Mai's P.O.V

It was warm…and i could feel the wind blowing as i sat on the patio, watching the kids play. I looked up to see Naru sitting beside me, a book in his hand. I smiled, leaning against him as he crossed one leg over the other.

I moved slightly, feeling that the bed was empty next to me. It's been a good 3 months since we returned home to Japan…so with it already being March i had kept the window cracked, making the empty space painfully obvious due to the slight chill.

Groaning, i sat up and stretched before kicking my legs over the side. Naru wasn't in bed…or in the main room. I felt my stomach drop because i couldn't find him. Grabbing my phone, i texted him.

Naru, i just woke up, where are you..? I asked. Waiting a few minutes but no response came from him. Then the lock clicked and i looked over before ducking down by the counter. When the door opened i had to cover my mouth. What if he's found me so soon…What…What i-

"Mai?" I heard Naru's voice call out as keys were set on the table. I poked my head out above the counter and looked at him. "What're you doing down there?" He asked, walking over to me and kneeling. I hugged him tightly, eyes shut tight.

"I…I didn't know where you went…" I said quietly. He pet my head gently before picking me up and sitting me on the counter.

"I just went to get breakfast…We haven't gone shopping yet so there was nothing to cook…" He said. Well now i felt stupid… "I didn't think you'd wake up yet since it's only 6am." He said. I looked over his shoulder at the clock and noticed he was right. I sat back a bit and looked at him.

"Sorry…i freaked out…" I said. He just thumped my head gently.

"You have PTSD. Freaking out when left alone is normal." He said. I laid my head on his chest and hugged his waist.

"I hate it." I said. He rubbed my back and held me close to him.

"I'll make you some tea to calm down." He said, "Lin said we have a client coming to the office today. Are you up to start working on cases again?" He asked. I smiled and nodded. I hadn't worked a case since we got back, just mainly did the paperwork.

"Anything to get my mind off the impending doom that is my future." I said. He shot me a look and handed me the cup.

"Don't joke like that." He said. I smiled and kissed his cheek, sipping the tea as my muscles relaxed.

Walking into the office, i already saw Marie and Ryan there. Breakfast donuts were laid out on the table with tea, and Lin was sitting on the couch with his laptop and a few files. Guess those are the new case files. Naru followed behind me and walked to the chair in the middle of the room.

"Morning, Ryan." I said with a smile, trying to keep an upbeat tone to my voice. "Marie" I finished.

"Good Morning" Ryan responded, while his sister just rolled her eyes.

"Mai." He started.

"Yea, yea i got it." I said, grumbling. Even dating, I see that won't change anytime soon. I took him his fresh tea and sat down. Yasu came in after a while and sat next to me.

"Maiiii" He said, hugging me tightly. I saw Naru glance over.

"Hi, Yasu!" I smiled and hugged him good morning.

"Who brought donuts?" He said and smiled as he took one.

"I did." Ryan piped up, smiling as he sat down.

"Oh, be still my heart! How'd you know?" Yasu said, hand to his chest dramatically as he looked at Ryan, who blinked then laughed.

"Most people love them…and since we have clients coming i thought it'd be nice for them to have something to snack on." He said. I nodded and nibbled on one.

"Well, Ryan, you're definitely climbing up my list of favorite people." Yasu said and practically shoved the donut in his mouth. Ryan, of course, just laughed. Marie was watching me for some reason.

"What is it?" I asked her, tilting my head.

"...Nothing." She said and turned away with a huff. I shrugged and just sipped my tea. I'd been nice to her this whole time. It's taking longer but she has stopped outwardly coming onto Naru. Now i had to deal with Masako…She still hasn't come by the office since we returned so i wondered what was going on there.

There was a knock at the door, which Ryan answered. When the client came in i stood and shook his hand. Smiling softly, "Welcome, please have a seat." I said softly and poured them some tea before sitting back down with my notebook.

"Please…Tell us a little about what's going on?" I started. This was normal now, Naru barely started the interviews since i took on the role. He just made the final decisions. The man fidgeted with his tea cup for a bit before looking at me.

"My name is Michael…I came to Japan to work in a hospital outside of town…But lately these weird things have been occurring…Whenever we try to get an OR ready our equipment is missing…The lights tend to flicker on and off when we go to the Pediatric Ward…" He started. "After some time we started having reports go missing and some of the kids started seeing things at night in the halls…or a nurse that would come to them when things got bad with their health…" I wrote everything down as he spoke. Key points being accentuated.

"What do these nurses look like?" I asked.

"The kids describe them as pale, wearing a long dress with puffy sleeves. It sounds like the 20th century uniform, but i can't be too sure about it since i'm not originally from here…" He said. I nodded and looked at Naru.

"Naru?" I asked. He sat hi tea cup down and looked up.

"We'll take it." He said. Michael looked relieved and smiled.

"Tell me what you need and i'll have it prepared for you." He said. I got him a list from my desk and handed it to him.

"A room for a base, preferably a big one since we'll need to cover most of the hospital. And two rooms for us to sleep. One for 2-4 girls and one for 4-6 guys." I said, smiling. He nodded and bowed politely before handing us his card and going to leave.

"We'll leave tomorrow. 6am." Naru said and stood, going in his office.

I wasn't sleeping tonight i just knew it.