talk about it," he offered.

"I don't..." She closed her eyes. How could she find the words to tell Gene what she had dreamed? "I don't know if I can. It'd probably feel better to get it off my chest, but..."

"Then just show me," he said, and she laughed weakly.

"Gene, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to begin to do that." She gestured with her hand between the two of them. "You and Naru may say that our spiritual auras or whatever are compatible and I'm absorbing psychic energy from you, but I don't feel anything and I have no idea what this all means." She looked at her hands and placed them flat on the table. "Not really. I mean, before I had random visions—"

"Not exactly random, if they always pertained to the case you were working on," Gene interrupted blandly.

"—well, okay, but it wasn't really more than that—"

"Precognitive and post-cognitive visions, clairvoyancy, not to mention astral projection," he reminded her, scratching his chin.

Mai frowned at him. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't understand, that's all. I don't understand anything. I don't know what me being able to absorb your psychic energy means. I mean, clearly, yesterday was too much, but how much is too much? What does this mean? And what do I do, now that I have it?"

"I think the qigong training is supposed to help with that," Gene said dryly.

"Will you guys ever be able to do that again with me around? Exchange your psychic energy like that?" She said, remembering how moving it had been to watch the brothers pass visible psychic energy between them. When she'd told Lin it had been the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, she'd meant it with all her heart, though really it was beyond beauty—it was visually comforting and tangibly compassionate, it was evidence manifest of the bond the brothers held together and most of all it was right. Nothing should stop the twins from being able to do that, least of all herself. Her voice rose slightly. "And will I start having visions again, and if I'm using energy from you, will it be more than that? Will I—will I..."

"Mai," Gene said gently. "Calm down. Yes, it will be different. It seems now that the last time you never realized your full potential. But that's why I'm here." He reached across the table and took her hand gently. "And Noll and Lin. Surely you don't need me to remind you how brilliant Noll is; with all his knowledge and cleverness at his disposal, there's nothing he can't figure out. Right?"

Mai nodded, trying to calm her breathing as she realized she was trembling. At the mention of his brother, for some reason, she felt like bursting into tears.

"And Lin—well, Lin doesn't really let on, but he's a powerful sorcerer," he smiled wryly. "He's probably the only person in the world who could properly train Noll and he's got years and years of experience. He'll be a very capable teacher."

"I know," Mai whispered. She felt like a rubber band stretched to its limit, high strung and ready to snap. "I—I..." She didn't really know what to say and hung her head. "I just thought things would be simple. That we could go forward, you and me and Naru—" Her voice broke at his name.

"Simple," he scoffed. "Nothing fun in that." He smiled at her, tilting his head. "You don't need to worry, Mai," he repeated calmly, though his eyes were pleading and betrayed his own anxiety. "It sounds like a lot, but we'll go one step at a time. Little by little."

"Yeah," she breathed. She sighed and squeezed his hand that still gripped hers, closing her eyes. "I guess I'm just getting ahead of myself. Sorry. I don't mean to... get all worked up." Her other hand reached to her forehead, rubbing her temple. She was dangerously close to losing her composure, but if she just breathed deeply she would calm down—or at least she hoped she would.

Gene watched her in silence for several moments, finally exhaling and biting his lower lip. "Show me your dream, Mai," he said quietly. "I don't think you should keep it bottled up inside you any longer." He could see she was about to protest and laid his other hand on the table, palm facing upwards in a gesture for her to take it. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she said simply, without hesitation.

"Remember how I looked into your memories before?"

She nodded, taking the hand.

"That time I just kind of plunged in. That's one way to do it," he admitted ruefully. "And knowing what we do now, I guess it makes sense that I got so much from you—that I saw so many memories, so much more than I intended. But you can show me as well, you can open your thoughts to me and push them to the surface for me to skim over and see. If you do this, when you show me your dream I won't see anything else."

"Okay," Mai said, hesitating.

"Close your eyes," he soothed, and she complied without resistance. "Imagine your mind and every memory within it is a deep, deep lake," he started quietly. "You are the lake; you are floating inside it. All your memories—everything from your entire life, past, present, future—are contained in the lake and are all around you: distant ones, recent ones. Dim memories you think you've completely forgotten but are just deep within the lake." His right hand let go of hers and reached forward, cradling her cheek even as his left still held her other hand tightly. "Take the memory, the thoughts of your dream and push it to the surface of the lake. I'll be there at the surface."

As he instructed her, he slowly began to reach out with his own mind, waiting to see what she would show him. Just as slowly, the dream began to trickle into his consciousness. It was not the full dream but only glimpses, and he could see that he was missing something integral, even if he had the gist. They were on a case, that much was clear. He could see the usual set up of computers and monitors at base. Both he and Lin were there in the dream, some others as well. However, it was obvious his brother was not.

Mai was panicking in the dream and he was trying to calm her. She was looking for his absent brother. As he delved into this thought the missing piece of the vision came to him suddenly: the fact that this adult Mai was pregnant and the sure knowledge that Noll was not the father.

Mai opened her eyes and the last vestiges of the dream slipped from his mind as he dropped his hand from her cheek. Her eyes seemed unusually large and dark in the dim light, her expression anxious.

"Tell me it was just a dream, Gene," she whispered. "It was the same dream from yesterday, only different." She closed her eyes as she thought, pursing her lips as she tried to explain. "Yesterday's dream was more specific; I was at Kaori's school and at Kaori's house. It was that case we were working on, even if I knew somehow that I was older." She couldn't bring herself to add aloud and pregnant. "But this one..." she swallowed and opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. He could see her fear in her eyes and could feel it in her fluttering pulse at her wrist. "It seemed more real, more tangible somehow."

"It wasn't real," Gene said automatically.

"I've never had precognitive dreams like that before," Mai continued. "I've never.. never had visions of something so far in the future. There's no reason it should start now. Right?" She pleaded.

"It was just a dream," he said, wanting to reassure her from her fears. He placed his hand on hers again and smiled gently, even if inside he was suddenly just as anxious as she. How could he reassure her when he truly didn't know: was a simply a dream or was it a shadow of the future? And if it was, why was it appearing now, what could that possibly mean?

"I don't think I ever told you.. how when I remembered my death and everything that happened before, I also had visions of the future. Our future together. Me, you and Noll." He swallowed and whet his lips. He'd told himself he wouldn't tell this to Mai—he hadn't even told his brother anything but the broadest details, and that was only by accident. But he wanted to say the words to reassure himself, just as much as Mai surely needed to hear them. "I had several visions of us together. The three of us and my niece. Your daughter." Mai's eyes grew surprised, almost incredulous, and Gene continued. "She was a really beautiful girl," he said, smiling wistfully. "And brilliant, of course. As if heaven had taken all the best parts of you and Noll and put them together in a tidy package."

Mai exhaled deeply and squeezed his hands, closing her eyes. "Oh... Gene." She sighed again, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "You probably shouldn't have told me that."

Gene shrugged, some of his own anxiety lifting. "Maybe. Maybe not. But I don't want you to lay awake, fearing for the future."

She tilted her head back and forth, an ambiguous and somehow endearing expression he'd seen her use before, but she kept her eyes closed. Without her open eyes to see him, he found himself studying her face, his gaze traveling from her gently curved eyebrows above her dark eyelashes, noting the two small birthmarks on her cheek beneath her right eye, so pale they were barely visible, passing her rounded nose to rest on her pink lips. Her hair was mussed from sleep and he had the sudden desire to untangle it with his fingers and place his hand on her cheek again to feel her skin. "Do you want Noll to be here?" Gene asked, pulling his hands away from hers. She opened her eyes and he did not meet her gaze. "I'll go wake him up. Or we can go back to our apartment together."

Mai shook her head slowly, even though that was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to see him, to hear his voice. She wanted to feel his body curled around hers, the gentle weight of his arm draped over her side and his quiet, steady breathing, blowing gently on the back of her neck. "No," she started, hesitating, and turned her head to look at the clock on the shelf behind her. "My first training session with Lin starts in an hour, anyway. I should probably try to go back to sleep."

Gene frowned as he turned his face back to hers, worry etching itself into his sincere features. "Will you be able to sleep?"

She laughed quietly as she rose to her feet, though the sound seemed both bitter and anguished. "I don't know, Gene, but I should at least try, right?" When he had risen to his feet she hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered in a voice so soft he could almost not hear her. "For everything." She released him and looked up at his face, trying to decipher the expression on his face. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine," he said quietly, willing her to believe him; for him to convince himself. "I'll sleep." He turned her shoulders and gently pushed her toward her bedroom. "Go back to sleep, Mai. I'll see you this afternoon, after school."

...

Gene was surprised to see the light on at the apartment when he returned. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him as he slid off his shoes, knowing it would be his brother that was awake, rather than Lin. As he entered the apartment he could see his assumption had been correct. His twin was sitting at the dining room table, referencing a book and writing something on a notepad. He must have only just gotten up, Gene reasoned, as his teacup was still mostly full and steaming by his hand. Otherwise, he looked much the same as himself: a sweater thrown over the clothes he'd slept in, dark eyes alert on a tired and drawn face and a pale shadow of stubble around his chin.

"Hullo," his brother said monotonously, looking up to meet his gaze. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," Gene answered truthfully. "You either?" Naru shook his head listlessly and gestured for him to join him at the table.

"Guess that makes three of us," Gene sighed, sliding into the chair and taking a sip of his brother's tea. "Mai's light was on when I went out." Naru's hand stilled and Gene continued. "She said she had a bad dream. I asked her to come back here to see you, but she said she'd try to go back to sleep." He snorted slightly in annoyance. "Before you get jealous on me, Noll, she was disappointed when it was me who showed up. And I know she wanted to see you, but she probably didn't want to bother you." He shook his head in admonishment. "I should have checked to see if you were awake—"

Naru shook his head. "It's probably better for her to go back to sleep. She's already going to be losing sleep; I don't want to be the cause of her drifting off during her afternoon classes." He frowned at his hands. "Quite honestly, I wish Mai didn't have to go to school."

"It'd be a lot easier, wouldn't it?" Gene agreed, exhaling and buzzing his lips. He watched his brother silently for several moments. "I know you're worried, Noll. What is it?" His lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "Besides the obvious, I guess."

Naru shook his head slowly, thoughtfully. "Before, I was quite content to encourage Mai to continue with her studies." His mouth lifted in a wry smile. "At first, she was not thrilled about the prospect of re-doing two years of high school—"

"Who would be?" Gene interrupted, standing up and stepping into the kitchen. Out of view, Naru could hear his twin rummaging in the cupboard and turning on the convection oven, returning moments later with two plates.

"When she first expressed her displeasure at going back to school, I was the one who convinced her it would be best to travel the same path as before. Logically, she should graduate from high school. There is such a stigma to those haven't completed their secondary education. But knowing what we do now..." He let the words hang in the air, placing the plates on the table as his brother passed them to him.

"You want her to drop out so Lin can train her full time?" Gene asked, reaching over his brother's shoulder to pick up his teacup, drinking the last the tea.

Naru looked annoyed as Gene set the empty teacup down on his papers. "Not only for Lin's training," he said quietly. "Eventually, the two of you will have to work together to see what Mai's capable of. What Mai's abilities mean for you and vice versa."

Gene sighed, sitting down heavily in his chair. "Not just the two of us," he corrected. "Me and you. Myself and Mai. And you and Mai." He held up his hands, forming a triangle with his thumbs and index fingers. "Surely you're not pretending to be left out of this loop, brother dearest."

Naru shook his head slowly. "No," he agreed. "The three of us experimenting with our psychic energy may be the ideal eventual stage of her training, but it may be a long way off. Between school and SPR, Mai's schedule is already as full as we should ask it to be. We're lucky her school is as lax as it is. The principal and her guidance counsellor have agreed to her part-time job and will allow her to miss the occasional school day, but they might change their minds if her grades begin to drop. Lin himself said there's no way to evaluate how much time we should plan on designating toward developing control over her abilities—not yet, at least—but it's not going to be easy."

"We'll just have to manage SPR without her," Gene said.

Naru nodded. "It very well may come to that. Her schoolwork and now training with Lin will have to take precedence. SPR is no longer a priority."

Gene rose to his feet quietly and took his brother's teacup to the kitchen. When he returned he held two full cups and passed one to his twin. "Neither of us have reached our full potential," he suddenly said quietly, easing into his chair. "I said that before to you. Remember?" He exhaled quietly. "I feel the same way now. It's just a feeling, in the back of my mind. But I think it has to do with Mai's abilities. Her being able to absorb my energy, and in turn take in yours..." His voice trailed off. "We don't know what it means."

"I don't like not knowing," Naru admitted quietly, staring at the cup of tea his brother had given him. "It's dangerous, not knowing." He shook his head to himself slowly. "I never should have taken her abilities so lightly, when we first met. I should have been more careful. I should have seen that she started training in England immediately."

"Hindsight is always 20/20," his brother intoned quietly. "You can't blame yourself for anything. There's no way you could have known. You suspected Mai's abilities were receptive to mine, but you never could have confirmed anything because I was dead." Naru flinched slightly and Gene continued. "You're not one for looking back on the past with regret, Noll. What else is bothering you? There's more on your mind than just Mai."

Naru frowned, lifting his teacup. "I got an email from Martin this morning."

Gene's eyes widened immediately. "What did he say?" He demanded.

"He's curious, of course, about our first case. To satisfy him, I think we should send a draft of the case report. But I don't want to tell him about the exorcism. Not in detail. Not yet."

"Mai creating the kekkai, you mean." Gene ventured and his brother nodded. "I thought the same thing. It's too soon. What else is it?"

Naru focused on the teacup in his hands. "They want me to come back to England."

"What?" Gene frowned. "I thought they were all for you taking some time off and even enrolling at Tokyo Uni—"

Naru shook his head, his brother's voice trailing off. "I'm not at Cambridge on regular tuition, you know. The committee that oversees merit-based scholarships doesn't see why they should let me postpone my degree when I'm so close to completion. Sounds like they've been harassing Martin, trying to figure out what the bloody hell I think I'm doing. And I don't think Professor Englebert will ever forgive me backing out of those lectures I promised to give for his class."

"No doubt you left him with a lot of dissatisfied female students in particular."

Naru ignored his comment. He frowned and rubbed at his forehead with his fingers. "Looking back, I'm surprised I allowed myself to be so optimistic. I should have foreseen this."

Gene rolled his eyes. "As opposed to the much more desirable pessimism." Seeing his brother's blank look, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well... What about dropping out? Postponing your studies indefinitely?" He asked, frowning. "You've already got one doctorate, I don't know why they're even asking you to complete these secondary courses..."

"I don't think Martin would be agreeable to that. After all, it's reasonably advantageous to have a well-rounded education."

Gene bit his lip and looked at his hands. He knew that well enough. Martin had only allowed himself to postpone his continuing education because Luella had pleaded on his behalf. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Naru admitted. "I don't see any alternative other than going back. We thought I would anyway, originally." He sighed. "The term will finish in the end of June. It's only four more months. I can return in July."

Gene's frown deepened. The oven timer in the kitchen dinged and he rose to his feet. "Just don't make any hasty decisions," he muttered. "And don't let yourself be swayed by how logical or rational an option may be."

His brother watched him carefully. "I don't see what else I would take into account—"

"And that's exactly what I'm afraid of."

...

True to his word, Lin arrived at Mai's house at exactly six o'clock that morning, not a minute early and not a minute late. She had slept after Gene had left and had only awoken five minutes prior, just enough time to throw on a sweater, splash some water on her face and brush her teeth.

Mai sat down across from Lin on the floor, mimicking his cross-legged pose. "As I said before, we'll begin this morning with breathing exercises and beginning meditation," Lin said, his voice calm and even. "It may take you some time to find the posture you're most comfortable in; don't be afraid to shift positions as we go along, but try not to fidget unnecessarily as it will only increase your distraction. The purpose of the breathing exercises is to calm your body and clear your mind. You cannot meditate with a clouded mind."

"Close your eyes and inhale, exhale. Inhale...and exhale." Lin said, his voice slowing as he continued, and Mai felt herself relaxing as she breathed in time with his words. They did this for some time; Lin speaking quietly. "Now we'll inhale deeply, slowly. First to the count of four. One, two, three, four..." This continued for several repetitions before Lin nodded in satisfaction. "Next we'll add pause in-between our inhalations and exhalations, holding our breath for four counts. Focusing on our breathing. One, two, three four..."

"Now to the count of eight. Inhale, hold for the count of eight, and exhale in eight counts. One, two, three..." Mai inhaled, "...six, seven, eight. Now hold, one, two, three..." Mai held her breath as he counted slowly, "...six, seven, eight, and exhale. Slowly. One, two, three..."

"Why eight?" Mai asked, her eyes still closed, when they had completed this exercise several times. "It reminds me of shikku hakku. You know?"

"No," Lin said, and she could imagine his eyebrow arching in either curiosity or amusement, or perhaps a little of both. "I'm not familiar with the saying. What is it?"

"The four and eight sufferings. It's traditionally a Buddhist phrase, but now it just means that something is... really difficult. That you have to really struggle to do something," she said, continuing her slow, even breathing. "I imagine you know what the eight sufferings are."

"I'm not too familiar with Buddhism. Tell me anyway," Lin encouraged.

"The first four are the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death," she continued, smiling serenely with her eyes still closed, "and the second four added to make eight are the sufferings of parting from those you love, having to spend time with those you hate, being unable to get what you want, and pain in the mind and body." She breathed in and exhaled slowly. "But kids nowadays just use it when something's really tough. 'I didn't understand my homework, it was so shikku hakku!' And so on." Her smile turned wry, her eyes still closed. "Not that difficult homework can really relate to the eight sufferings, but you know."

She could sense Lin was smiling his thin but gentle smile. "I don't imagine my own teacher was thinking of the eight Buddhist sufferings when she taught me to do it this way."

"Eight's lucky in Chinese too, huh?" Mai exhaled. Her eyebrows suddenly knitted together as she thought, even though she kept her eyes closed. "How old are you anyway, Lin-san?"

Lin chuckled. "You never asked Naru?"

"I probably did, but I don't think he ever told me." She frowned slightly and shifted her position slightly. "I think he said... that you came to England when he and Gene were eight or nine, maybe. Not long after Martin and Luella adopted them. Were you in university then?"

"No, shortly after, but like Naru and Gene, I had rather unconventional schooling."

"Do you want me to guess?"

He smiled slightly. "I'm twenty-nine, Mai. I hope that isn't too surprising."

"No, that seems about right." She giggled, her face relaxed and eyes still closed. "At least now, knowing you. Probably the first time we met, I wouldn't have been able to guess. I knew you were older than Bou-san, but you know, when you're a kid even adults in their twenties seem so old. So you were... what, twenty, twenty-one when you met Naru?" He nodded. "You must have been training to be an onmyouji for a long time."

"Since I was a child."

"Your family decided for you?"

He paused. "You could say that."

"When did you... how should I say.. acquire, for lack of a better word,your shiki?"

"Little by little," Lin said softly. "But now is not the time or place to discuss that. Your breathing's returning to normal, Mai."

"Sorry," she flushed slightly and opened her eyes. "I probably wasn't supposed to talk, was I?"

Lin did not answer her immediately. "I was waiting for you to start a conversation, actually." He smiled slightly. "I had a feeling it would be the most effective way for you to relax. That talking would actually be a way for you to clear your thoughts. Naru thought the same thing. Silence isn't always better," he informed her. "It may be for Naru, and it may be for me, but we are all different individuals." He shook his head. "It worked when you were telling me about the Buddhist saying, but as soon as you followed your curiosity about me you began to lose your focus. Close your eyes again, Mai. I will lead our breathing, but if you want to talk, go ahead. Don't force anything, and for today, try to refrain from asking questions unless it specifically relates to what we're doing. Always feel free to ask questions about what we're doing as they come to you, as it's all too easy to forget."

"Yessir," Mai giggled, eyes closed, and followed the man's instructions for her breathing. It was a long time before she felt the desire to speak again. "You can see my aura right now, can't you?" She asked quietly, inhaling deeply.

If Lin was surprised by her question, he did not show it. "Yes," he said simply. "In times of meditation I am able to see, but only just."

"So, you're meditating while you teach me to meditate?"

"Something like that, yes."

"I guess that makes sense," she said quietly to herself. "Does it look like Gene's?"

Lin shook his head. "Nothing like it," he responded truthfully. "I would not have guessed that you and Gene had compatible auras unless you were both here in front of me. Even then, it is difficult to judge. Perhaps while we say 'spiritual aura', it would be better to think of it as a 'spiritual fingerprint'. An 'aura' would indicate a hazy light, and it is true that some may perceive it as such, but is much more intricate and complex than the word implies. With practice, you will be able to see auras as well."

"Aahil can see them? Naru said something about that."

"Yes. Aahil is very good at seeing auras."

"I see," Mai said quietly, and continued her breathing. "What about your other shiki?"

"To varying degrees. No more questions about my shiki, Mai, not right now. It will only pique your curiosity."

"Okay," she agreed, exhaling deeply.

"I'm going to stop speaking," he told her quietly. "Try to maintain the rhythm we've established; let it settle as feels natural."

Mai nodded, breathing deeply. A calm smile graced her lips. "I feel great. I should do this all the time. I feel like my mind is floating right above my head. Like if I opened my eyes I would see my body. It reminds me of..." her voice trailed off.

Seeing that she was onto something, Lin encouraged her. "Follow the thought and let it come to you."

But the serene look on her face disappeared as it twisted in sudden anguish. "He's crying," she managed to whisper. "He's crying because of me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so careless." Tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Gene tried to warn me. If I'd been faster, I could have told them... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Lin looked alarmed. "Open your eyes, Mai. Mai," he said louder, but she didn't seem to hear him.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," she repeated over and over, mumbling.

Lin rose to his feet swiftly and reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes immediately, exhaling shakily. "Sorry," she smiled apologetically. "I guess I nodded off or something."

"What did you see?" He asked her seriously.

Mai frowned as she thought, clenching her jaw to fight back a yawn. All of a sudden she was very sleepy. "I don't remember. Weren't you just telling me to keep breathing?"

Lin pressed his lips together in a thin line. "I think you just had a vision." He shook his head. "It's not uncommon, in meditation, but it certainly happened much quicker than I would have guessed. I wasn't anticipating this to happen today."

"What did I say?" Mai suddenly asked, reaching to her face, surprised to find her cheeks wet. "Did I—?"

"I think you were remembering the day of the accident that brought us here," Lin said. "But don't dwell on it. Before we finish, let's do several calming exercises. I'll lead you through them, and I want you to listen to my voice."

"You mean—that's all?" She looked confused, and the man nodded, lifting his hand and to glance at his watch.

"That'll be enough for today. Naru asked if you could come back to the apartment, for breakfast, before you went to school."

...

It was a windy day and Lin's hair blew in front of his face as he waited patiently outside, mulling over what had happened as Mai changed into her school uniform. "You enjoyed the breathing exercises, didn't you?" He asked her when she appeared, sliding the door shut and locking it behind her.

"I did," Mai said shyly, tucking her hair behind her ears as the wind blew it into her eyes and the strands stuck in the corners of her mouth. "I wasn't expecting to. Well—I guess I didn't know what to expect. But I felt really calm." She looked up at him expectantly. "So this is the same qigong training you did with Naru?"

The tall man hesitated, shaking his head slowly. "Not exactly. While today was rather basic, I don't anticipate your needs will be anything like Naru's, and Naru was considerably younger than you are today—physically and mentally. I intend to have an open dialogue with you to constantly reevaluate and adjust your training regimen as we go along," he said, hands in his pockets as they walked down the street. "I'd like you to practice calming your breathing as we did today. It is fairly straightforward, with practice you'll find your rhythm and it will come naturally."

Mai nodded. "I can do that." She paused, her eyebrows knitting together nervously. "Will I have visions again...?"

"I can't answer that question for you." He frowned slightly. "In addition to doing breathing exercises on your own, I'd like you to start exercising more." Mai looked surprised and Lin cleared his throat. "Please don't take this the wrong way, because you are in very good shape for an average fifteen-year old student, but I think it would be a good idea to start training your body in addition to your mind. Learning qigong will improve the strength and flexibility of your mind and body, and the stronger foundation you have to build upon, the better. Nothing too rigorous—but perhaps we'll go on runs together several times a week as part of your training, if that suits you."

Mai giggled. "Do I have to go on a diet too?"

"Absolutely not." Lin smiled slightly. "From what you've been feeding us, if you continue eating like that you'll be fine. A healthy, varied diet. And as you grow—physically, mentally—no doubt you'll need to eat more. All I ask is that you eat when you are hungry." A small grin twitched on his lips. "Please don't feel the need to conform to society's notion of a young lady's appetite and hold yourself back."

At the mention of food, Mai's stomach began to protest its overnight fast. She giggled. "I really couldn't even if I wanted to, Lin-san."

...

Naru was waiting when Mai and Lin arrived at the apartment, breakfast and papers spread out across the table. He hadn't made much, but there were roasted potatoes, curried Indian dal and toast. Stepping inside, being met by the he aromas made Mai all but ravenous. Lin greeted the boy but did not stay in the main room, walking down the hallway and disappearing into his room.

"How did it go?" Naru asked quietly, his eyes searching Mai's face.

"Good, I think," she said, sitting down next to him and taking a piece of toast from the plate before reaching for the potatoes and dal, piling them on top of the bread. She couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of the meal. Lentils or dal on toast instead of rice was Naru's favorite breakfast; Luella would make it for her son on weekends or when he was on a case and commuting from home. Like any of the Indian cuisine Luella made, it was always delicious, and from the inviting aroma in the apartment Mai had a feeling Naru had learned the recipe from his mother.

He poured her a cup of tea and set it in front of her, a smile lightening her features as he did so. "Thank you. Thanks for breakfast. Smells delicious."

He didn't acknowledge the compliment. "Lin said he'd start you this morning with breathing exercises?"

"Yeah," Mai said, "that's basically all we did. And I had a vision," she said nonchalantly, picking up a fork.

Naru raised his eyebrow. "A vision?"

"Mmhmm, but I don't remember it. Lin said that's how it appeared, though. Like I was just reliving a memory." Seeing the look on his face she smiled, trying to lighten the mood. She certainly was not going to tell him it made her cry, even if she still couldn't remember any of it. "I really don't remember. Lin said it's not unusual to have visions during meditation." He frowned slightly even as he grudgingly agreed, watching as she blew on the steaming potatoes before taking a bite. "Mm, delish," she said, a contented smile crossing her lips.

As much as he wanted to watch her enjoy the breakfast he'd prepared for her—there was something very satisfying about sitting together for a meal, enjoying her company and knowing she felt the same—Naru had other things on his mind. He allowed her to eat in silence for some time before he spoke. "Gene said you had a nightmare."

"Yeah." Mai couldn't help but wince, setting down her teacup. She'd thought she wouldn't have to talk about the bad dream again; she'd rather forget about it entirely. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Still sleeping, perhaps, or trying to." There was a frown on his face and Mai knew he was upset—upset it had been his brother, not him that she had spoken to, in the darkness of the early morning hours. But she also knew he would never admit to that, and she wondered if apologizing would make him feel better or worse.

"Sorry," she said quietly, ambiguously. "Did he tell you about it?" He shook his head and waited for her to continue. Mai sighed. "It was just... really unsettling." She gazed at her teacup, watching the steam curl and waft up from the amber liquid into nothingness. The peace she'd felt during her morning meditation session with Lin was replaced by fear and anxiety. "I was looking for you," she said quietly. "I couldn't understand why you weren't there. For so many reasons." She couldn't bring herself to tell him she'd been pregnant during the dream; she couldn't bear it if he knew she'd been expecting another man's child. "I was just so confused. And really afraid to be alone."

Naru didn't say anything but he kept his eyes steadfast on hers, watching the fluctuations of her expression.

She shook her head quickly, as if clearing her thoughts. "Just... let me forget about it, Naru." She stretched her arms and forced a grin onto her face. "I don't want to dwell on it, okay? It was just a bad dream."

"You'll tell me if you have dreams that bother you, won't you?" He asked softly. Meeting his gaze, Mai could see the pleading look in his dark eyes.

Naru sighed slightly and idly traced his finger along the rim of the saucer in front of him. "Before, you could always tell when you'd had a vision in the form of a dream," he began. "It would make sense to think you could differentiate when your dreams came from psychic energy rather than the normal permutations of excess thoughts and random brain signals." He shook his head slightly. "But if you're borrowing energy, your subconscious may not pick up on that, at least not right away. You said yourself it felt different when you and Gene met us in the hotel lobby. Your intuition was there but the energy it had tapped into was not your own. Predicting that Kaori would come to the office, that Gene had seen a vision that he hadn't told us about—"

"Thinking that someone would come to the office was just optimism, I'm sure," Mai muttered. "And I just had a feeling Gene was hiding something—"

"Just a feeling," he repeated sternly, keeping his exasperation in check. "You insist that your instincts are so trivial, Mai, but we owe many of our successful cases to your instincts—"

"Cases that have never happened," she protested.

He looked at her sharply. "Don't get me started on that topic."

"Sorry." Mai muttered, turning back to her breakfast. "I don't mean to be so confrontational."

A small smirk grew on his lips. "I like it when you're confrontational, Mai. You know that's the one of the reasons I fell in love with you."

She couldn't help but smile. "Not my adorably good looks?" She teased.

"Could be that too." He gazed at her openly. "It's hard to imagine the beautiful girl in front of me could be any more stunning, but you are absolutely breathtaking as an adult." The compliment left her speechless, but seeing the way he looked at her made her blush. There was something in his eyes that made her wish they were the only occupants in the apartment and she didn't have to go to school in half an hour; something about the way his gaze followed her that she couldn't help herself from imagining his arms encircling her. She knew he wouldn't mind if they abandoned conversation and if she were to kiss him. She was about to follow that thought—who cares if Gene and Lin are here, anyway—when Naru turned his head away and she frowned, realizing she'd missed her opportunity to distract him.

"I'm sure there have been other examples of you using your instincts in the past few weeks." He exhaled loudly through his nostrils. "Perhaps countless instances. If only I knew where to look." His voice trailed off and he lifted his teacup, but did not drink. "It could be the most trivial, most innocuous coincidences." He lifted his shoulders slightly. "Things that I'm sure you would claim don't even matter, but I can't help but be curious."

Mai said nothing as she sipped her tea, trying to think of anything that had happened in the last few weeks since she'd met Gene that had been out of the ordinary—but really everything had been out of the ordinary, and she couldn't remember any gut feelings she'd had with clarity. "I could be using the psychic energy I've absorbed for anything, then, huh, and never be the wiser." She sighed and lowered her tea, reaching for a second piece of toast.

Naru waved his hand slightly. "I hope that qigong training with Lin will help you pick up on when you're using that borrowed energy, but it could take a lot of time to have that much control over your abilities. Until then—"

Mai jumped when her mobile vibrated in her pocket and she pulled out the phone, smiling as she read the screen. "Text message from Kaori. I guess her mom came back early because she was worried about her. I think things are on the mend between them." She frowned and nibbled on her lip. "I never texted her about Yasuhara."

Naru watched as she keyed in a reply to the girl. "So Yasuhara is interested in Kaori," he mused.

"It makes me nervous," Mai admitted quietly. "I don't know why." She sighed, setting down the phone. "Well—I do know why. It's like, if Yasuhara is sincerely interested in Kaori, how will he have time to work part-time for SPR? And if he's not really interested in her, is it fair to let him go after her when all she has in front of her is heartbreak? Not that it's my right or my business to interfere."

"Yasuhara might have met Kaori last time, or he might not have," Naru agreed. A smile twitched at his lips. "I don't think you have to worry about him not coming back to SPR, however. You underestimate him." Before she could speak he held up his hand, indicating that he wasn't finished yet and asking for her patience. "As far as being concerned for Kaori's feelings, that's very kind of you, Mai—I can't pretend to feel the same way—but I do think that Yasuhara will let her down gently, if—if—that's what will happen."

"You're probably right," Mai agreed reluctantly, frowning and twirling her hair around her finger. "Well... you're always right," she said softly. Her eyes unfocused as she gazed across the room toward the window. It was a grey, cloudy morning, but if the forecast from the night prior was to be believed it would clear up around midday.

"Not always," Naru murmured. "Now's a good a time as any to say I might have to go back to England after all."

She turned her head back toward him. "You heard from Martin and Luella?"

He nodded. "This morning."

Mai sighed. "I guess I can't say I'm really surprised. With everything you have to do at university.. and no doubt Luella's lonely with both of you gone." He didn't contradict her because he knew she was right. She exhaled again, blowing her hair away from her eyes. "I guess anything we do to change the future has to happen soon, then. Or wait until you come back. When would that be?"

"July at the earliest."

"I see." Mai tried to keep the disappointment from showing on her face, but he could see it clearly. She bit her lip as she reached behind her, picking up her schoolbag and removing a notebook. "I meant to think about it more, but I guess.. I guess I got distracted," she admitted, paging past geometry notes to a page in the middle of the notebook, covered in her tidy Japanese handwriting. "That day at the office, before Kaori-san came, I was thinking about it a little. I thought if I was wrong and no clients came to the office, we could talk about it that afternoon..." her voice trailed off. Naru simply nodded at her silently, motioning for her to go on.

"What we can do. What we should do," she continued. "How to intervene. I know it would be best to be as subtle as possible. But I just can't remember," she squeezed her eyes tightly closed, lips tightening and curving downwards in displeasure and irritation. "I can't remember well enough what happened, Naru. To know what to do to prevent anything from happening again."

Naru paused, considering this, and glanced down at her notebook laying open in her lap, where she had written out several lists. When they had first worked together he hadn't been able to read her writing, having only the basic knowledge of the Japanese phonetic alphabets and a handful of elementary kanji, but over the years he'd gotten better at reading Japanese. Even after living in Britain for years and becoming nearly fluent in English, Mai had continued to write all of her notes in Japanese, which, in turn gave him a lot of opportunities to practice reading it. He'd become completely proficient, only occasionally asking Mai about certain obscure kanji.

"I remember, Mai." He finally said, reaching for his teacup. "We'll have discuss a plan of action, but you may be right. We should act now—if there is anything to do, we should do it before I leave." He sipped his tea and returned the cup to the surface of the table. "Some of the cases it would do to simply allow the clients to approach us again and solve the case. For instance, your principal. I'm not even sure if there's anything we could do without his invitation."

"And Ayami-chan," Mai said, remembering the girl with the possessed doll.

"Yes." Naru agreed. "Others... we should not wait to be contacted by the client. Truth to be told, I've already considered what Gene and I will do about Urado's mansion."

"You and Gene?" Mai repeated, frowning at him. "What do you mean? Surely not just the two of you—"

"I don't want you to go back there," Naru said firmly. "Consider it selfish if you must." He paused, fingering the teacup. "Gene and I will also take care of the Yoshimi case." A wry smirk formed on his lips, his eyebrows lowering darkly. "I must admit, I am rather looking forward to it."

Mai couldn't think about the Yoshimi case without a shiver of dread running down her spine. Though completely different from the bloodcurdling case at Urado's mansion, that case was just terrifying. "What about the case with Kasai Chiaki-san and Ubusuna-sensei?" She frowned. "And the case at Yasuhara's school?"

"We'll have to tread lightly," Naru said slowly. "But I think we should concern ourselves with Urado and the Yoshimi family first. After all, if we can prevent those cases from occurring we can save several lives. If Gene and I destroy the ebisu, if we can convince the Prime Minister to burn down the mansion, then I can return to England. You and Gene will simply have to take care of the rest." He met her eyes seriously, slowly reaching toward her to place his hand gently on her cheek.

"Promise me you'll be careful," he murmured.

She nodded briefly, sighing and closing her eyes as she turned her face into his touch. His hand was cool and his fingers smooth, but she'd memorized his hands and knew if she touched his palm there would be the slightest indentation from a childhood scar, and the side of the last knuckle on his middle finger would be calloused from his pencil. "Oh, Naru," she breathed, and he brought his face close to hers to kiss her cheek, and then her mouth. She leaned toward him, resting her weight on her arm against the table as he kissed her, fingers idly brushing her hair behind her ear and his other hand reaching toward her waist.

His lips had moved to the line of her jaw and Mai opened her eyes when the clock on the wall chimed softly with the new hour. "Crap," she muttered. "I'm going to be late." She sighed and closed her eyes again, taking his hand in her own and nuzzling the back of his hand with her cheek. "Why do I have to go to school again?"

"Don't tempt me," Naru murmured, smirking at her and lips widening in satisfaction as she exhaled, leaning once more into his touch, and his hand slipped beyond her waist, sliding across her lower back.

The teenagers sprang apart when they heard a door down the hallway opening, though they both knew whoever had entered the hall couldn't see them. Lin appeared moments later, his tie hanging loose around his neck as he crossed into the kitchen to make himself some tea.

"You won't be late, Mai?" He asked, glancing at the clock, but Mai was already running to the door, jacket in one hand and schoolbag in the other as she slipped on her shoes and disappeared.

...

It was a welcome quiet day at the office. After unloading the van of the case equipment, the three individually wrote up their case notes in the morning and then compared them before lunch to make sure nothing had been left out. As Gene had been with Mai on the roof he had a clearer idea of what had happened there, but Naru and Lin had differing accounts to what they had seen when Yoshimasa's spirit charged Naru from the roof. Unfortunately, the camera they had brought to the school and set up near the van hadn't caught anything of the exorcism, only that when the kekkai surrounded Naru the feed became lined with static and wavered slightly before returning to normal.

"I'll prepare the final report," Lin offered.

Naru nodded curtly. "Thank you. I'll send a draft to Martin and Madoka."

"How long do you think you can keep Mai's abilities a secret from BSPR? Martin will be suspicious," Lin cautioned.

"Madoka even more so, if she catches even a hint of secrecy," Gene muttered. "We'll have to be really careful."

Naru exhaled, knowing the truth would come out eventually. "Hopefully long enough. If we can take care of Urado and the Yoshimi case in the next week, I can return to England and my being there will also help prevent them from finding out." He nodded at the two of them. "Lin, that will give you more time to train with Mai and learn about her capabilities. The last thing I want is for Martin to hear about her potential and try to drag her back to England to test her."

"We really can't let that happen," Gene suddenly mumbled, averting his gaze and pressing his hand to his forehead. "Something about that.. makes me really nervous."

"Will Mai come with us?" Lin asked quietly. "Or do we go when she's still in school this week?"

"I told her I don't want her to go back to Suwa," Naru said, though as he spoke he felt a twinge of guilt for excluding her from their plans. "And there's no reason for her to come with us to the Yoshimi inn." He glanced at his brother. "I'd like to plan an itinerary and have you think about it, Gene."

Gene nodded, puffing out his cheeks slightly as he exhaled. "Yeah. Sure, okay. I'll put my feelers out."

"As far as the Yoshimi case, all we need to do is book a room at the inn and go down to the cave once we get there."

Lin nodded thoughtfully. "It shouldn't be difficult, certainly, to destroy the ebisu with the two of you. After all, Naru, you did it last time on your own."

Naru nodded. "We can stop in Suwa on the trip back." His lips tightened into a slight grimace. "Urado's mansion will be a little more difficult, I think. The situation is much more delicate."

"How are we going to convince them to burn it down?" Gene asked quietly.

His brother sighed. "That, I think, we'll have to think about. We'll come up with something."

"And what are we going to tell Martin and Luella?" Lin asked. "They'll want to know why you're leaving the office you just established, even if it's just for two days."

Naru tapped his fingers on the desk, thinking. "I don't think we should tell them," he finally said. "The expenses will be minimal and paid in cash, they won't be able to suspect anything. If they happen to find out and ask questions, we can always tell them Gene had a vision." He raised his eyebrow at his brother. "If you're comfortable lying."

"It wouldn't be lying," Gene countered. "Because I did." He smirked at his brother slightly. "I saw what happened last time, isn't that close enough?"

...

"Here's notes from Monday and Tuesday," Michiru said, passing several pages of copies to Mai. It was lunch break, the classroom was bustling with students chatting while they ate, meandering in and out of the room to visit friends in other classes in the hall. The two girls were sitting at their desks, their lunches in front of them. "You said you got a part-time job? One that gets you out of school?" Michiru shook her head, clicking her teeth in what seemed to Mai a very mature gesture. "What kind of job is it? You're probably not working down at the Family Mart or Hotto Motto, are you?"

"You'll laugh," Mai said nervously, wondering what she should tell her friends, though she wasn't one for lying and knew it would just be an abridged version of the truth. "Or think it's crazy. I got a job working for some ghost hunters. At a psychic research firm." Michiru didn't seem to understand and she scratched at her cheek, considering how to best explain it to her friend. "It's like... studying the science of the supernatural. Trying to prove that the paranormal is real. They use fancy equipment to investigate ghosts and spirits and other supernatural phenomena."

Michiru's eyes widened. "No way! Ghosts? You mean they're legit? Like, real ghosts and things?" She gaped at her friend. "How did you end up getting a job like that?"

"I broke a camera," Mai cringed dramatically, clasping her head with her hands. "It was an accident, but that thing costs a hundred thousand yen," she groaned. "But they said I could work to pay it off. So the first case I had to work for them was yesterday and the day before."

Michiru nodded, gazing at her friend sympathetically. "Lucky to get out of school, though," she grinned. "I'll always let you copy my notes, promise."

"Thanks, Michiru-chan," Mai laughed. "I really owe you one."

Her friend grinned. "Just buy me an ice cream when we go out, that's plenty of repayment for me." She giggled. "Plus, if I know you'll read my notes I'll end up writing neater, and then I can study better for the test anyway!" She waved Yuriko over when she saw their friend poke her head into the classroom. "Hey, Yuriko-chan. Where's Keiko?"

"She's on her way," Yuriko said, taking a seat at an empty desk next to the other girls.

"You're not going to believe this!" Michiru grinned, pleased to be the one spreading the news. "Mai got a part-time job working for a—what'd you say—psychic research company!"

Yuriko raised her eyebrows but didn't have a chance to speak when they were interrupted. "Excuse me," a voice said, "did you say psychic research?"

Mai didn't have to turn around to know the voice speaking would be Kuroda-san, but she turned to face her anyway. "Yeah," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. "I did."

Kuroda's eyes widened behind her large glasses and it was difficult to decipher the look that spread across her face. She was eager, at least, that much was obvious. "I'd love you to introduce me," she said hopefully. "Maybe they need additional workers? I'm psychic too, I'm sure I can be a big help."

"Oh, just leave her alone, Kuroda-san," Yuriko muttered.

Mai knew that none of her friends really liked Kuroda very much; the girl just always got on their nerves by always insisting she was psychic. But she knew she didn't mean harm, so she smiled politely. "I'll ask," she said shortly. "But don't get your hopes up."

"You shouldn't encourage her," Keiko said disapprovingly, when Michiru and Yuriko relayed what had happened after she arrived, setting out her own bento lunch on Mai's desk. "Everyone knows she's lying about being psychic. She always has been."

"It could be real, right?" Mai murmured, cocking her head to the side. "But yeah, she's probably exaggerating, even if she is a little psychic."

"She's always complaining that she gets headaches when we tell ghost stories," Yuriko complained. "I've never heard of anything like that. And if it bothers her so much, she should just leave. It's always after school anyway."

"Speaking of, we should tell ghost stories sometime," Michiru said hopefully.

"I can't, I have cram school," Keiko groaned. "We have that big math test on Monday, right?"

"Maybe next week?" Yuriko asked.

"Next week my grandparents are coming to stay with us, I won't be able to stay after school," Michiru said. "Well—" the bell rang, signalling that their lunch period was at an end. "We'll find a time." She grinned at Mai. "I'm sure we can expect lots of scary stories from you from now on!"

...

The four met at Mai's apartment again for dinner, falling back into their previous routine. She'd made dinner again: ochazuke, and she giggled when she served the rice and green tea soup to the three, noting their looks of confusion. "None of you have had this before, then?" She laughed. "I love ochazuke; it's probably one of the only things I ever really cooked when I was this age. Just throw some vegetables together on rice and cover it in green tea."

"I'm sure it's a little more complicated than that," Gene scoffed. "Smells too good for it just being thrown together."

"It's a quick meal," she confessed. "I fell asleep when I was trying to study for my upcoming math test. At least I'd put the rice on and had the dried mushrooms soaking."

"So if you make this again we'll know you're being lazy," Naru said dryly.

She laughed and swatted at his arm but said nothing in response, and the four began to eat.

"We've decided to go take care of those two cases," Gene told Mai as they ate. "We'll leave the day after tomorrow."

"Friday, then," Mai thought aloud, tapping her lip with the tip of her chopsticks. "When will you get back?"

"Most likely Sunday," Naru said, picking up his teacup and cradling it with both hands. "Possibly Monday. Depending on how it goes."

Mai bit her lip, wishing she could go with them but knowing she could not.

It was evident that all four were tired that evening. After cleaning up from dinner in relative silence—Mai was yawning steadily as she dried the dishes Gene washed, who cleaned the bowls and plates without paying much mind to what he was doing, Lin was catching Mai's yawns and hiding them behind his hand as he put away the extra food, and even Naru's eyes were heavy as he put away the dishes as Mai dried them.

"Aren't we an exciting bunch," Gene laughed, though his face was just as tired as the rest of them. "Come on, Lin," he said, stepping into his shoes at the doorway and taking his coat. "Let's go."

Alone again, Mai and Naru sat together at the warm kotatsu as Mai finished her math homework. She was reviewing the previous chapter when Naru settled on his side, his head resting on her leg.

"Don't let me fall asleep," he murmured, but his breathing was already steady and Mai knew if his eyes were closed, which they almost certainly were, it was only a matter of time before he succumbed to slumber. She smiled as she ran her fingers through his silky hair, absently massaging his scalp as she read, yawning herself sporadically.

It was only nine o'clock when Mai led him to her futon, and the two were asleep under the comforter within minutes.

...

Mai awoke in the night, at first confused and disoriented to feel a warm body by her side before sighing in contentment, remembering that they'd fallen asleep together that evening.

"What are you so pleased about?" His voice came out of the darkness. She could hear his teasing smile.

"You're awake?" She rolled over, eyes finding his in the dark room.

He draped his arm around her in response, curling himself around her back and pulling her body closer to his.

She sighed again and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his body next to her own and the feelings of peace and comfort that came with it. It seemed like it'd been ages since they'd slept together, side-by-side. "I don't really feel sleepy at all," she murmured.

"It's not surprising," he said after some pause. "For most of our modern history as humans, we slept at dusk and awoke at dawn, with several hours in the middle of the night awake. For the common person, at least, who labored all day long."

"It must have been exhausting, working all day like that. What did people do before electricity?" Mai murmured.

He laughed quietly and kissed her neck, evidence of just what he thought people would do in the middle hours of the night. She sighed and rolled onto her back, returning his kisses and twining her fingers in his hair, drawing in her breath when his hand slid against her skin.

"Sorry, are my hands cold?" He teased, and she kissed him in response.

Later, their foreheads pressed together as they lay in the quiet darkness, Naru spoke. "Gene told me he had a vision of our child."

Mai was silent for some time before replying, her quiet making him wonder if she'd fallen asleep.

"He told me that too," she finally admitted. "Last night. When I had that nightmare... he wanted to reassure me that I didn't have to be afraid for the future." Her body rose and fell with a yawn. "I'm not a very patient person, Naru."

"More patient than you think you are."

"What about you, Naru?" She asked. He frowned, not understanding, and she continued. "I mean... obviously now would not be a good time." She laughed weakly. "But... someday, maybe... would you want to have a child together?"

"I would," he said simply. "I hadn't thought much of it before," he admitted. "Not concretely. That, to me, was a step that we simply weren't at yet. There were things that would need to happen before we could think seriously about having children." He exhaled and shook his head. "But now is not the time."

She nodded, her forehead pressing against his. "Yes. Now is not the time, but I do want to have a child with you someday." She sighed. "I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm also so excited for this future, ahead of a fifteen year-old me. I'm really looking forward to my time with SPR, however long it may be." As she spoke, Naru began to wonder what kind of supernatural abilities a child of his and Mai might have. "I mean, Martin and Luella might want Gene to come back to England at some point, too," she reasoned quickly.

He nodded slowly in agreement. "I'm not certain how long Martin and Luella will allow us to keep the office open, but I don't imagine it will last indefinitely. Are you content with the idea of coming to England again, after you graduate high school?"

"Yes," she said simply. "I'll have to think about going back to university. Right now it seems impossible, but maybe in two years it'll feel logical again. To follow that path." She sighed and nestled her face between his shoulder and her pillow. "I miss laying here together, like this," she murmured, her breathing growing slow and steady as she relaxed.

They lay together in silence for a long time. Mai's eyes had closed and she was close to drifting off to sleep again, though Naru was still alert, gazing at her ceiling and tracing his fingers against her skin. He finally shifted, sliding out from beneath her and out from the comforter. He rose from the futon and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'm going back to my apartment," he said softly. "Sleep well, Mai. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Naru," she murmured sleepily. "You too."

...

Mai had barely dragged herself from her futon when Lin arrived for her training the following morning. "Sorry," she mumbled, yawning into her hand.

Lin shook his head but didn't say anything but seated himself again on the tatami, indicating for her to take her time and waiting for Mai to make herself comfortable.

"What should I do when you're gone?" Mai asked, clenching her jaw to hide another yawn.

"I'll give you instructions on exercises you can do by yourself." Lin assured her quietly. "And I imagine this morning's session will be similar enough to yesterday's that you'll feel confident to proceed on your own."

The breathing exercises that morning proceeded much as they had the previous morning, though as Mai relaxed and her breathing deepened, and despite Lin's spoken instruction, she slowly fell asleep.

After roughly ten minutes, Lin stopped in his instructions, gazing at the sleeping girl with an amused look in his eyes. She was still sitting perfectly upright and balanced, and though the casual observer may think she was still in meditation, it was clear to Lin that she was simply fast asleep. Shrugging slightly to himself, the man rose quietly and went to her kitchen to make himself a cup of tea.

...

Mai awoke to the inviting aroma of roasted houjicha tea, opening her eyes slowly to see Lin sitting in front of her and two steaming cups. "Awake now?"

"S-sorry," she stammered, but Lin shook his head.

"Do you feel better?"

"Much," she admitted.

"By getting you up early, I probably simply woke you up in the wrong part of your sleep cycle," he said, passing her the cup which she gratefully accepted. "It would have been cruel and counter-productive to keep you awake. It may take a few days for your body to adjust to the earlier schedule." Seeing her dubious look he shrugged slightly. "Your body is only fifteen, Mai, and it may not seem like I'm asking a lot of you, but teenagers simply need more sleep than adults."

She sipped the tea and sighed, relaxing. "Are you really only twenty-nine, Lin-san?" She asked, her eyes bright and teasing. "Even with your extra added years, sometimes I think you're a wise old man."

He chuckled quietly. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Will you tell me more about spiritual auras? Or spiritual fingerprints, however you want to call it?" Mai paused, breathing in the scent of the hot tea. "I feel like I still don't understand. I mean, is it just something we're born with?"

"I certainly don't know everything about auras, but I can tell you what I know, what I've been taught and what I believe." Lin started, nodding thoughtfully. "A combination of nature and nurture would probably be the best way to describe it," he said. "And I imagine the amount of internal or external influence varies from person to person." He tipped his head, anticipating her question. "For example, some elements of one's spiritual fingerprint seems to be hereditary. It is not uncommon for a family line to carry certain supernatural abilities, passing such traits through blood. But it is also just as common for a person to develop such preternatural powers with absolutely no family background to indicate such."

"Hmmm," Mai mused, wondering which side of the spectrum she landed on. Neither of her parents had had any ESP abilities—at least, not to her knowledge—and she had never met any of her grandparents. "Your family are all sorcerers, right?"

He shook his head. "Not all. The talent seems to manifest itself only in the first-born of the children." A smile twitched at the corners of his lips. "If Naru was more interested in molecular biology, I'm sure he'd be fascinated to study the DNA to find the recessive gene which carries the talent." He held up his hands slightly. "Not to imply it even exists. Probably someone has more defined theories on that subject."

"And everyone has an aura, right—not just someone with special abilities."

"Correct. And the variations within that are undoubtedly countless."

"And our auras interact with each other—sometimes? Like Naru and Gene."

"Yes, but not only with other humans. It is rather common for our auras to resonate with nature."

"So, the way Matsuzaki-san could call on the tree spirits..."

He nodded. "Exactly, for the same reason you are receptive to Gene's psychic energy. The 'edges' of her aura, as Naru put it yesterday, align in a way with the trees that allow her to communicate with their spirits. Just as your and Gene's auras are compatible, there are people whose auras may allow them to communicate with animals to varying degrees, pick up information with their fingertips from the soil of the earth, and read nature in such a way that they can predict the success of a harvest or the coming weather." He lifted his shoulders. "There are countless possibilities. It is only when a person's abilities are considered so fantastic that they even register as an ability at all."

Mai nodded thoughtfully. "Yesterday you said that spiritual auras are more complex than just a fuzzy glow," she asked. "So what do you see?"

"It's not easy to describe," he admitted. "And not without metaphors and analogies to clarify." She watched him, waiting, and he held up his hands to illustrate as he continued. "Think of a simple model of an atom. If you can imagine that the essence of your being is the nucleus, then your spiritual aura is comprised of the electrons surrounding it."

"The electron cloud," Mai said.

"Yes," Lin agreed. "Exactly. Which is why the most basic illustration of an aura as a hazy projection that surrounds a person has stuck and why the word 'aura' is the most common terminology. The particles of spiritual and psychic energy, in a sense, are the electrons that orbit the core. I prefer 'fingerprint' because it implies a uniqueness to each person, and like the individual lines on the tips of your fingers, each particle leaves a trail as it circumnavigates your essence."

"Which is what you see?"

"Yes. When I sense auras, I can see the movement of the individual particle and the trail it leaves, so to say."

"Like jet trails above the city?"

"Right. And just as all condensation trails will fade in the atmosphere after a certain amount of time, I cannot sense the entire history of the particle. Some fade immediately. Some show their history for a long time."

"I see." Mai nodded slowly, pressing her lips together. "You said that Aahil can see auras better than you. What does that mean?"

Lin thought for some time before answering her. "In Aahil's eyes, not only do the trails of the spiritual energy not fade but he can see their entire course. As I understand it, most of our spiritual energy is held within particles that will eventually repeat their exact orbit. You can imagine what Aahil sees is like a drawing of the solar system with every orbit of every planet, asteroid and comet mapped out in tidy lines, except there are a nearly infinite number of objects in orbit."

Mai frowned. "That sounds... really confusing," she admitted. "Can all your shiki see auras like that?"

He shook his head. "Seeing auras is a specialty of his. He was quite a powerful spiritualist when he was alive."

Mai looked up, interested, and Lin paused, looking at his watch. "We'll have to continue later. It's getting late." Mai's face fell as he picked up their empty cups and rose, taking them to the kitchen. "I should let you get ready for school," he said, returning to the room with a sheet of paper in his hand, which he passed toward her. As she took it she could see he had written several clear instructions for the following days.

"A simple outline of the breathing exercises we've started. Take half an hour each morning to go through them. We'll continue where we left off on Tuesday."

"What's this?" Mai asked, turning the paper over to see a small map drawn.

"That," Lin said, drawing his finger along the lined route, "this weekend, I'd like you to take a jog. Both days, if you have the time. Along this route."

"All the way to the canal?" Mai sighed in disbelief. "I've never even walked over there." She looked at him suspiciously. "I bet you run this every morning. How else do you know the streets of this area so well already?"

"Not every morning," Lin said with a wry smile. He cleared his throat. "I'd also like to ask Aahil to stay near you, while we're gone," he started. "If that's all right with you."

"That's okay, but it's probably not necessary," she protested. "Wouldn't it be better to have him there with you?"

Lin shook his head. "I'm not sure if there's anything he can do for us on this trip. Due to the nature of the case I certainly can't ask him to assist us at the Yoshimi house and fire is the only thing which can purify Urado's mansion. Should anything happen when we're away, it would be better for him to be here. Even something as simple as accompanying you if you were to go out alone at night. He could also provide his assistance if you were to simply cut yourself while preparing dinner or—"

"Lin-san, I am not as clumsy or as careless as you think I am," she interjected frowning.

"I know. Just for example. Please, Mai," Lin said patiently. "I'm sure it would set Naru at ease. He's uneasy to leave you alone."

Mai bit her lip and nodded, lowering her gaze in defeat. "I'll be fine," she finally muttered, "But you're right. Sorry." Slowly, a grin formed on her face, even though her eyes were somewhat sad. "It'll probably be nice to have some company. Can I ask him about auras?"

Lin smiled. "Ask him to describe what he sees. I think you'll find it interesting."

...

It was an uneventful day, both at school and at the office. Grateful that her friends were occupied with cram school or other club activities and she didn't have to make an excuse to leave early, Mai went to the office in Dogenzaka directly after school.

"Hello," she called as she entered the office, noting the empty reception area, frowning as she glanced at the empty pad by the phone. There were no notes on the blank page; evidently no one had even called that day.

Gene stuck his head out from the twins' office, grinning at her and waving her over. "John just got here. Come say hello."

Surprised, Mai hurried across the room, eyes widening as she saw that the four men had been sitting in the office, rather than on the sofas in the main room. Naru had never once invited any of the Irregulars into his office to chat—she wondered if it was just a change in the times or if Gene's presence had something to do with it. Either way—whatever it was—she couldn't keep the smile from her lips.

She bowed politely, smile widening as she met John's gaze. "Nice to see you, John-san."

"Likewise, Mai-san," John smiled cheerfully, returning the bow with a dip of his head.

"You can have my seat," Gene offered Mai, pointing to the chair he had just vacated, as there were only four chairs in the room, but Mai shook her head.

"I'll make some tea," she said, returning to the main room and heading to the kitchenette.

"Here is our report from Murata Kaori's case," Naru said, passing a manila envelope toward the priest as Mai brought the tea in for everyone, setting the cups next to each man's hand on the nearest table or desk, depending on where they sat. Naru looked up as Mai placed his cup on his desk, his eyes lightening in unsaid gratitude and she gave him a small smile in response. While she knew she was much more than an office lady in their eyes, she was certainly good at this aspect of her job and she took pride in the fact.

"Thank you," John said to Naru, smiling and nodding his thanks to Mai for the tea as well. "I appreciate it."

Gene had brought in her chair from her desk in the reception room and as Mai took her seat she caught Naru's hesitation, knowing what that meant. "I hope you will keep the details of our report private," he said after some pause, clearing his throat. "This is the unabridged version. I'm afraid we left out several details the other day, pertaining to the exorcism. There were several things that transpired of which I was not comfortable to reveal to our client."

John frowned slightly, not understanding.

"When Yoshimasa's spirit came to the roof, it did so rather violently," Gene admitted, blowing the steam off his tea. "And Mai created a kekkai, unexpectedly."

"Kekkai?" John repeated, evidently not understanding the Japanese word. He frowned. "Sorry, can I ask you to explain in English?" Seeing Naru's blank look, he continued hurriedly, glancing between the twins and Mai. "Am I wrong to assume you speak English?"

"A psychic barrier," Gene said in English without pause. John looked surprised but nodded, understanding, and from there the conversation continued in their native language.

"I've never witnessed such a thing myself," he admitted. "Though I have heard of such a thing." Mai found it more difficult to understand the priest's Australian accent than his peculiar mix of Kansai dialect Japanese.

"They are rather uncommon," Lin said. "Perhaps even more so in the Western world."

"Mai-san made it?" John asked, and Mai looked at her tea quickly, avoiding his eyes that had sought her out.

"Yes," Lin affirmed. He glanced at Naru, hoping the young man would elaborate his reasons for not telling Kaori the details as well as why he had chosen to reveal them to John. "But as Ichirou said, it was unexpected. I'll allow Kazuya to elaborate." At that Mai nearly laughed in relief, knowing that she would not have remembered to call Gene by his Japanese name and was grateful Lin had subtly reminded her.

"As for the damage that occurred, I did not tell Ms. Murata because there was no harm done to our team and I thought realizing the extent of the damage would cause her uneasiness." Naru said, his eyes seeking out Mai's as well. "As for the psychic barrier..." his voice trailed off suddenly, but Gene picked up where he left off, only seconds before.

"Mai's preternatural abilities are a bit of a surprise, least of all to herself," the twin said. "We all thought it would be better not to draw unnecessary attention to the fact."

"Right," Mai finally said, letting out a sigh. "And it's not a pertinent detail to the case. The spirit was exorcised and that's all that matters."

"You didn't have to tell me," John suddenly said quietly. "But rest assured I won't reveal your secret to anyone."

"Thank you," Mai said honestly. The last thing she needed was a version of the Kasai Panic on her hands, only instead of spoon-bending it was unexplainable psychic barriers.

"We're telling you because I'd like to request your assistance on cases, moving forward," Naru said smoothly. "An invitation you are welcome to decline, of course..."

"However, we feel your talents and insights are an invaluable addition to our team, should you be so inclined," Gene continued.

John smiled broadly. "It would be my pleasure." The priest suddenly laughed, shaking his head with a smile. "You're British," he said, and held up an apologetic hand. "Sorry, I don't know why that surprises me." He shrugged. "I guess I thought at first that perhaps you were Americans."

...

The following morning found Mai at the train station, having seen the three off for their journey. Gene had insisted that they not bring any recording equipment of any kind, and Naru and Lin had reluctantly agreed. Therefore, they would take the train most of the way, only renting a car for several of the latter stages of their journey.

Mai sighed to herself as she turned toward her school building, feeling somehow even lonelier than ever. She didn't especially want to go to school but didn't know what else to do with her time. Without Naru and Gene and even Lin nearby, she suddenly felt at a loss with what to do with herself. Lifting her face toward the budding trees, she sighed, inhaling the fresh spring air. It was a warm, breezy day, and she sighed as she gazed at the cherry trees lining the avenue, wondering when the buds would finally burst open. Spring was coming slowly, but surely. Following that train of thought she smiled to herself, wondering if they could have a hanami flower-viewing party before Naru returned to England. It was something she'd always wanted to do with him, to enjoy the spring blossoms with a picnic.

After school that evening, Mai had cleaned her apartment and cooked dinner when her mobile finally rang with news from the three.

"Not a bad time now, is it, Mai?"

"Naru!" She couldn't keep the excitement from her voice to be hearing his. "'Course not. I just finished eating. You guys must have arrived at the Yoshimi Inn?"

"Yes." He said simply. She could hear in his voice that he was tired from their travels, but otherwise sounded much the same as usual. "Dinner'll be served in a bit. We shouldn't talk long—"

There was suddenly a rustling sound through the speaker as the phone exchanged hands. "Mai," Gene said cheerfully in his sing-song voice. "I wanted to say hello before Noll could end the conversation." She could hear him grinning.

"You could have asked," his brother said peevishly in the background. "Didn't need to steal the phone away like a child, Gene."

"You know I only do it because I know you find it so annoying," Gene teased his brother. "You don't need to sound so petulant about it." He laughed. "We'll be going down to the cave tomorrow morning," he told Mai. "It's getting dark outside now, anyway. Lin seems to think it would be a hazard to try the stairs at this time of day. Besides—tonight, tomorrow morning, what's the difference?"

"Yeah," Mai agreed, biting her lip as she thought about the cave. "Do you remember the cave, Gene?" She finally asked quietly.

"Mhm, vaguely," Gene said casually. "I have a feeling it'll go much easier than last time around. It'll be like the door at Kaori's school." He laughed again. "Well, not quite. Not going to be fixing anything."

"No," Mai agreed slowly.

"Anyway, I'll pass you back to my brother. He looks rather displeased."

She could hear the sound as Naru took the phone back. "You'll be glad to hear the Yoshimi family is as polite as you may remember—at least the way they were initially—and quite cheerful," Naru began. He sounded even more weary than he had only a few minutes prior. "Akifumi-san and Youko-san in particular are quite the hosts. All of the family is obviously in genuinely good spirits."

"That's a relief," Mai breathed.

"It's as Gene says. It shouldn't be difficult to take care of."

"It still makes me nervous," she admitted quietly. "You'll be careful, right?"

"Of course," he said, his voice suddenly a little more gentle than it had been moments before. "I'll call you tomorrow," he promised. "During the day, probably. I don't think we'll have very good reception when we get to Suwa, so it'll have to be early."

"That's fine," Mai assured him. "I'll be at the office all day anyway."

"You don't have to keep the office open if you don't want to," Naru said seriously. "It's your weekend, Mai. You should feel free to do what you want; to do something fun with your free time."

Mai couldn't help but laugh. "Naru, you do realize how ridiculous you sound, you telling me to have fun."

"Well," he said stiffly. "We bought the answering machine for a reason."

"I'll do my homework at the office," she promised him, "so if anyone happens to call I'll be there, and if not, I'll just be caught up on my studies. If I feel like leaving, I will. Okay?"

He exhaled quietly but said nothing.

"I wish I could see your face and try to figure out what's going through your mind," Mai said quietly, exhaling a sigh as well.

"Nothing much," he said shortly.

"That's a lie and you know it, Naru."

He chuckled quietly. "Maybe," he admitted. "I should go, Mai. Lin just returned to the room, looks like dinner's about to be served."

"Enjoy," she said, remembering how good the food had been at the inn. "I still remember how delicious the miso soup was there! And the tofu was amazing."

She could hear him smile. "I wish you could be here with us."

"Me too," she sighed. "Me too."

...

Saturday morning, Mai dutifully began her weekend by taking the running route Lin had requested of her, though to say she ran the entire course would have been generous. In actuality, she jogged slightly more than half the route and walked the rest. Returning to her home an hour later, exhausted and panting, she went through the breathing exercises he'd outlined. She was pleased that she was able to relax her breathing, even if seemed like she couldn't think about anything other than what Naru, Gene and Lin were up to, and she was constantly opening her eyes to look at her mobile, sitting still and silent on the table, anxiously awaiting the expected call.

She was in the shower when her mobile finally vibrated, turning in half-circles on the smooth surface of the table as it protested its neglect. She'd only missed the call by several minutes. Refreshed after her bath, she was rubbing her head with a towel as she entered the kitchen, turning on the hot water pot for breakfast tea. It was then that she saw the blinking light on the mobile, and she rushed to pick up the phone, face falling to see the notification for a missed call. He hadn't left a message but had sent a text instead. It was brief, as to be expected from Naru.

Yoshimi went as planned. On our way to Suwa. Will call you tomorrow.

Mai slid the phone closed and sighed, wishing she could have been there to see it. Glumly, she ate breakfast, and left shortly thereafter to take the train to Dogenzaka to the SPR office.

...

The sky was a dark lavender hue when she locked up the office, leaving the quiet building for the bustling streets of Shibuya, and when her train emerged from underground it had turned into a deep, velvety indigo, the street corners lit up with white and warm yellow lights. Instead of going directly home, she took a detour through her new neighborhood, buying a snack of an onigiri rice ball before walking to the canal she'd run to on an indirect route earlier in the day.

She wasn't surprised when Aahil appeared from the shadows, as she'd had a feeling he would show up sooner or later in the night. "Hello," the impeccably-dressed shiki said with a smile. As before, he wore dark clothing, a trim black jacket over a dark purple collared shirt and narrow blue jeans. In the evening light, Mai knew that any passers-by would see his outline, if only to assure them that she wasn't alone.

"Sorry," she apologized.

He raised a thin eyebrow, regarding her curiously. "Why apologize?"

"It must be boring for you, to hang around me," Mai said. She hadn't seen the shiki during the day but had the niggling feeling that he had been nearby.

"Not particularly."

"Still..." her voice trailed off and she shrugged. "To be available in case I cut myself while preparing vegetables for my dinner." She laughed mirthlessly. "Or, what, catch me if I trip, maybe?"

"Something along those lines," Aahil said blandly. "You know he's just being careful. Your lover—Oliver, as well."

"I know," Mai muttered, looking at her hands. "I just feel guilty. Always causing trouble for everyone."

"Trouble is hardly the same as caution." The spirit shook his head in disagreement. "You shouldn't take it personally. He used to have me follow his wife around for the same reason," he told her, absently watching the clouds move across the dark sky. "While not careless, she certainly had poor depth-perception. And peripheral vision. Always nearly running into things."

Mai giggled, remembering how often she'd see Sarah narrowly miss colliding with the side of a door on her way through it, and the occasional time when she did, laughing and wincing as she rubbed her shoulders or her forehead. Evidently, those were the times Aahil had not been there to prevent such a thing. She couldn't help the sad smile from spreading across her lips. She missed the Japanese-English woman, her infectious laugh and easy-going smile. While Sarah was certainly quieter and shy in comparison to Mai, the two had found many similarities between them and had recently become friends. "She was easily distracted," Mai admitted. "When she would focus on something—whatever she was thinking about—she would focus on it completely."

"And she was much like you, in that she had a poor penchant for looking out for herself." Aahil clicked his teeth quietly. "It's hard to say who my Master was more concerned for, his charming wife or his unborn child."

Mai's smile fell from her face. "Sarah was pregnant?" she whispered in disbelief.

Aahil remained silent for several moments and she could see the spirit had not realized she hadn't been privy to the information. "Only just," he finally admitted. "I forgot that they hadn't made an announcement. I thought Oliver would have told you. I apologize."

Mai looked at her hands, suddenly feeling terribly guilty and unsure why. Naru had known. She had—he had—they had taken Lin away from his future with his wife and child. But Naru had brought them back to a future with Gene. "You said he'll meet her again, didn't you?" She finally asked quietly.

"Very soon, in fact," the shiki affirmed.

"And—and there's no reason they won't have a child again, right?" She pleaded.

The shiki shrugged. "I cannot see that far into the future, Taniyama-san. But whatever happens, I'm sure it will be for the best. Whatever that may be."

Mai gazed at the slowly moving water of the canal. "Lin-san said I should ask you what you see when you see a person's aura."

"I can tell you what I see of yours." Mai turned her gaze nervously toward the shiki, feeling suddenly very exposed as he stared at her calmly. He held up his hand slowly toward her, fingers outstretched and each at a slightly different angle. "The currents of your energy form an intricate pattern," he said, concentrating, sweeping his hand slowly as if touching something insubstantial around her.

"Cool blue and purple near your feet and hands. Waiting to be mixed into the hot currents of red and yellow at your heart. Bright whites where they mingle. A lot of white, actually. " He smiled at her, white teeth gleaming. "I can see your curiosity. Determination. And your temper." His hand curled and he held two straight fingers out, tracing an invisible line around her in a gentle arc.

"The overall pattern reminds me of a dandelion. The way the energy drifts around you like the seeds blown from the stem, carried by a light breeze. They don't follow the same paths, but they follow a similar trajectory. And yet... quite unpredictable, how each seed will float in the air, where it will eventually land." He shook his head, speaking as if to himself. "Nothing like Oliver's. His spiritual energy is like the tightly chiselled facade at the Bibi-Heybat. Impressive and intricate but tightly controlled."

Mai gazed at the shiki, bewildered. "Then, does my aura look like Gene's?" She suddenly asked.

The shiki considered this. "In some ways. The floating aspect of your energy is similar to Eugene's. The currents travel similar paths. Other aspects are so different they are in fact opposite, but as they oppose each other they also mirror the other." The spirit suddenly shrugged, dropping his hands. "That's what I see."

"I don't really understand," Mai said softly, turning her gaze away to watch the reflections of the streetlamps wavering on the water. "But that's okay." Finally she sighed and began to walk again, returning toward her apartment. Aahil followed her silently.

The spirit dipped his head when they arrived at her door. "I'll leave you now. Good night, Taniyama-san. You can call me if you require assistance. I shall be within earshot."

"Duly noted," Mai said, smiling wryly. The shiki was an unusual character, nothing like what she might have imagined any of Lin's shiki to be. "Good night, Aahil."

...

Sunday progressed much the same as the day prior. Mai ran in the morning and went through her breathing exercises, finding it just as difficult to focus as it had been the day prior. There was one message on the machine at the SPR office, though it appeared to be a prank call and did not leave a return number. The only other call that morning to distract her from her studies was a solicitation for a voice-over-internet start-up company, looking for investors. The polite man on the line seemed surprised to hear that the number he had called was a psychic research firm and asked her several polite questions before excusing himself and begging her pardon for wasting her time.

Otherwise, it was a quiet morning in the office. Mai tried to study, but gave up and began to read, as she'd thought she inevitably would. Naru had left several books out that he thought she would be interested in, but it was hard for her to concentrate in the quiet and empty room, and returned to one of the fiction novels she'd checked out from the library.

Aahil appeared in the office again around lunch time, though they did not make much conversation and the shiki spent most of the time staring out the window, frowning pensively. She wondered if he even realized that he was visible to her, though it seemed impossible that the spirit should not know such a thing. It did not surprise her when he disappeared as she cleaned her dishes and made an after-lunch cup of tea, leaving as he came, without notice.

Tired of studying and her homework complete, Mai finally picked up the books that Naru had left out for her and spent the rest of the afternoon reading about Japanese monsters of folk legend, and—in the author's particular view, at least—the evidence of the monsters in modern society. She cleaned the office before she left that evening, even tidying Naru's desk, something she never would have done in the past. Not that it required much tidying as all the papers were straight and in perfect order. Both Gene's and Lin's desks, however, she left alone.

She finally got the call from Naru in the evening. "How did it go?" She asked as she answered, nervous and excited all at once.

"We haven't taken care of Urado, not yet," he said, his voice tired. "But we destroyed the ebisu in the cave yesterday. It was laughable in its simplicity."

Mai could hear Gene's snort and muffled laughter in the background. "That easy, huh?" The other twin said. "You don't have to look so damned pleased with yourself, Noll."

"I am pleased and have a bloody good reason to be," Naru retorted, and Mai giggled at their banter.

"Tell her she should have come along," Gene's voice continued in the background. "Because your ego is ten times worse when Mai's not here."

"I'm not telling her that. I would never lie to Mai," Naru said flatly.

"Okay, so it's what, twenty times worse?"

Mai burst into giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. "I miss you guys," she sighed.

"How are you faring?"

"I'm tired," she said honestly. "The run that Lin-san asked me to do, and just.. I dunno. Everything else. I'm exhausted."

"You've been sleeping well?" He asked, and Mai shook her head at his unsaid question.

"Yes, and I haven't had any dreams, don't worry."

Naru frowned, she could hear it in his voice. "I can't talk long, unfortunately. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay."

"I'm fine, Naru. And you guys?"

"Fine," he repeated. "Tired. We'll tell you more about the Yoshimi case when we get back. We still have to prepare for Urado."

"What are you going to do?" She asked. Even on the morning they'd left, they hadn't had a concrete plan on what they were going to do.

"We're going to burn it down." Like his frown before, she could hear his tight, sardonic smile. "I just hope we get permission to do so first."

...

It was a sunny Monday afternoon, clear blue skies with high, wispy clouds. Mai gazed out the window, watching the clouds change shape so slowly she couldn't even see the movement. Meanwhile, in the classroom around her, her history teacher droned on and on about the Meiji restoration, the soft sound of chalk against the board as he wrote out the significant dates of certain events. Below the bright blue sky was the old school building, and she frowned slightly, wondering when her principal would contact SPR. It had to be soon, right? She bit her lip and turned her head back to face the front of the class as the teacher himself turned back toward his students. Sighing, she picked up her pencil and began to copy what he had written into her notebook.

"Any questions?" The teacher asked, and one student near the front of the classroom raised his hand.

What is the point of all of this anyway, Mai frowned, erasing her mistakenly copied 1866 and writing instead 1868.

"Did you have a question, Taniyama?"

Mai jerked her head up, face turning red as she realized she must have mumbled something aloud. "No, sir."

...

At home that evening, Mai was doodling on a notebook when her mobile vibrated again. Just arrived, the text message read. Can you come here? We picked up take-away if you haven't eaten yet.

She had barely skimmed the words before she was on her feet and running toward the door, grabbing her jacket and sliding into her shoes, and as she left her house she ran down the street toward the other apartment, nervous and excited all at once.

Lin greeted her at the door. The tall man looked somewhat tired, his face drawn but otherwise his demeanour and appearance were just as tidy and professional as always, though he had removed his vest and loosened his tie.

"How did it go?" She asked breathlessly, slipping out of her shoes as she entered.

"I'll let Naru and Gene tell you about it," the man said with a slight smile. "Wouldn't want to spoil their fun."

He led her to the dining room table, where sandwiches were set out and the twins were sitting, eating and drinking. The brothers looked tired, but Gene was cheerful and Naru seemed satisfied. Gene lifted his cup of coffee to Mai in a mock-salute as she entered the room, grinning ear to ear. "Urado is gone," he said simply.

"Did you..?"

"The house was burned to the ground."

"Probably still burning, actually." Naru said mildly.

She stamped her foot impatiently. "Well, yes, but how did you convince them to do it?"

Lin laughed quietly, sitting down and motioning for Mai to do the same. "Or maybe they don't want to tell you. It wasn't ideal."

Naru shot Lin a glare, though on his tired face there was no menace in his expression. "It's not that I don't want to elaborate, I just think Gene should be the one to illustrate what happened. It was his idea, after all."

All three turned their gaze on the other twin. "Well—" Gene started, his voice failing him. "Was it really my idea?"

Naru rolled his eyes at his brother. "I didn't want to reveal our identities," he said stiffly. "But Gene was sure it was the only way. We introduced ourselves as Oliver and Eugene Davis, and when Gene said he'd had a terrible vision of something in the house that could only be purified by fire, in so many words, of course, they almost immediately agreed."

"Even the Prime Minister of Japan has heard of us," Gene muttered quietly. "I admit I wasn't expecting that."

"We watched them remove the antique furniture over the course of the day, and they set the fire first thing this morning." Naru gave a small shrug and relaxed slightly, lifting his teacup to take a drink. "The end justifies the means."

"Well, it's not like the Prime Minister is going to start telling everyone that you're in Japan," Mai said hopefully. "Right? Why would he do such a thing?"

"No," he said slowly. "But I don't imagine we'll be able to keep our trip from Martin and Luella. I just hope they don't ask us too many questions about how we ended up burning down his house."

...

The week after Naru, Gene and Lin returned from their trip passed uneventfully, although the office saw more activity than the week prior. Several potential clients came in with claims of the supernatural that were clearly domestic disputes, all of whom Gene and Naru turned politely away.

The most notable of their visitors were Minami-san and Shiraishi-san of Minami Psychic Research, visiting from out of town. Minami-san claimed to have seen the advertisement and wanted to extend a warm welcome to them, though they did not seem very warm or welcoming. The man was just as insufferable as Mai remembered, who walked around the office with an unimpressed look on his face. Seeing the book Supernatural Systems authored by O. E. C. Davis on the shelf, he casually said, "Oh, did you know, Dr Oliver Davis is a personal acquaintance of mine."

To which Naru simply raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He said, sounding bored. "Then please do send him our regards."

Mai continued her qigong training with Lin, who added movement to their morning breathing sessions. The two also began to run together of which, for the first fifteen minutes, Mai deplored every moment, then rather enjoyed for the next fifteen, and then hated again with every ounce of passion in her body for the last. Afterwards they would stretch and slow their breathing. Mai very nearly fell asleep every time, but Lin was not quite as forgiving as he had been and would make her stand in poses that were all too easy for her to lose her balance and fall to the tatami to jolt herself awake.

As it was nearing the end of the school year, Mai's schoolwork was light but she still had less and less free time. Waking up early to train every day with Lin, she was exhausted by the evenings and went to bed earlier than she had before. Because the office was busy, she only saw the twins for the short period when she went to the office after school and then again for dinner. When not turning away potential clients, Naru was reading voraciously, though Gene seemed somewhat listless in his own sporadic research.

It had been over a week since Lin had first taught Mai the beginning breathing meditations, though much to her annoyance she could not clear her focus well enough not to become distracted without her instructor's spoken guidance. As soon as he stopped speaking her mind would begin to wander and he would quietly remind her what they were doing. When she expressed her frustration and displeasure, he simply shook his head and told her to be patient. Gratefully, she did not have any more visions during their morning meditation sessions. She didn't want any, the thought of having a vision reminded her of her unpleasant dream of a future with an absent Naru that she would rather forget.

And the days continued in their established routine.

...

An ocean away, a doorbell rang and a woman hurried down the stairs to answer her front door. A delivery man was standing with an enormous and expensive-looking flower arrangement. After asking the man to verify the address, she accepted the flowers with a bewildered expression on her face, thanked the courier and brought them inside. Curious, she opened the envelope, eyes growing wide as she read the card.

To Mr Eugene Davis and Mr Oliver Davis

It is with utmost gratitude that Mr Mori wishes to sincerely thank you for the service you have done for him.

The letter continued with words of praise and gratitude for the brothers while never identifying what exactly it was they had done. The woman skimmed down the lines to the signature, eyes growing even larger as she read who had sent the extravagant bouquet.

Sincerely

TSURUNAMI Chuji (Mr)

Secretary to the 55th Prime Minister of Japan

The woman's hands began to shake and she turned and hurried down the hall, calling out to her husband. "Martin! Would you look at this!"

---

A/N: Probably my fastest installment yet, for better or worse. Unfortunately I've got some Life Things coming up in the next few weeks so the next update won't be as timely. Thanks in advance for your patience!

Special thanks to Meepyonnee for straightening me out on various canon facts for this chapter. (I will be the first to admit I'm terrible with these sorts of things.)

Also, to everyone I assured that Takigawa would show up in this chapter, well, I lied. Sorry about that. But we're still not ready for him yet. Next chapter.. promise ;)

Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think. I'm very curious to see how this chapter is received.. I admit I am also a bit nervous and worry that I will have disappointed you. T_T Anyway, comments are always appreciated and I love to hear from you, so please let me know your feedback!