**Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter. I'm back at work full-time and was made the Kindergarten teacher of my school so I am beyond excited! Unfortunately my chapters will most likely be posted every other week instead of weekly since our school normally never had a Kindergarten and I will need to create lessons and choose what curriculum to follow. Thank you as always for your loving support!

Also, shout out to Iloveanimex for all your help teaching me about England! I try to keep my stories as authentic as possible and since I have never been to England nor live there your information has really helped me.**

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Well you were right, that case really was a short one," Mai grinned as she looked out the car window.

"Of course I was right," Oliver smirked as he drove towards Mai's flat.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips as a thought came to her. "What I wouldn't give to see you scold that nasty man again. You nearly frightened him to death. Imagine having to exorcise that sorry excuse for a bloke."

"I'd rather not," he drawled.

A faint dinging sound reached their ears and Mai quickly reached into her bag to pull out her mobile. It was a message from Ayako.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," she hummed. "Takegawa's private concert is tomorrow night...They say you're more than welcome to come along. There won't be many guests there, just some other bands and friends."

"I'll have to pass," he shook his head.

Mai frowned slightly. "Really?"

"I'm not much of a 'people person,'" he drawled monotonously, as he continued driving.

She laughed at his nonchalance. "Ah, right. I forgot that you find people more interesting after they've passed away."

"Precisely," he smirked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Takegawa's band plays rock but I heard that when they play separately they each have their own style they prefer most...Do you like music?" she wondered out loud, leaning her head against the headrest.

He replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No favorite genres?" she pried.

He shot her a suspicious glance.

Sighing at his lack of response, she continued with her conversation anyway. "I don't think I could choose a favourite. No matter what mood you're in, there is always something out there that fits it perfectly. I feel like you would be more into classical music. Maybe that's just because I know you play the piano now. Me? I'm not really picky. I guess I like music that makes me feel happy, but every so often a good sad and slow song can be just the thing."

Oliver pulled up to the curb outside her building. "Do you realize you just had a conversation entirely by yourself?" he asked with veiled amusement.

She smiled. "I've found that if I do that you eventually chime in. Is it so wrong to want to know more about you?" After realizing what she just said, Mai cleared her throat and grabbed her bag. "Anyway, you really won't come to the concert tomorrow?"

He held her gaze for a moment. "...Things like that aren't my cup of tea, so to say."

She unbuckled herself and her eyes lost their luster momentarily before she plastered another smile on her face. "Too bad. It would have been fun to have you there." Opening the car door, she stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Have a good weekend, Naru. Drive safely."

He watched as she closed the door behind her and scurried to find her keys. His eyes narrowed curiously before he shook his head of the gnawing thought in his mind and drove away.

Mai finally managed to unlock the entrance door when someone in the hall caught her attention.

"Mr. Hicks. What happened?" she questioned.

The man was patching up a hole in the wall with some spackle and he smiled softly in her direction. "Oh, hello, Mai dear. Nothing to worry about. It's nothing a little tending-to can't fix."

He slowly bent down to scoop up more spackle and placed a hand on his aching back as he straightened out.

"Here, allow me to help," she offered and quickly made her way over to the man to hold the bucket of spackle up for him.

"Whatever would I do without you?" the man chuckled before tending to the hole once again.

Mai smiled and held the bucket until her landlord was finished with his task.

"There we go," Bertel grinned proudly and turned towards his tennant. "So, how was your week? Any more adventures?"

"I just came back from one actually," she chirped. "It was at the Guildhall School of Music. One of the custodians passed away and lingered until someone played the music she had written. It was hauntingly beautiful, I wish you could have heard it. I can't get the sound of the piano out of my mind."

Bertel laughed. "My Elsie used to love to play the piano. She tried to teach me once but to me the sheet music just looked like ants on a page. Can't teach an old dog new tricks, eh? I do wish I could hear her play once more, though."

Mai grinned. "Maybe I can bribe my boss to come over and play a song for you. Apparently he is quite talented." She grabbed a lid from the ground and covered the spackle. "I've been seeing Phillip around more often." she noted.

Bertel's smile faltered slightly. "Yeah. It's easier to keep an eye on him that way."

The brunette tilted her head curiously at the man's words and he waved her off.

"Nevermind that. I can take the bucket from you now, dear," he said. His wrinkled hands reached out to take the bucket from her but they stopped midway and he hissed, rubbing his arm in pain.

"Are you alright?" Mai was suddenly on alert and put the bucket on the floor to inspect her friend.

"Don't mind me. My arm's just been acting up for the past couple of days. Oh the perks of old age," he winked.

She smiled sympathetically, still cautious of the man's health.

He reached a hand out and ruffled her hair. "Stop worrying about me, dear. I lived through the war, I won't be letting a silly little pain take me down that easily. Oh, before you leave, do you have any plans tomorrow?"

Mai nodded. "Actually I'm going to a friend's concert tomorrow night. I'm quite excited."

The man's eyes crinkled with happiness. "Sounds like fun! Be sure to drop by in the morning. Saturday is cookie day, remember?"

Mai laughed warmly. "Okay, I'll be sure to swing by. Take it easy and take good care of that arm."

She waved goodbye to the elerly man and made her way up the stairwell to her flat.

It was a slow Saturday night. Oliver rubbed his aching forehead and placed his laptop on the coffee table. He found himself growing more impatient with the weekends as time went on. He told himself it was because he liked to keep busy and felt useless when he wasn't working, but a small voice in the back of his head told him it was more to do with the fact that he had to go two days without his preferred tea.

Maybe going to bed would help the headache go away. He looked at the clock on the wall only to be reminded that it was still early too early to go to sleep. He found himself unable to get his mind to stop all day, which was probably one of the reasons his head ached so badly.

He had one of those dreams again last night. Ever since Mai had arrived in his life he had been getting a recurring dream. A dream of an office and shadowy figures. There had been something so familiar about the office in his dream and the way the silhouetted people interacted. It was almost as if he had been there before. Nothing ever changed in the dream. It was the same thing every time.

Mai had also been experiencing the dreams, and he knew better than to dismiss it as coincidence. What did it have to do with Mai? Perhaps it had something to do with her abilities; was she projecting her dreams on him? And why him?

He dropped his head into his hands and sighed. He didn't like not knowing.

The shrill sound of his mobile ringing made him wince. Looking down at the screen he wondered why Mai was calling him so late.

"Mai?" he answered.

"Naru!" a woman's voice yelled, causing him to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Ayako?" he questioned blankly. "Why do you have Mai's phone?" He could hear music playing in the background as well as laughter and conversation.

"Is this thing even on?" the woman whined and he heard beeping as if she were redialing.

"Mrs. Takigawa, either stop pushing buttons or I'll hang up," he growled in irritation at the clearly intoxicated woman.

"Oh! There you are!" she sang obliviously.

"What's the reason you're calling me?" he sighed. He wasn't very fond of the woman right now; he felt as if he were talking to a child.

"Oi, Naru, you're no fun," she complained. "I need you to come pick up Mai."

His eyes narrowed in concern at the woman's words. "Is she hurt?"

"No she's drunk and we don't know where she lives, get that fit butt of yours over here," she ordered. "We're at the 12th Knot. See you soon."

He felt his brow twitch in annoyance. "I'm not a cab for hire. You're adults. Figure it out yourselves."

"Fine, be that way," Ayako sighed exasperatedly before a small devious chuckle reached his ears. Even though he couldn't see her, he could tell she was smirking. "I guess I'll just have Toru drive her home."

"Who?" Oliver interrogated, curiosity piqued.

"He's just the lead singer. Total babe, you know what I mean? Don't worry, he'll gladly bring her home and take very good care of her," the woman chirped.

"Wait-," he began but was cut off.

"Oi, Toru! I have a favour to ask~" With that the phone went dead as she hung up and Oliver sat staring at his phone.

He hung his head in defeat.

Mai laughed as Ayako and her husband drunkenly sang with their friends on the rooftop. The band had rented out the place for the night so the place was all to themselves. She had never been to a rooftop bar before but it was rather exciting. Barely any stars were visible due to the light pollution but the breeze was refreshing. She sighed happily at the beautiful view of the River Thames illuminated by the city and moonlight.

Not having much experience with going out, she hadn't known what to wear. It had taken her nearly two hours to choose her outfit for the evening but she was glad with what she picked. Well, actually she had sent Ayako a few pictures of her outfit choices so the priestess was the one who told her which one to wear. She had gone with a little black dress and a pair of beige strappy heels. She felt like a fish out of water but she also felt kind of pretty so she didn't mind too much. However, she was still trying to get used to walking in heels and nearly took a tumble earlier, hence the reason she felt more comfortable sitting.

She swirled the drink in her hand gently. She wasn't very fond of drinking but Ayako hadn't taken no for an answer and told her to let loose. Mai eventually gave in and decided just to hold the drink for the remainder of night so it appeared as if she were drinking in order to get the woman off her back.

The brunette was currently sitting alone on the patio furniture watching the band grow increasingly more intoxicated as the night grew on. Even though it was their last time as a band, the group looked happy. Houshou had told her they were disbanding because they either wanted to move, start families, or go solo.

Pink lips pulled into an amused smile as Ayako grabbed the microphone and took over, albeit a little off pitch. Takigawa cheered his wife on from the edge of the stage. "Great job, babe! That's my wife!"

Mai stretched gently, her body growing sore from sitting for so long.

"Mai," a deep voice rang out behind her and she'd know that voice anywhere.

Spinning around in her seat, she saw her boss standing just feet away. Her cheeks tinged pink at the sight of him. He wore a pair of slim jeans with brown oxfords and his half buttoned white shirt looked as if he had thrown it on in a hurry. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and his hair was slightly disheveled and his eyes were serious. Mai noted how she didn't think she'd ever seen him dress so casually.

"N-Naru! What are you doing here?" she stuttered, quickly standing to her feet.

Her eyes grew wide when her heel twisted the wrong way and she began to trip but a pair of lean arms caught her before she made it to the ground. He helped her to her feet but didn't remove his hold on her arms.

Blue eyes stared down at her seriously. "Ayako phoned me. She told me you were intoxicated and needed a ride home. However, I'm beginning to think it was all a lie."

She felt her face begin to burn in embarrassment, finally realizing why Ayako had been acting so oddly earlier.

"I'm so sorry she had you come all the way down here. I'm fine, really. If anything she's the one that needs the help," she apologized and nodded her head towards the direction of the stage.

He glanced over and saw the Takigawa's dancing on the floor and nodded.

"T-Thank you for coming though," she said softly, catching his attention.

He raised a brow at the redness of her cheeks and then realized he was still holding her. He dropped his hands but quickly put them back when the petite brunette stumbled again.

"Sorry, I'm not very used to wearing heels this tall," she muttered, avoiding eye contact.

A small smirk pulled at his lips. "With your luck, I'm surprised you haven't broken an ankle yet."

She chuckled, "You and me both. That's why I've been sitting over here all night."

He dropped his hands again and his eyes quickly scanned her body, subconsciously noting the way her dress hugged her. He watched as she made her way to the patio sofa once again and plopped down softly. She sighed in relief and looked at her feet with a pout.

"How do other women always make it seem so easy to walk in these?" she complained, unstrapping the shoes to allow her feet a few minutes of freedom. "That's better."

She looked over at him standing there awkwardly.

"Well then," he began uncomfortably. "Since you're well, I should be off."

"You're leaving so soon?" she asked desperately. Her eyes widened and she tried to muster all the courage she had. "What I mean is, since you're here...do you want to stay for a bit?"

The man looked at the spot next to her for a moment before finally making a move to sit down. "I suppose I can stay for a short while."

She smiled brightly. "Oh, um, do you want a drink?"

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not really one for drinking."

"Same here," she chuckled. "Truth is, I've just been holding onto this one so Ayako and the band will stop trying to force more on me."

Oliver frowned. "They shouldn't be forcing drinks on someone who doesn't want them."

She laughed again. "It's okay, Naru. They're good people and just having fun on their last night as a band. They weren't trying to be rude."

They sat there in silence for a moment watching the band on the dance floor.

"I'm really glad you came," she confessed, looking down at the drink in her hand. She gently ran a delicate fingertip over the rim of the glass absentmindedly.

He watched her from the corner of his eye. "Were you not enjoying the party?"

She shook her head. "It's been fine. Ayako and Takigawa were over here with me until the drinks kicked in. They're very fun to be around. Hopefully one day Houshou will be able to join us on a case as well."

Oliver nodded, looking over the balcony railing behind them to take in the view of the river. Following his gaze, Mai pulled her legs up underneath her and rested her head against the back of the sofa.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she whispered happily.

He glanced over at her briefly. "I suppose there are moments when the city has its charm."

"You suppose?" she teased.

"Just hope you never have to take the tube. Your view of London will be changed forever, and not in a good way," he smirked.

Mai brought up a hand to cover her mouth and giggled. "Sounds like quite the adventure. Now I kind of want to see it."

"Have you seen a can of sardines?" he asked lazily.

"Yes?" she replied.

"It's not much different. In fact, it even smells similar," he shrugged.

Letting out a bubbly laugh she lightly hit the man's shoulder. "Cracking jokes now are you, Mr. Davis?"

The two turned to look back out towards the river. The London Bridge was silhouetted against the light of the full moon, almost like a scene from a movie.

"I'm assuming Ayako must have told quite a story in order for you to come all the way out here. I hope it didn't take you away from anything important," she smiled apologetically.

Oliver shook his head. "I was finishing up a report."

"On a Saturday night? You really love to work. Don't you have any other hobbies that you do on your time off? Aside from writing your books and playing piano, that is," she wondered in genuine curiosity.

Oliver was quiet for a moment, taken aback by the sudden question. Eventually she expected he was going to ignore the question but was pleasantly surprised when he answered.

"Reading is an enjoyable pastime," he replied hesitantly.

"Case files don't count," she teased.

The corner of his mouth pulled up in amusement. "Actually I prefer Steven King novels."

"Spooky," she nodded. "Appropriate book choice given your profession though."

The dark haired man studied her. "And you?"

Mai tilted her head in question. "Me?"

"What of your hobbies?" he asked, looking out over the city.

"I'm trying some things out," she began. "I worked multiple jobs for many years so I didn't have much time for hobbies. I enjoy exploring new places, taking in the scenery. I just haven't done much sightseeing in London yet because I have a feeling I'll get lost without someone with me. Hm...I recently started to learn how to crochet. I attempted to make a hat once but it came out a few sizes too big...and a little wonky. It's a work in progress. Oh, and I really enjoy reading as well!"

He nodded. "You did read through my books rather fast."

"They were intriguing and I learned a lot from them," she complimented. "So, be honest, did you actually write those books all by yourself? You know how some famous people say it is their book or autobiography but in actuality they hired someone else to put it all together?"

He gave her a displeased look and she laughed again.

"Okay, okay, you wrote it." She smiled warmly. "I should have known better, you are Mr. Perfect: amazing at anything you put your mind to."

She turned to look at him. He was staring at her with an unreadable expression that made her breath catch. When had he gotten so close? She could practically feel the warmth radiating off of his body from the little distance that was suddenly between them. Her breath caught and she couldn't tear her eyes away from that piercing blue.

A cool breeze blew. Even though the days were getting warmer, the nightly temperature could still be relatively cold. Her long brown hair whipped around, framing her face.

His eye flickered down towards her mouth for the briefest of seconds before something else caught his attention. She gulped as one of his hands reached up and pushed a strand of her auburn hair behind her hair. The sensation made a shiver run down her spine.

Oliver suddenly pulled back and looked at something in his hand. "There was something in your hair," he stated stoically.

Looking at the small petal that was pressed between two long fingers, she could feel her face heat up with embarrassment. She mentally chastised herself for thinking there was some other meaning behind their close interaction. She quickly turned away from his prying eyes.

"T-Thank you," she muttered, wondering if she should just throw herself off the building to save her from any future embarrassment.

Another gust of wind blew and this time she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her body. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her hands on her bare arms to keep warm.

"Are you cold?" his deep voice reached her ears.

She smiled timidly. "A bit. I forgot to bring a jacket. I feel badly leaving but I'm also a bit knackered so I think it is probably time for me to head home."

"Are you going to wear your shoes?" he asked, to her confusion.

"No, the thing about heels is that they hurt even worse when you put them back on," she explained warily.

Mai watched as he reached down and picked up her high heels from the ground. He held out a hand and looked at her expectantly.

"Come along, I'll drive you home," he stated calmly.

"Oh! Y-You don't have to! I don't mind taking a ca-" she sputtered but was interrupted.

"I came down here with the intention of driving you home anyway," he sighed and took her hand, gently pulling her off of the sofa.

"Really?" she asked in a stunned whisper.

He turned his head. "Ayako asked me to, remember? She called and said you were too drunk to tell them your address."

"R-Right, I forgot about that," she laughed nervously. She felt as if there was an invisible storm cloud over her head. Ever since she came to accept her feelings for the man standing in front of her, she repeatedly kept misreading everything he did. Now all she needed was a crowd of Oliver-obsessed girls off in the corner pointing and laughing at her and everything would be just peachy. "We should go say goodbye to Ayako and Houshou, huh?"

Oliver nodded and followed the barefooted woman into the crowd of people.

Mai found her two friends and waved with a smile. "I'm going to be heading out. Thank you so much for inviting me."

The Takigawa's stopped their dancing and they pulled her into a large drunken hug.

"Mai! You're leaving?" Takigawa cried.

She laughed at his behavior and nodded. "It's getting late."

Ayako looked behind the brunette. "Naru! You made it, I knew you would. Good boy," she said with a sloppy pat to his head. "Take care of her," she whispered loudly with a wink.

"We'll be going now," Oliver said dryly and ushered Mai away from the small yet oddly crowded dance floor.

The pair made their way to the lift and the man reached out a finger and pressed the button for the lobby.

"I can't help but feel like I am becoming your chauffeur, Ms. Taniyama," Oliver stated thoughtfully.

She turned her head in his direction, eyes wide. "I'm sorry! I can always take - what did you call it- the tube? I'd hate to impose on you even more," she hastily apologized. The chime of the lift signaled as it grew closer.

"The last thing an attractive woman should be doing on a Saturday night is ride the tube alone," he sighed and ushered her into the lift as it opened.

"But you're right! You've been driving me home so much lately. I can't help but feel like I'm taking advantage of your generosity," she opposed.

"Mai, I was joking. I wouldn't keep offering to drive you if I didn't want to," he replied.

She bit her lip guiltily. The doors closed behind them as they began their descent to the lobby. The lift was composed mostly of glass, overlooking the river. The twinkling lights of the city caught her attention and she turned to take in the view. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Oliver's reflection in the glass and noticed he was still holding her shoes.

Not wanting to burden him any further, she turned and reached out to grab them from her boss. "I can hold those!"

Without a word Naru held them just out of her reach and she frowned. Stretching further, she attempted to get them again but he continued to hold them up even higher.

"Naru?" she complained standing on her toes and jumped. "Why are you so tall?"

"Why are you so short?" he countered calmly looking down at her.

She groaned. "Well I wouldn't be short if I had the shoes."

"But you already said you weren't going to wear them," he retorted.

She stretched even further as he swapped the shoes to his other hand. In her determination to retrieve her shoes, she didn't realize how she was pressing against the man's chest, grabbing onto his shirt.

"Contain yourself, Mai. People may begin to get the wrong idea," he stated deeply.

Mai furrowed her brows, wondering what he meant. His eyes suggestively flickered down to where she was pressed against him. With a squeak she jumped backwards as if she'd been burnt.

"Wh- I didn't- It's not-" she stammered, her mind flustered.

The lift dinged as it finally reached the lobby and Naru placed her shoes in her hand before walking away, clearly entertained. Gaining control of her thoughts again, she huffed and jogged to catch up to her boss.

"What was all that about, then?" she asked impatiently.

Oliver's lips were slightly upturned and he shrugged. "You've proven rather amusing to tease."

She let out an exasperated sigh and picked up her speed, making her way towards the man's car. Her heart was still racing so instead of continuing to feel embarrassed she focused her energy on ignoring the blue-eyed genius.

Hearing the sound of the car door unlock, she quickly opened it and buckled her seat belt. She could hear him getting into the car but kept her face turned, looking out the passenger side window.

"What's this? You're not going to have another conversation by yourself?"

She shot him a lighthearted glare over her shoulder. "Only the truly worthy deserve to hear my one-sided conversations." Her glare fell at the sight of his smile and a small bubble of laughter escaped her lips.

Mai.

She froze as a wave of nausea and lightheadedness washed over her.

Oliver instantly noticed something was off and he glanced over at her cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. That was odd. I just got a little dizzy for a second there," she said softly, placing a hand to her forehead.

"Well according to Ayako you are sloshed," he shrugged.

"Completely inebriated," Mai agreed sarcastically with a laugh, taking her hand off of her head as the dizziness dispersed. "I know tonight wasn't nearly as much fun as writing reports, but I hope you had a good time, even though you weren't there for long."

Oliver stared at the road. "It wasn't a complete waste of time," he admitted vaguely.

"Maybe next time we can go out to karaoke!" she laughed.

He shot her a look that clearly stated his refusal at the idea.

"I'm joking," she grinned. "It's good to get out of the house and get your mind off of work from time to time. I mean, look at Gollum, even he left his cave to go on an adventure and he was a grumpy little thing."

Oliver looked at her oddly. "Did you just compare me to an obsessed reclusive hobbit?"

Mai shrugged. "Maybe."

"Did you even read the books? Things didn't end well for him," the man rolled his eyes.

"Well it was the first metaphor that came to mind," she muttered. "Either way, I'm glad you were able to come out tonight," she finished with a smile.

The car slowly came to a stop and Mai realized that they were already in front of her building. The ride was sadly shorter than she anticipated it to be. She began to grab her shoes and clutch but another wave of dizziness hit her and she closed her eyes, bracing herself against the dashboard.

Mai.

"Mai?" Oliver's concerned voice reached her ears.

She looked over at him with a dismissive smile, waving off his worries. "It's nothing, I think I just need some water. Thank you for the lift, Naru. I'll see you on Monday."

Oliver nodded skeptically and watched as his assistant made her way to unlock the front door of her building. He was about to start his car again when he looked over once more.

His heart dropped to his stomach when he saw Mai collapsed on the ground.

The last thing Mai remembered before losing consciousness was unlocking the door to her building. It had felt like something was desperately pulling on her mind.

She groggily opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by darkness.

Tears sprang to her eyes when she saw the person standing in front of her.

Mai, dear...