Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. I was just watching the anime and wanting to watch season two, which there would be if I owned it...
Chapter 17 – Lessons and Schemes
-0O0-
"Leave it alone," Lin intoned to the meddlers.
"But Noll is acting so… unusual!" Madoka argued plaintively. "We have to push a little! He's almost there!"
"Don't get too excited," Yasuhara whispered. "He's not almost there – Big Boss is definitely still in denial. And besides, Mai-chan's too scared to push anything."
"We could just shove their heads together and see what happens," Ayako whispered. She and Bou-san were going home soon, and she didn't want to miss anything important. The three immediately started talking logistics.
Do none of them listen? Lin wondered, rolling his eyes. The troublemakers were so busy strategizing that none of them noticed Naru get up and leave the room. Lin glanced at the vacated desk and raised an eyebrow – the report Naru had been writing was unfinished. How unlike Noll to leave something half-done… His musings were interrupted as Ayako and Madoka shushed each other noisily (still unaware that the subject of their scheming was gone). Lin decided not to tell them – perhaps Naru would get enough time alone to work out whatever was disturbing his mind.
-0O0-
Naru stood in his bedroom, eyes on his mirror and mind moving a mile a minute. Their English celebration of Obon had been three weeks ago. Three whole weeks… and Naru's mind had yet to settle. Just when he was (almost) used to having Mai and most of the Japanese SPR around, his proverbial boat was set rocking again. Naru found himself consistently fending off multiple emotions, most notably confusion (a sentiment he did not enjoy in the slightest). Of course, Naru did not enjoy being overmastered by any emotion – especially when it was noticeable to others. Madoka, Yasuhara, and his mother had been giving him looks lately.
At least Mai had left off teasing him, Naru mused. He'd gotten revenge and brought things back to even keel - though only on the outside. Naru knew that Mai felt like she'd got one over on him – and she had. Perhaps not in the way she thought, though...
When Mai had swept down and kissed his cheek, several feelings had accosted Naru almost simultaneously. The first was shock – at Mai's increased boldness. She was a rather touchy-feely girl, but surely the metaphorical 'Do Not Approach' barriers he'd erected as a child remained noticeably in place. Mai had certainly respected them before that night (except in emergency situations, but even Naru counted emergencies as acceptable grounds for physical contact).
The real shock, however, was that she'd picked the exact method Gene had always used to get a rise out of his twin. And the surprise had been compounded by a powerful wave of nostalgia. When Mai had thanked Naru a second later, he almost expected to hear Gene's voice coming out of her mouth. He'd had to mentally replay her words twice just to come up with a response.
Naru knew Mai had no idea that Gene used to annoy him with cheek-kisses. He wasn't angry with her over it. But he was thrown for a loop… as Mai had undoubtedly noticed. That night at the Italian bistro… she kept grinning cheekily at him. She'd obviously noticed his odd behavior and correctly deduced that her actions were the cause. That smirk had slid right off Mai's lips when he'd smiled at her...
Mai's lips. The focus of Naru's most perplexing reaction to her unexpected thank-you. Even though she'd used the same 'attack method' as Gene always did... something about Mai's lips against his cheek had felt profoundly different.
For the twentieth time since Obon, Naru rolled his eyes at his own absurdity. Of course it was different – Mai was obviously not his twin. But… his mind seemed to make special and continuous note of this last reaction, which disturbed Naru in an unquantifiable way. His mind inexplicably kept returning to that moment.
Naru was not a fan of the word 'inexplicable.' He spent most of his life finding explanations for the inexplicable, after all. Surely he could explain his own reactions. Perhaps... his brain was automatically red-flagging the increasing level of bodily contact that was creeping into his recent interactions with Mai. This idea had some merit - during the warehouse case, Mai had smacked Naru's arm instead of yelling at him like she usually did. This time, she'd ratcheted up a notch and kissed Naru on the cheek. Clearly against the rules - even Masako Hara had refrained from that particular action during her blackmail-entrenched pursuit of his affections.
"Although... I can hardly say this was my first experience with thank-you kisses," Naru grumbled aloud, lips thin. When he was fourteen, a teenaged SPR client had attempted to thank him romantically. She'd come at him tongue-first - and Naru had practically fallen over himself trying to get away. Gene, of course, had found the whole thing hysterical, and made sure to bring it up multiple times a day. For weeks. Usually in front of Martin and Luella. He'd been especially fond of imitating Naru's flabbergasted expression.
Dr. Oliver Davis narrowed his eyes and met his own glare in the silvered glass. The thought of Gene brought to mind the other major issue plaguing him: his twin's possible adventures in dreamland with Mai. Naru felt that persistent ache in his chest - which he chalked up to agitation. It's an expression of my aggravation with their probable collusion, Naru concluded, gritting his teeth.
His suspicion that Mai was in contact with Gene grew more pronounced by the day. Between Mai's behavior on the case, her suspiciously advanced abilities, her repeat death dreams, and his twin's lacking correspondence of late… Naru was approximately ninety-five percent sure that they were communicating on the astral plane. However, he still had little to no idea as to why Mai and Gene would hide their continued liaison. And there was that twisting sensation again. Naru decided to focus on another facet of the issue – how long they'd been able to communicate with one another.
Naru was unsure whether their contact was a recent development or the continuation of never-broken communication. He had initially assumed that Mai and Gene had only recently reconnected. Considering that Gene's spirit presumably resided in England (country of his home, twin, and burial place), it would make more sense if contact had been re-forged when Mai had transferred to Cambridge. Her first night in England came to mind – during which Mai had unexpectedly experienced the vision of Gene's death. Naru and Mai had tentatively decided that the vision resulted from sleeping in the Davis home and thinking about Gene. However, it was conceivable that the unanticipated dream was instead a symptom of spiritual reconnection. So it was possible that the connection had been re-established post-transfer.
But if so… why hadn't Mai said anything about meeting with Gene again? Abruptly twisting away from the mirror, Naru moved to his bedroom window. He stared out into the front garden and continued his mental rundown of the quandary at hand.
For the past week or so, Naru had been re-thinking his 'recent reconnect' theory; there was significant evidence against it. After all, the death dream had been unexpected only because Mai had just experienced it the prior week (as per Naru's careful questioning of Bou-san). Mai experienced the vision regularly. If the dream were tied to her ability to see Gene… it would indicate that Mai's connection to Gene was regular, as well.
Additional observations lent support for this second option. If Mai had met with Gene on the warehouse case (as Naru believed), she hadn't seemed surprised about it upon waking. Like everything was normal on the astral plane… which would reinforce that Mai was used to seeing Gene.
But in either case, Naru's main issue was the same - why wouldn't Mai say anything? Naru glared harder as frustration rolled through him.
Gene won't talk, either, another part of Naru's mind helpfully reminded him. It was true. During the last four cases, the perfect medium acted like he couldn't hear anything Naru asked. To be fair, Naru couldn't be totally sure his twin was faking – sometimes Gene really couldn't hear him. But knowing Gene as he did… Naru strongly suspected.
But what was left to hide? Naru simply couldn't understand their secrecy – it wasn't like he didn't already know that Gene was still around, infuriatingly refusing to move on. Naru also knew that Gene had guided Mai through SPR cases in Japan. And he knew that Mai had… romantic feelings for Gene.
A hollow feeling echoed through Naru – the same feeling he'd had upon revealing to Mai that Gene was truly the 'man of her dreams.' He could still see Mai's shocked, grief-stricken face in his memory. Naru did have a heart, after all, and he'd felt it wrench that night – over someone as vital and caring as Mai falling in love with a ghost. He still remembered the silence that followed his illuminating question… and the way Mai's hair blew in the breeze, covering most of her face. It didn't cover the tears dripping down, shining wetly on her cheeks.
He'd had to say something, so he told Mai that she'd meet Gene again. Naru remembered feeling surprisingly wooden as he'd said it. Perhaps because it sounded like he was telling Mai to wait alone for life? But he wasn't, really… Naru froze.
Meet again.
She and Gene would meet again, Naru had told Mai, at which point she could confess to the right person. If they were meeting now… perhaps Mai had already confessed. Was that the impetus for their incomprehensible secretiveness? Were Mai and Gene in some kind of strange, out-of-body relationship? Naru ignored the discomfort he felt regarding the subject and thought hard. It was reasonable to believe that Mai would pursue Gene if given the chance. She had rather courageously confessed to himself, after all. And from the way that Mai had described her dream interactions with Gene… it was not outside the realm of possibility that Gene returned Mai's affections. So was that it? They were… together and trying to hide it?
A moment later, Naru was gritting his teeth again. How stupid. Why would they feel it necessary to hide a relationship? After all, he was the person who told Mai that she was in love with… wait.
If they were involved, then of course Gene would want to remain a ghost for as long as possible. Was this hypothetical relationship behind Gene's refusal to move on? Naru bit down on his tongue. If that were the case, it would be an extremely bad situation for both sides. For Mai, it was delaying the inevitable, as well as deepening an already tragic emotional attachment. For his twin, it meant tying himself to a living person, which eventually caused spirits to become twisted, lost, and trapped in the living world. And both Mai and Gene knew that.
"What are they thinking?" Naru hissed out loud. Intent on confronting Mai, he was at his bedroom door by the time he came to his senses. Naru had no evidence to back his theory, only educated supposition. It would be unfair to Mai and embarrassing to himself if he were to be proven incorrect.
So Naru needed proof. He would have to be cagy, he knew. Mai was stubborn and obviously determined to keep mum. Two years ago, Naru would have simply asked her outright – or demanded that she explain the situation. But Mai was older and wiser, and Naru was no longer her boss. Openly asking wasn't likely to work. So he'd have to be crafty about gleaning information. Naru smirked - he could certainly manage crafty. And now he had a definite theory and a plan. His smirk widened as he felt the metaphorical ship of his soul settle - finally back to even keel, inside and out. Naru abandoned the bedroom and strode purposefully downstairs.
In the mirror, the unnoticed Gene heaved a sigh. He'd felt that his brother was thinking deeply about him, tugging unconsciously on their mental link, and so Gene had come to talk (guardedly, of course). But Noll had just stared hard out the window, obviously thinking something through. Gene had barely been able to make out the direction of Noll's thoughts, as it took a lot of energy to appear in the mirror. The perfect medium could tell that he and Mai were in trouble.
And that his twin was still an idiot scientist.
-0O0-
A couple of hours later, the Davis' butler entered the quiet sitting room and cleared his throat.
Madoka was the first to look up. "I guess it's time for dinner," she hazarded. She closed her laptop and glanced around the room. The plotting had ended once Martin had returned with a new possible case. Madoka and the Professors Davis had been doing research ever since. Lin had vanished upstairs, likely to see if Martin's library held any pertinent information on the type of possession the client's family had apparently experienced. Mai and Yasu were doing Cambridge prep reading. Bou-san was in the dining room, talking on the phone with his bandmates in Japan. And Luella had promptly dragged Ayako off somewhere, her hopes of an afternoon group outing dashed. Madoka was reasonably sure that they hadn't left the property, but... "Where did Luella and Ayako go?"
"They're in the back garden," Mai said absentmindedly, highlighting a passage from the prep packet she was reading. She didn't notice her professor raise a curious eyebrow.
"James, retrieve the two sunbathers, please," Martin requested, eyes on Mai. He continued to study her as the sounds of his butler's footsteps faded. "Taniyama," he said finally.
Mai looked up immediately. "Yes, sir?"
"How did you know where they were?" Martin asked. "You haven't moved from that spot in hours."
His student looked puzzled. "I sensed their auras," she replied, as if it were obvious.
Yasuhara grinned, perversely excited that Mai continually managed to surprise the professor. He noticed that Madoka and Naru were suddenly at attention, too.
"Of course… but how did you know that the auras were definitely those of Luella and Ayako? Lin isn't here, either," Martin pointed out. "He could be outside."
Mai paused a moment to locate the aura of the onmyouji. "Lin is upstairs in the study," she said decisively. Then she re-focused on the yard, closing her eyes for good measure. "Ayako and Luella are on their way back in now. With James, I assume…" She hadn't yet memorized the feel of James' aura. Mai opened her eyes to find three parapsychological researchers staring at her. Naru's laser gaze was expected, but she felt a bit overwhelmed by the equally unrelenting regard of Martin and Madoka. "What?" she asked.
"How do you know who's who?" Madoka asked excitedly.
"Well, everyone's aura is different," Mai replied uncomprehendingly. "Didn't we go over this already?"
"No!" Martin cried (still not blinking). "We talked about the differences between the auras of the deceased and the living, but I didn't know your senses were more finely tuned than that!" He grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, turned to a fresh page, and settled the pad on his lap – all without taking his eyes off of Mai.
Does he think I'll disappear if he looks away for a second? Mai turned to Madoka for help (they were supposed to be eating dinner, and she was hungry), only to discover that the master ghost hunter had whipped her laptop open. Mai knew better than to try Naru – she would be surprised if he wasn't sitting at the ready, case book open. And… yes, there it was. Mai giggled a bit before remembering that everyone was waiting on her. "Ah, well, besides being… brighter, like I said, the auras of the living are much more individualized than those of ghosts," Mai started.
"Is this conclusion based on your personal experiences or topical research?" Naru asked dispassionately.
Mai was aware that Naru valued scientific evaluation over personal observations and beliefs. Since she wanted to study parapsychology herself, Mai had tried to incorporate as much research as possible into her own theories. So she smiled as she answered, "Both. Once I had developed my abilities enough to identify differences in the auras of those around me, I spent weeks researching the topic in order to understand what I was doing. And to flesh out my conclusions with evidence." Naru looked reluctantly impressed, and Mai's eyes twinkled victoriously.
Naru narrowed his eyes at Mai's confident smile. "Your conclusions concerning the identification of individual auras," he prompted.
"Right," Mai replied, still smiling. "Put succinctly, every aura is different, and if you can remember the way an aura makes you feel, you can learn to identify a person by sensing them. Spiritualists are the easiest to do this with, of course, but I can identify Luella now, as well as the two of you," she informed Professor Davis and Madoka.
Martin raised an eyebrow at this pronouncement. "Why would spiritualists be easier to identify?"
Naru jumped in. "I would hazard that spiritual powers are especially available to the senses, particularly to a fellow spiritualist."
Mai grinned a bit. "Right as usual, Naru. The presence of spiritual powers is one of the first things I notice about someone. For example, I know that Lin is coming downstairs – the back stairs – because I feel his… mature, controlled powers and settled, ordered soul. Very obviously Taoist. Not to mention his shiki are rather un-missable."
"Obviously Taoist?" Madoka repeated with a grin.
"Yeah, that's where the research comes in. The more I know about our field, the more reference material I have to figure out a person's aura."
"What about Noll's?" Martin asked suddenly. "Noll has incredible amounts of PK. Can you sense that?"
"Of course," Mai replied. "Naru's aura jumps out at me immediately. His aura should be very bright, but…" Mai squinted at the person in question. "It feels like it's… under wraps. Like a lampshade over a bright light bulb." Mai did not mention that her own aura was constantly reaching out for Naru's. Or that Mai could sense Naru from much farther away than was usual. Those things had less to do with Naru's overwhelming aura and more to do with Mai's and Naru's greatly increased psychic connection. And that was not a permissible topic at the moment.
"A lampshade over a light bulb?" Martin repeated, scribbling something on his legal pad. "Why would that be? Perhaps Noll's PK is only openly 'bright' when in use?"
Lin cleared his throat; Mai turned to see his tall form resting against the door frame. "I would propose that it's because Noll exerts iron control over his PK. Wraps it up in a series of mental dams in order to keep it in check."
Mai squinted at Naru again. "Yeah, you're probably right. I guess it's similar to the way I pull inside myself to hide from ghosts."
Lin's lips twitched. "Of course it's similar, Taniyama-san. It's a control mechanism taught to onmyouji – as we've previously discussed."
The teen psychic blushed. "Right. Oops. I forgot that you taught Naru to do that."
"You forgot?" Naru asked, voice suddenly sharp. "I don't remember informing you of any qigong training I received." Maybe he wouldn't have to wait for his proof, after all.
"You wouldn't," Lin replied, raising an eyebrow at Naru's change in tone. "I was the one who told Taniyama-san about it. It was while you were in the hospital – you remember, when you dropped all those guards against using too much power and nearly killed yourself."
The way that Lin answered the question while simultaneously reprimanding Naru was rather awe-inspiring, Mai mused. Aloud, she said, "Yeah, I couldn't believe you actually told me all that, Lin-san. Aside from your, uh, mini-meltdown about the Japanese, I think that was the most I'd ever heard you say at one time."
Lin made a noise that might have been a laugh. "You needed to calm down, Taniyama-san. I figured providing some answers would appeal to your inquisitive nature and distract you from crying."
Naru stopped being annoyed with Lin long enough to take in that Mai had been crying while he, Naru, had lain in the ICU. An alarmingly warm feeling swept through him.
"Are you calling me nosy, Lin-san?" Mai asked, laughing.
"It's alright, Mai-chan," Madoka said cheerfully. "He calls me nosy every day!"
"But speaking of qigong training," Lin started, ignoring his girlfriend. "I think it would be wise to start those lessons we agreed on, Taniyama-san. Only I think we should do more than work on your meditation skills. From what I've observed during your testing sessions, qigong is at the core of your PK-MT skills. And I know you utilize mage techniques to form the 'wall' that hides your aura. I believe that qigong training with me would greatly benefit your development."
"Wow," Mai said, surprised at the offer. "Really?" The onmyouji nodded. "Well, thanks, Lin-san! When should we have lessons?" She beamed at her new instructor, and Lin actually smiled back.
Naru found himself discomfited with Lin's smiling at Mai. And understandably so – Naru was apparently losing his compatriot in nonchalance. Madoka's fault, obviously.
"Wednesdays before testing would be ideal," Lin answered. "You wouldn't have to go vegetarian any more often than you do now… and it's possible that training in the morning will have a positive effect on testing in the afternoon. A 'warm-up,' as it were."
Mai nodded buoyantly. "That makes a lot of sense." She already did simple qigong exercises before testing. And now she was going to receive real qigong training! It would probably improve her testing results... Mai threw a sniffy look at her head researcher. "How about that, Yasu? I'm getting qigong training. Maybe I haven't plateaued yet, after all."
Yasuhara grinned. During the last couple of testing sessions, he had been trying to spur Mai into better results by teasing her. Last Wednesday, he'd suggested (fake-seriously) that Mai's level of awesomeness had plateaued, and maybe they should just stop trying. The next three softballs were re-directed straight into his face guard. "We'll see, Mai-chan."
Mai stuck her tongue out and absentmindedly rubbed her gloved forearms. She could barely feel the raised marks under the silky material. She traced one of the scars with her finger, thinking about the last time she'd consulted with an onmyouji. She'd been training for the transfer. The master she'd studied with had been well versed in the procedure… wait, what if Lin knew about it, too? Mai's breath hitched. She'd been too hasty, accepting Lin's offer. What if he realized what she'd done?
Nervous, she looked up to see Naru regarding her intently. He had been watching her a lot lately. Possibly for scientific purposes – Naru was in the planning stages of a paper detailing the effects of Mai's 'animal nature' on the development of her other powers.
Or he could be suspicious about Gene.
In either case, Naru was paying Mai close attention. So it was too late, she judged. If I back out of Lin's training now, it would look weird. Not to mention, she didn't want to 'plateau' before Naru and Professor Davis even got to study her powers properly. So Mai threw Lin another smile. "Can't wait," she said firmly.
-0O0-
By the following day, Ayako and Luella were growing restless with all the sitting around. Bou-san and Yasuhara had gone out on some adventure in the city, and Lin and Madoka were out on a Sunday date. This left the bored Ayako and the increasingly fidgety Luella stuck in the house with Martin, Naru and Mai. All of whom had been reading silently since brunch.
Luella bit her lip. It was only a week until Mai's parent-figures returned to Japan… and Ayako had expressed a desire to go school-clothes shopping with her almost-daughter. Naturally, Luella was all for that plan. And Mai, although a paranormal enthusiast, had shown a fondness for normal-people activities like shopping. Surely, she'd want to have a girl's day out!
But all Mai had been doing since Obon was read and train. Every day. Lather, rinse, repeat. Mai spent so many hours a day reading prep material that Luella suspected there might be a permanent Mai-shaped indentation in that sitting room chair. Something colorful wiggled at the edge of her vision; she looked up to see Ayako waving a circular that promised big sales at Debenhams. Luella nodded conspiratorially. "Mai dear," she started.
Her target looked up – and Luella swore she could see signs of eye strain in Mai's slightly unfocused gaze. "How about you give that reading a rest and come shopping with Ayako and myself? We're going to Edinburgh this weekend, after all, so you should have something new to wear. Besides, you start school in a scant five weeks."
"Wouldn't that be a better argument for continuing prep work than going shopping?" Naru intoned without looking up from his research.
"No," his adopted mother replied firmly. "She's done enough prep reading to move straight to exams. What she needs is school clothes." Luella turned back to Mai. "And clothes for Edinburgh – we'll be going to several shows, and you can't wear the same skirts to all of them."
"Ayako bought me new clothes already…"
"Yes, we know, but you've been wearing those all summer," Luella cut her off. Ayako had explained that Mai was against other people purchasing things for her, but Luella was determined that they were going shopping. A fun activity that was completely separate from the supernatural. This aspect was key. After all, when Mai wasn't reading, she was talking about the reading with Martin and the SPR gang. With every book Mai consumed, Luella visualized the lovely girl morphing into an overworked, paranormal-obsessed SPR employee. Luella already had four of those.
Yasuhara worried her far less than Mai did. As far as Luella could tell, he was much better at balancing work and play. Consequently, she was more impressed than concerned about Yasu's apparent determination to read through Martin's entire library by October.
But Mai was another story. Ayako insisted that Mai had something to prove (to Noll, Luella inferred), and so the teen psychic was glued to her reading list. Luella sighed. If this continued, Mai and Noll wouldn't get together unless they happened to simultaneously look up from their books and realize they ought to procreate to keep SPR in the family.
Besides, Luella hadn't been able to shop for girl clothes in ages.
"So... we'll be going to lots of shows?" Mai asked, perking up.
Luella fought a victorious grin. "Indeed. It's a big festival, Mai-chan. Lots of shows and art exhibitions. Ballet, theatre, comedians, etc. I hear there's going to be some sort of water show this year."
"Ooh," Mai's eyes sparkled. "Well… I guess I could use a nice outfit for the theatre. I only have one fancy skirt and one dress… maybe I need another dress?"
"You most certainly do," Ayako chimed in. "And I'll spring for it." Mai opened her mouth to protest, but Ayako held up a silencing finger. "Don't start. All almost-mothers are required to buy school clothes for their daughters-to-be."
"It's settled, then." Luella practically leapt out of her seat and smiled winningly at Mai. "We've got the whole afternoon! If we head out straightaway, we should be able to hit at least four good shops."
Mai was torn for a moment, thoughts of dresses and theatres juxtaposed with preparedness for her first day at Cambridge. She gripped the textbook as if it were a life-raft – and finally turned unsure eyes on the professor.
Who apparently knew what was good for him. Martin avoided his wife's piercing stare and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, of course. Go ahead, Taniyama – a good student knows when to take a break. After all, you don't want all that information running together into nonsense."
"Right," Mai agreed. She set aside her textbook and grinned up at Luella and Ayako. "Let's go!"
-0O0-
The three shoppers sifted through racks with discerning eyes. Mai had several choices lined up for the dressing-room fashion show she was expected to star in. Also in the shopping cart were a few nice outfits for Luella and Ayako to try. Mai craned her neck to see what lay at the bottom of the cart – a new suit jacket for Martin... and a couple of dress shirts for Naru. Mai giggled. "It's so weird to think of Naru needing new clothes."
Luella laughed. "Want to help me pick out a jacket for him?" Mai blushed terribly and mumbled something indistinct. Smiling softly, Luella considered the men's section. A prominent display of sweaters prompted a wistful sigh. "I'd buy the dark red jumper for Noll, but there's really no point." Luella rolled her eyes. "No matter what I buy him, Noll just shunts anything with color to the back of the closet. Excepting special occasions, it's black, black, black, every day."
"Special occasions?" Ayako asked interestedly. The only non-black articles of clothing she'd ever seen on Naru were pajamas and hospital clothes. Naru in proper clothes and color would be quite a sight. Ayako hoped one of these special occasions happened before she and Takigawa left for Japan.
"Yes, I have forbidden him to wear black on Christmas, Easter, or my birthday. Noll also abstains from wearing black on Mother's Day, as per his father's request." Luella smiled; she remembered overhearing that conversation. Her husband was a sweet, caring man underneath the paranormal fixation. "If we attend daytime functions - you know, like a garden party - I can sometimes wrangle Noll into blue or gray."
Mai lost herself for a moment, picturing Naru dressed up for a garden party. It was expectedly swoon-worthy… until Mai's mind got to his scowling face. Which was only visible for a second before Naru hid his radiance behind a book. She giggled and continued sifting through skirts.
"Mai, how about these?" Ayako held up three similar-looking skirts. The last one was nice – more flow-y than Mai's norm, with a pretty pattern. The hemline would hit just under Mai's knees. "I like that one on the right."
Luella made an appreciative noise before diving into a rack of women's tops. "I like that one, too. Good for anything from a day at the park to an outdoor party. Cambridge throws several receptions a year; you'll need a few outfits like that. Why don't you try it with this, dear?" She pulled a filmy white top from the rack.
Mai smiled. Luella had either examined Mai's tastes closely or had similar tastes herself. "That looks great!" she enthused.
"Excellent. So you'll need another set, only in a darker color." Luella's eyes searched the rack and Mai tried the next one over.
"Isn't Mai supposed to wear her academic clothes to Cambridge receptions?" Ayako whispered to Mrs. Davis.
"Yes, but you said you wanted to get a lot of clothes," Naru's mother hissed back.
A slow smile curved across Ayako's face. No wonder Luella and Madoka got along so well. "That I did," she affirmed.
-0O0-
Lin surreptitiously studied his new student through his long bangs. Mai's face was clear of expression, eyes closed, and she sat comfortably with legs folded – not twitching impatiently in the slightest. In short, she resembled a serious student of the meditative arts. Though Bou-san had mentioned that Mai had actually taken formal meditation lessons, a feeling of surprise worked its way through the onmyouji. He mentally contrasted Mai's current incarnation with the clumsy, rather frenetic girl she'd been two years ago.
After a few minutes, Lin cleared his throat to call his student back to attention. Mai opened her eyes, but rather than firing off questions (like he expected), she merely waited for further instruction. "You've… matured," Lin noted neutrally.
"Yeah, I changed my hair," Mai replied with a teasing smile.
Lin glared. "Your slight physical maturation is completely eclipsed by your spiritual advancement. You have come a long way in two years." Mai pinked at the compliment, and Lin's manner softened. "How familiar are you with the techniques of qigong?" Lin needed to measure Mai's existing knowledge and skill level in order to design an effective training plan.
Mai pursed her lips and considered. "Well, Bou-san took me to Mt. Kouya after I graduated from high school. He figured that the monks could help me control my new PK-MT. That's where I studied meditation and learned some basic qigong skills."
Lin absorbed this information. Buddhist meditation skills, obviously – Mai's pose confirmed that. But as for the qigong… "They taught you onmyouji techniques at a Buddhist monastery?"
A head shake from Mai. "No, Bou-san knows another onmyouji who lives close to his family temple and asked him for a favor."
Lin nodded again. "Alright, Taniyama-san, the easiest way for me to gage your level is for you to go through your taolu, or what you probably call kata."
Mai grinned. "I know they're called taolu, my teacher was an onmyouji from China." She winked at Lin, reminding him of their conversation about his hatred of the Japanese. Even as Lin threw her an unamused glance, he considered his self-proclaimed abhorrence for Japan and its people. He couldn't honestly say that he hated the Japanese anymore – he was dating Madoka, after all. He didn't hate Naru, Gene, Mai, or any other Japanese person of his acquaintance.
He came back to Earth to find Mai waiting on him. "Excellent," Lin said finally. "I don't have to re-teach you rudimentary skills and watch shoddy Japanese-style taolu."
Mai giggled at his words. Two years ago she would have recoiled (and probably cried), leading Lin to assume he wasn't as forbidding as he used to be. He decided to blame Madoka.
Eventually, Mai demonstrated her skills – and Lin wound up impressed. She wasn't very far along, but her movements were precise, controlled and well-practiced. Lin was most interested, however, in the smattering of higher-level skills that didn't mesh with her taolu. Had the onmyouji tailored Mai's instruction to train the PK-MT?
"Definitely a beginner…" Lin said flatly. He saw Mai's face droop and felt compelled to continue. "But also very fluid and precise. I take it you kept practicing the taolu after your lessons ended?"
Mai nodded eagerly. "Twice a week – and always before testing on Wednesdays. You're right about today being the best day for training. Meditating really helps my mind relax and practicing helps my body sync better with my powers."
Lin nodded. The others hadn't exaggerated – Mai was serious about training her powers. This was very interesting, since she'd been practically afraid of them (to the point of denying their existence) during the days of Japan's SPR. Naru had noted something similar, Lin remembered.
Mai noticed Lin's appraising glance and explained. "I couldn't ignore my psychic abilities anymore. We were opening a ghost hunting business, and I was going to be a lead investigator. I figured I couldn't really expect my employees to be at their best if I'm not at mine."
A memory of Mai screaming at Naru in the cave – telling him that he shouldn't rely on everyone else all the time – rang in Lin's head. Her desire to improve her control made much more sense. Her half-assed explanation that Yasuhara and Madoka had convinced her to train had left Lin (and likely Naru) unsatisfied.
The young psychic continued. "Especially after the PK showed up – the poltergeisting alone made me want to train. I didn't feel like destroying any more of Bou-san's property. So we decided to take a couple of family field trips to Mt. Kouya and see if the spiritualists there could help. Thank goodness they did." She rolled her eyes.
Lin made a noise in his throat. He felt slightly guilty – had he been in Japan while Mai was having these problems, he could have helped. The onmyouji was glad that Naru wasn't here for this conversation; Naru would likely feel much worse than Lin did. "Did your instructor give you special lessons in PK-related qigong?" Lin asked. "You seem to have learned some high-level skills specific to PK usage."
Interestingly, Mai blanched for a moment before shutting her face down. "Yes," she answered slowly. "My PK was the most, um, destructive of my abilities, so we sorta went outside the box with my lessons."
Lin studied her for a moment, reminiscent of the narrow looks he saw Naru giving Mai lately. She was very hesitant about the PK… but Lin associated her reluctance to talk about it with embarrassment. He figured that the self-effacing Mai felt sheepish discussing her moderate PK-MT in front of the extremely powerful Naru and the people who'd trained him.
"Taniyama-san, don't be so self-conscious," Lin said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. Soothing wasn't his thing. "You've come to SPR to learn more about your powers – which are already well-developed and numerous. In order for me, or any of us, to properly gage what we're working with, you're going to have to be more open to discussing your abilities and your previous experience."
Biting her lip, Mai considered his words. In truth, it had been Gene who had taught Mai the 'higher-level' skills Lin had noticed. While Gene hadn't told her to keep his secrets from Lin, she figured telling Lin was tantamount to telling Naru. And Gene did not want Naru to know anything yet. Especially about the source of Mai's PK-MT. So naturally, Mai was loath to discuss anything related to it.
But, she reasoned, Lin was already on the wrong track. He thought that she had gotten the PK-specific training from Wen-sifu, the onmyouji she'd briefly studied under in Japan. So long as he believed that, Mai could talk about Gene's training as if it were a living person's instruction. Strategy confirmed, as Yasuhara would say when scheming.
"Okay," she said aloud. "You're right. So yes, my mentor decided to incorporate some more advanced skills to help me control my PK. I was really worried about the poltergeisting. As we said at dinner that time, I broke a lot of stuff."
"Hmm," Lin noted, a smile in his voice, "Naru was worse."
"Yes, I remember you telling me about that at the hospital," Mai said with a grin. "'Whole rooms of furniture floating about,'" she repeated. She closed her eyes and got back into meditation position – missing Lin's look of confusion. "Okay," she said, "Meditation again, right?"
Lin stared at Mai's relaxed face and decided it would be counterproductive to question her at the moment. He remembered telling Mai that Naru had caused poltergeists as a child… but he had never told her about their severity. And it sounded like she had been quoting someone else's words – who had said them originally? Madoka, maybe, or the professor. Certainly not Naru himself; Naru did not enjoy recollecting the days of uncontrollable powers and bursts of destructive psychic energy.
Resolving to think on it further at a later date, Lin answered his new student. "Yes, Taniyama-san, let's meditate for a few minutes, concentrating on 'syncing' your body and mind with your powers. It will make the first real lesson go better, I think."
-0O0-
AN: I am so so so sorry for not finishing this chapter sooner. I work at a garden center, and this is our busiest time of the year. I've been going in early, staying late, and pretty much falling onto my couch and not moving until my husband sets my dinner next to my face. I will try very hard to post on time next week. Thank you very much for waiting!