Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. Ghost hunting babies would be on the way.
Chapter 15 – Lights in the Night, Times Two
-0O0-
Naru's gaze drifted to the stairs, his eyes stopping on the spot where Mai had disappeared from view. As Luella (sounding rather emotional) asked Bou-san about the kind of paper the lantern-boats were made with, Naru silently left the table and headed for the front hall. Hefting Mai's bag onto his shoulder, he slipped quietly up the front stairway. Naru tried to tell himself he was doing this because Mai had recently saved him from a malicious ghost. And that did have something to do with it. But mostly, it was because he understood. Oliver Davis knew grief too well, and the thought of the sunny Mai alone and depressed didn't sit right with him.
Wanting a better idea of what he was heading into, Naru fingered the strap of Mai's bag and called upon his psychometry. Mai was in 'her' guest room, looking out the window and crying. Her emotions were roiling; sadness, grief, guilt, and longing all churned around inside her. Naru sighed and walked down the hall, pausing only a moment before entering the room.
Mai whipped around, eyes popping wide at the sight of him. She hastily wiped her face and tried to smile. "Um, hey, Naru. What's up?"
Naru gave her an incredulous glance and set her bag on the bed.
"Oh, right, my books." Mai rushed over and grabbed one of her parapsychology textbooks. "I don't know what I was thinking." Her hands shook slightly.
"Daijoubu?" Naru asked softly.
Mai's head came up. He'd asked her if she was alright. The same question he'd asked right after Mai had woken up from her death vision in Urado's mansion. She smiled a bit – a real smile. "Hai," she whispered back.
Naru pulled something else out of her bag – a copy of the paper that she and Yasu had sent with their transfer application. "I suspect I should read this," he noted off-handedly. "Martin has read it at least ten times. And since I have applied to be the investigator in charge of your study and training at SPR, I must familiarize myself with the development of your powers. But I needed a cleaner copy – my father's is so marked up, it's barely legible anymore." He settled into a cushioned chair next to the guest bed.
Mai just stared at him.
"Shouldn't you be reading as well?" Naru intoned leadingly.
Mai's mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out. She dropped onto the bed, book in hand. She continued to stare at Naru – who was now ignoring her, eyes moving rapidly over the paper in his hands.
A wide smile broke out across Mai's face; Naru was comforting her, in his own way. He'd never been one for heart-to-heart conversations, but he had come up here. He knew that she was upset, asked if she was okay, and was going to keep her company. Mai practically bounced up the bed towards her emotionally-challenged love interest. She snuggled herself against the pillows and cracked open the thick parapsychology book, a grin on her face and happiness in her heart.
She didn't see Naru's eyes slide in her direction, processing her change of mood and watching her mouth the English words she was reading.
By the time Mai stole another glance, she had also missed a brief, tiny smile on Naru's face.
-0O0-
Predictably, Mai fell asleep about an hour later. Still sitting up, book open on her lap. Naru regarded her intently, a problem nagging at him. The Toro Nagashi took place on the fifteenth, Takigawa had said – and though Mai seemed alright now, she'd be worse tomorrow. Naru was not the type to leave problems half-solved. Not to mention – there was no way that Luella Davis was going to let this go without doing something special for Mai. Not after the birthday fiasco.
Mai's birthday had been July third. SPR's first visit to the warehouse had been scheduled for July fifth, and so July third was swept up in the run-up to the case. Mai herself hadn't noticed the date. Naru sighed heavily, his memory replaying the scene…
The entire group (even Luella) was sitting at the kitchen table, looking over paperwork and discussing strategy, when Ayako suddenly slapped a hand to her forehead. Everyone stopped talking, wondering if the shrine maiden had found something in the file she was reading. Instead, Ayako turned horrified eyes on her future adopted daughter and apologized profusely for forgetting that it was Mai's nineteenth birthday.
Mai gawped for a moment – before laughing. "Oh, yeah," she said casually. "I was so caught up in the case that I forgot about my birthday… reckon I'm turning into a workaholic?"
The present-day Mai fidgeted in her sleep and Naru gritted his teeth. He wanted to have that problem – yet no matter how hard he tried, no one seemed to forget his and Gene's birthday. Perhaps if he wrangled up a particularly interesting case, Martin would forget this year.
But Luella wouldn't…
"What do you mean, you forgot about your birthday?" Luella asked Mai, eyes wide. "It's your BIRTHDAY."
"Oops," Mai replied, shrugging sheepishly. Blanching at the uncomprehending stare on Luella's face, Mai hurried to explain. "It's not that big a deal, Luella, I mean… I don't really do big birthdays."
"A cultural difference?" Martin asked interestedly.
"Ah, no, it's…" Mai's eyes changed, her gaze distant. "After my father died, my mom had to work a lot to keep us, you know, okay money-wise. So she had to work on my birthday a couple of times. It was okay, I mean, she worked all of her own birthdays. And she didn't really have time to put together parties… but I had no other living relatives, so there weren't a lot of people to invite." Mai shrugged again, as nonchalant now as she'd been the day she informed SPR that she was an orphan.
Then she noticed Luella's still-troubled gaze and backtracked. "After I started junior high school, though, my friends made sure to come over and do presents. And after my mom died, they took me out every year. Oh! One year, I went on a summer vacation with my friend Keiko-chan for my birthday!" Mai threw a high-beam smile at Naru's adopted mother, trying to dispel the gloomy mood. "For the last couple of years, Ayako and Bou-san have insisted on throwing me a birthday party. But…" Mai shot the distressed-looking shrine maiden a look. "They shouldn't worry about today! I forgot, too, you know."
"We've got your presents back at the apartment," a remorseful Bou-san told Mai. "We bought them ages ago. And it IS a big deal, Mai. I can't believe…"
"Bou-san." Mai's voice was steely. "It's okay. I'm not upset, so how about we stop guilt tripping already? If it makes you guys feel better, we can do cake and presents tomorrow. But for now, let's finish going over the plan and call it a night. It's getting late."
"We can still go out," Yasuhara suggested. "There's a bar a couple of blocks away that does music every night. You like dancing."
"Yasu, I am not spending the last few hours of my birthday watching you hit on girls," Mai said firmly, rolling her eyes. "Besides, tomorrow is Testing Day. I need to be well-rested if we're going to get numbers anywhere near as good as last week's."
Her research partner sighed. "Fine, Mai-chan. Be a party pooper. You're no fun sometimes."
"It's called being responsible, Yasu. You should try it." Mai reached for a pink folder full of pictures of the warehouse.
Naru would normally have made a comment about Mai's insistence that she was responsible – he had many examples that suggested otherwise, after all. But Naru had felt oddly restless throughout the entire conversation. He barely acknowledged September nineteenth himself, but others still offered him presents and well-wishes every year. Before Gene had died (and Naru had started actively avoiding any form of celebration), their adopted parents had always thrown them a birthday party.
It seemed… out of joint… that the happy, giving Mai was historically gipped on her birthday. It was also quite sobering that she didn't seem to care. Especially considering that she made a big deal out of most holidays – even religious ones that the Japanese didn't really celebrate, like Christmas. Mai had to want more than belated cake and presents for her birthday.
A moment later, Naru rolled his eyes at his own ridiculous thoughts. He was irritatingly fixated on the emotional welfare of his former assistant. This is what comes of listening to Madoka's nonsense about Mai 'saving me,' he groused internally. Mai did take responsibility for his safety during the exorcism, and had managed to protect him from harm… so now Naru was overcompensating for that by concerning himself with Mai's feelings. Surely, he'd already paid Mai back by coming up here tonight. Naru could honorably retreat into his comfort zone.
However… Naru also knew that Mai's belated birthday cake at the house (following testing) had certainly not satisfied Luella. His mother was definitely going to plan something for tomorrow. Which was likely going to entangle him in more maudlin displays of emotion.
Perhaps… Naru should come up with something himself. Yes, a reasonable alternative to whatever crazy plan the combination of characters downstairs would cook up. He studied Mai's peaceful form and searched his mind for an acceptable plan of action.
It should be something intrinsically valuable, he reckoned. The Toro Nagashi obviously meant a lot to the usually blasé-about-being-an-orphan Mai. Naru narrowed his eyes on Mai's sleeping face. She was upset about not being in Japan, that she wouldn't be able to float a lantern in the river near her childhood home. She couldn't just up and go to Japan tomorrow, obviously. Mai's surrogate parents and best friend were here in England, so they couldn't do it for her…
But there were others who could.
Naru eased out of the armchair, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He scrolled down his contacts until he came to the name he was looking for. Fingering the call button, Naru considered. He hadn't spoken to her in two years, and given her history of interest in him… Perhaps he should request that Yasuhara handle the telephone calls. It would have to be tonight… there wasn't a lot of time to organize. It was already the fifteenth in Tokyo. Naru swiftly exited the guest room.
-0O0-
"Oh, there you are, Noll!" Madoka called as Naru strode back into the kitchen. "You were gone for a while."
Her grin was surely meant to get his back up. Therefore, Naru ignored her completely and speared her compatriot-in-evil with steady blue eyes. "Yasuhara, I require your assistance."
"What's up, Big Boss?"
"I need you to call Miss Hara or Father Brown," he said shortly.
"For what?" Yasuhara asked curiously, the edge of a grin in his voice.
He and Madoka fed off of each other, Naru realized grimly. He needed to get Lin on that. But a quick glance in his Chinese assistant's direction revealed that Lin was amused. As was the smirking Matsuzaki. Naru gritted his teeth and used the voice he usually saved for particularly dense clients. "Mai is upset because she cannot be in Japan tomorrow for the Toro Nagashi. This situation can be at least partially remedied – Miss Hara and Father Brown are in Japan. I believe that you can convince them to assist you."
"Assist me?" Yasuhara repeated, eyes twinkling. "Don't you mean assist you?"
Naru was afforded a momentary reprieve as Martin, Luella, and Bou-san entered the room, all looking excited and holding some papers. Martin noticed him first. "Listen, Noll, we obviously have to do something about tomorrow, and I think we've got it."
Naru stared in shock. His father was the parent taking point on this?
"Your father has an idea for tomorrow!" Luella burst out. "We're going to the Japan Society in the morning, to pick up lantern-making supplies! We'll make lanterns ourselves, and then float them in the backyard pond tomorrow night! Won't that be lovely?" Her eyes were practically sparkling.
Naru sighed, somewhat deflated. "Yes, Mother." They would obviously be doing that instead. Though relieved he wouldn't have to endure the teasing that would come with revealing his plan, Naru couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment that his idea would go to waste.
"But Noll," Madoka spoke up. "You've obviously thought of something, too. There's no reason that we can't do both."
"Both?" Naru repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that be overkill?"
"Of course not!" his mentor replied brightly. "Besides, I think I know what you're thinking – and it's a great idea. So thoughtful of you, Noll." She smiled cunningly.
He glared in return. "I knew that Mother would want to do something, after the birthday episode," he replied evenly. Madoka's disbelieving stare told Naru he needed to do better. He remembered his self-examination upstairs. "You were so insistent that Mai saved me last week. You weren't… entirely incorrect, so I imagine I must return the favor."
Madoka wasn't fooled. Her prize pupil wanted to make Mai feel better and couldn't deal. She almost called him on it… but seeing as Noll was maturing enough to show he cared (albeit in a backwards, covered-up kind of way), Madoka would humor him and let him make up whatever explanation he wanted to. They needed to get this show on the road, anyway. "How… reciprocal of you, Noll. I think Mai will really love your idea." (She heard Ayako and Yasu laugh quietly.) "And I have a way to make it even better." Madoka waggled her cell phone in Noll's face, pointing to the video icon.
Naru looked torn between interest and annoyance. "Overkill?" he suggested again.
"Not at all," Luella negated firmly. "Doing both will only make her day more special, so of course we should go for it."
Martin nodded in agreement, handing Noll a printed-out flier about the Japan Society's Obon celebration.
Unwilling to fight both of his parents, Oliver just nodded smartly and turned to Yasuhara.
-0O0-
The next day, Ayako dragged a listless Mai out of bed. Though Naru's unexpected bout of comforting adorableness had been wonderful, Mai still felt pretty awful about not being in Tokyo for Obon. She elected to stay in bed as long as possible, and then spend the day holed up in her room with prep reading.
But her mother figure was having none of it – Mai was forcibly extricated from her blankets and thrown into the shower. By four o'clock, the depressed teen was pouting in a taxi on the way to the Davis mansion, sandwiched between Bou-san and Ayako. Yasuhara had apparently gone out and was meeting them there.
"You had better liven up by the time we get there," Ayako hissed.
Mai just glared balefully back.
"There might be a surprise today," Ayako hinted. No response from Mai. "You should be in a better mood, anyway – didn't Naru sit with you last night? One would think you'd be happy about that."
"I am happy about that," Mai growled. Realizing her tone and her words were totally out of sync, her sour mood snapped and she laughed. "Alright, fine, I'll behave," Mai promised, still giggling. "I'm just, you know…" Her eyes turned sad again.
"We know," Bou-san replied consolingly, relieved that the tension had broken. "But we can't fly back to Japan for everything."
"I know," Mai said forlornly. The taxi pulled up to the Davis mansion, and Mai managed to smile for Luella as they walked up the drive. Mrs. Davis looked rather cheerful…
"We've a bit of a project today, Mai dear," Luella gushed as they entered the house. "And we're just about ready for you."
Mai gave her a puzzled look. Naru's adopted mother simply wrapped an arm around Mai's shoulders and steered her down the hallway.
Upon reaching the kitchen, Mai stopped dead. There were several sheets of YUPO paper, pieces of wire, bamboo sheets, votive candles, glue, and calligraphy brushes spread out on the table. Madoka was painting flowers onto a sheet of golden-tinted paper, and Martin was trying to glue the paper into shape on one of the bamboo bases.
Mai pressed her lips together, trying very hard not to cry. A lump rose in her throat and she couldn't speak.
"Hmm," Luella said softly, "It seems Martin is having trouble with the paper."
Mai laughed, a short explosion of emotion. She sat down next to Professor Davis, grabbing a base and some paper with shaky hands. "Like this," she choked out, folding the YUPO paper into fourths and gluing along an edge. "You don't have to do it all at once. You glue the paper together first, then leave it until it's dry. Then you glue it to the bamboo."
The professor was uncomfortable with emotions, Mai knew, so she was glad they were working with their hands and avoiding the topic of Mai's obvious tears. Ayako sat down on her other side and grabbed her own base. Mai figured that Ayako would be making a lantern for her grandfather.
Lin, Naru and Yasuhara entered the room just as Mai had about finished helping Martin with his paper folding. Knowing her eyes were still watery, she avoided looking up. Instead, she selected a calligraphy brush and dipped it into the nearby ink well.
"What design are you going to make?" Luella asked interestedly.
Mai smiled. "Bluebells and daffodils," she replied softly, "In Japan, bluebells stand for gratefulness. I am grateful to my parents, for having me and for raising me. I also deeply respect them, which is what the daffodils infer."
"That's lovely," Luella replied, equally softly. "Should I do that too? Use flowers?"
Mai found the courage to look at Luella. "It's what a lot of people do," she replied. "Plus, in western culture you use flowers at funerals, right? The flower-painting is similar – the flowers you pick honor the dead."
"Because they are returning to the world of the dead, yes?" Martin asked beside her.
"Right," Mai agreed, nodding. "They come back to earth at the beginning of the festival and leave at the end. The lantern floating is supposed to represent that."
"Such a short time," Luella said very softly, staring at the golden paper in front of her.
Mai knew that Luella wasn't just talking about the festival. Gene had only been sixteen when he'd been hit by the car. A silence fell over the kitchen.
"Yes," the teen psychic said, jumping bravely into the breach. They were doing this wonderful thing for her; the least Mai could do was try to help Luella feel better. "But the message of the festival isn't really sad. It's supposed to remind you that the dead never really leave us."
Across the room, Naru's eyes snapped to Mai.
"They are always there – sometimes they're just closer than other times." Mai smiled and painted another daffodil on her YUPO paper.
Closer, she'd said. Sometimes Gene was closer than other times, Naru thought to himself, picturing the mirror upstairs. A powerful feeling spread through him, and Naru could see that his adopted mother felt similarly. Luella surveyed Mai with warm eyes before returning to her blank paper.
Then she pursed her lips, obviously considering what to put on the lantern. Naru wordlessly handed Luella a printout of Japanese flower meanings. He'd anticipated this issue and researched lantern-making before helping Lin and Yasuhara with the video editing.
Luella caught her son's hand as he tried to turn away (a.k.a. flee the emotional moment). "Thank you, Noll," she said quietly. She knew that Oliver wouldn't want to make a boat of his own, but he had contributed in his own way. Noll nodded and turned to a laptop on the table. Probably checking over the finished product, Luella figured. The laptop contained the second surprise for Mai – a surprise that her staunchly undemonstrative son had engineered. Luella bit her lip to keep the grin off her face. Noll might be confused as to why he felt it necessary to plan something for Mai – but he did plan something! Progress, Madoka had whispered with relish. Luella agreed.
So Mai would receive two surprises in one day – which Luella found entirely appropriate, given that everyone had forgotten Mai's birthday. This was still quite inconceivable to Luella; birthdays were important. Luella even got yearly hand-squeezes from the uncomfortable-with-physical-affection Oliver Davis. Her gaze drifted to Mai, wondering how long it would take for Noll to offer Mai a sign of physical affection. Given that Noll did not plan on telling Mai that Surprise Two was his idea (he insisted that Madoka take credit), it might be a while.
Luella sighed and looked over Mai's lantern. Mai had left two whole sides empty, between her painted flowers. She was now writing careful Japanese characters down the golden paper.
"You have neater calligraphy than I'd have thought, jou-chan," Takigawa joked.
Mai stuck her tongue out at her adopted father. "My mother taught me that neater writing infers a greater degree of respect," she replied primly. "So I make sure to write as neatly as possible."
Takigawa grinned. "Is that why my name is always written so sloppily on my birthday cards? Lack of respect?"
The teen psychic rolled her eyes. "No, that's because you're really impatient! You whine about wanting to open your presents, so I wind up writing the card as quickly as possible." Mai was happy to hear the smattering of laughter at the table – the somber mood was officially lifted.
After finishing her calligraphy, Mai carefully glued the paper to her lantern base. She leaned across the table to grab a waiting candle, and glued the small candle onto the bamboo. Finally, Mai glued the paper a bit more securely and looped a wire through the top to form a handle. She placed her paper lantern on the table, gaging the finished product with an experienced eye.
"Yours looks much nicer than any of ours, Taniyama," Martin observed. Mai took in the line of paper lanterns with a giggle. Hers was definitely the best – clean lines and precise construction. Martin's was still a bit lopsided – and his painting left much to be desired. Luella's was pretty good, but the glue was sticking out on the sides. Madoka's was better still, but the top was kind of… wrong, somehow. Ayako's was painted prettily, but the lantern's construction was pretty awful. Bou-san's was probably the best, after Mai's. Lin and Yasuhara had both built theirs very well, but the designs were really plain. Naru hadn't built one and was fiddling with a laptop at the end of the table. At least he wasn't sulking, Mai told herself.
"How did you get it so the glue didn't ooze out?" Luella asked, turning Mai's around on the table.
"Lots of practice," Mai replied flippantly. Luella's eyes saddened, but before the table could get all sad again, Mai reached for another base.
"What do you need another one for?" Yasuhara asked curiously.
Mai froze. "Um, I don't," she replied quickly. "I guess I forgot that I put both of my parents on one boat." She busied herself with cleaning up the mess on the table.
Yasuhara looked confused, but Ayako and Takigawa exchanged a knowing glance.
Down the table, Lin considered for a moment. Taniyama-san had just said she'd had lots of experience making Obon lanterns, so why would she suddenly forget something like that? She wouldn't, he decided. So she had been about to make a lantern for someone else. And Yasuhara didn't know who, but her guardians did… because they had gone with her to float lanterns last year. Hm.
The onmyouji watched as Mai's eyes slid tellingly to Luella's lantern, pausing at the name written in careful English cursive on the paper. Eugene Davis. Ah. Mai had made a lantern for Gene last year. She really was a kind person.
Lin's gaze flicked to Naru, who had also been scrutinizing Mai – Naru was also staring at his mother's lantern. No doubt Naru had also figured out who the other lantern would have been for. Lin hoped the young man took Mai's caring gesture to heart. Maybe it would help Naru figure out how Mai felt about him.
"It won't be dark for a while yet," Martin noted. "We figured we'd float the lanterns across the pond in the backyard."
Mai smiled widely. "That sounds great!"
"Since we've got a few hours, we should eat." Luella stood. "I think we should go out for dinner tonight, especially as we've been taking up the kitchen all day. There's a lovely Italian restaurant I think you'll really like, Ayako." The shrine maiden/doctor's eyes lit eagerly.
"We'll leave in a bit, darling," Martin agreed. "But Oliver, Lin, and Madoka – I need to go over some SPR business with you all before we go."
Naru handed the laptop he'd been fiddling with to Takigawa and followed Martin to the study. Bou-san took it with a smile and motioned to Mai. She drifted over, happy to get away from Luella's and Ayako's discussion of some kind of pasta dish. Yasuhara wandered over with her.
"Here you go, Mai," Takigawa said, thrusting the laptop at her. She gave him a confused look. "Yasuhara, Lin, Madoka, and Naru made you a present."
"Huh?" Mai was lost.
"It was really Big Boss's idea," Yasuhara added. "But don't tell him I told you that."
"You should probably go upstairs and watch it, so you don't have an audience." Takigawa shoved Mai toward the back stairs. She gave both men another confused glance, but eventually climbed the stairs and carried the open laptop into her guest room.
-0O0-
The teen psychic sat on the bed, smiling as she remembered Naru's coming here to sit with her last night. And apparently, he had concocted a present for her? Mai eagerly touched a button on the laptop, curious and excited. A video popped up on the screen. The opening shot was of… a very familiar place in Japan.
Mai hit the play icon, feeling suddenly short of breath. She watched as the camera panned over the neighborhood where she had been born. It was sunset, she noticed. The camera was jostled rhythmically – the camera-holder was walking.
"Maybe you should be holding this, Masako-san," John's voice said in Japanese. "You walk much more gracefully than I do."
"I don't think a camera goes very well with my ensemble," Masako's prim voice answered. A kimono sleeve fluttered into the video. It was extra-fancy – festival wear. "I would much prefer to carry the lantern."
Mai's sight had become so blurred with tears that she missed the next few seconds of the video. Hastily, she wiped her eyes and watched as the river came into view. The camera's movement stopped right around where Mai always stood for the Toro Nagashi. She could see lots of people meandering at the water's edge, many in kimono. All of a sudden, the camera panned sideways, and Masako Hara stood elegantly on the riverbank, gazing into the camera. She held a golden lantern in her hands.
"John-san, would you please hand me the match?"
John's hand appeared, and Masako took the proffered match and held it inside the lantern for a moment. The paper lantern blazed gold, and Mai took a moment to appreciate the craftsmanship. It was lovely; the very-traditional Masako probably made it. Then she noticed the beautiful calligraphy, spelling out the names of both of Mai's parents. Mai didn't bother wiping her tears away any more. She just let them roll down her face as she watched.
There was a lurch as John attached the camera to a tripod, and then Mai could see both John and Masako as they took the lantern and placed it on the shore of the river. Mai saw lovely flowers painted on the lantern – daffodils for respect. She giggled through tears as Masako stood daintily by while John braved the shallows of the river, getting his pants wet as he pushed the lantern out into the deeper water. He returned to Masako's side, and both of them bowed deeply as the lantern joined the many others on the darkening water. John turned back around and waved at the camera.
"Hello, Mai-chan!" he called gaily. "I know you're sad that you couldn't be here tonight, so we came for you!"
"Yes," Masako added, a trace of tenderness in her voice. "I hope you feel that we've honored your parents well." Her tone became slightly pouty as she said, "You're lucky to have Naru care about you so much."
Mai laughed aloud at this; Masako still felt jealous, huh? Well, it wasn't what she thought – Mai knew better than to think Naru saw her in a romantic light.
John picked up the camera again, zooming in on the lantern as it floated down the river with the others. Mai watched it rock slowly, the light flickering on the waves below. She cried again, listening to the murmurs of the Japanese crowd and feeling homesick. After a while, John and Masako appeared in the video again, almost invisible in the dark.
"We miss you, Mai-chan," John said softly. "We hope you're doing well in London, and we know you'll do well at Cambridge."
"We'll see you soon," Masako added, smiling as she bowed. "We'll come to visit."
John moved behind the camera again, and the image winked out.
Mai made sure to move the laptop away from her body before she totally broke down, crying like a baby. She had wonderful friends. A wonderful family, she corrected herself.
A knock sounded at the door – and Ayako and Bou-san walked in. Without a word, they hugged Mai to them. The three of them sat there together until Mai stopped crying.
Ayako smoothed her almost-daughter's hair and kissed her forehead. "I take it you liked it?"
Mai sniffled, nodding vigorously. "Naru thought of that?"
"Yeah, him and Madoka," Takigawa said with a grin. "Who would've thought? He's pretending it was all Madoka – the video part was her idea, but having John and Masako do the lantern was Naru. Yasuhara called Masako last night and asked her to make the lantern, and she and John went to your old neighborhood this morning, London-time. Then Yasuhara, Martin, and Luella went to London's Japan Society pick up supplies for our lanterns. The Society runs its own festival today, but we figured that you'd want to keep it private this time. Anyway, Lin uploaded and edited the video, and Naru looked over it to 'make sure there weren't any errors.'" Bou-san affected a Naru-voice.
Mai giggled. Suddenly filled with energy, she bolted off the bed. "We're supposed to be going to dinner, right?"
"We were waiting until you were ready," Ayako replied. "Besides, the professor wanted to go over something with his SPR regulars."
"Well, I'm ready now," Mai replied, checking her face in the mirror. A little puffy, but passable. "I don't want to keep anybody waiting." Without another word, she booked downstairs, searching for the architects of her surprise. Mai saw Yasu first and launched herself at him, hugged her best friend tightly. As she released him, Mai feelingly murmured, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Mai-chan," he replied, grinning warmly. Then he gestured to the study door and winked. Mai winked back and snuck across the hall.
She peeked into the study. Martin was heading out the other door with Madoka. Perfect. She could easily grab Madoka later, but Lin and Naru were another story.
Mai used all of her (rare) stealthiness to slink over to Lin – and hugged the onmyouji before he knew what hit him. "Thank you, Lin-san," she said softly, smiling into his shocked face. His eyes softened slightly, and he nodded. Mai let Lin go and he hurried away. Mai turned to her last victim.
Naru was putting some papers away on the other side of the room, ignoring her presence. Maybe he was afraid of being hugged? Mai grinned at Naru's back, knowing she was about to discommode him in the extreme. It was his idea… so he should get something special.
Before she could lose her nerve, Mai bit her lip and came up alongside Naru. Quick as a flash, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He jumped as if shot and Mai giggled into his widened blue eyes. "Thank you, Naru," she whispered sincerely.
He looked lost for a moment before recovering himself, narrowing his eyes and opening his mouth. "What are you thanking me for? It was Mado-"
"I know it was your idea, too, so don't deny it," Mai cut him off. "And now… I guess I should run for it, before you say something annoying and ruin the moment." And she took off, for once managing not to trip over anything.
-0O0-
AN: Thank you so much to anon for telling me about the Japan Society in London! I hope you guys liked this chapter; this one and the next one make me feel all warm inside. I did look up Obon and lantern-making on the Internet, but I'm sorry if I got anything wrong. I think it sounds like a beautiful festival, and when I finally get to Japan, I hope I get to participate in the festival myself:)