EDITED
A month after Mai was hired, she walked through the door of SPR after school. She was later than she normally would be since she had to stop at the tea shop to top up on their tea supply. Since discovering Mai's tea making skills during the Old School Building case, Oliver and Lin drank a lot of tea. Even more than Mai remembered them doing, during their first month working together in her first life.
The irregulars wouldn't start visiting the office until after the next case so Mai was rather surprised to find Oliver's door slammed open and a sulking Masako storming out. Mai was even more shocked when Masako, on catching a glimpse of Mai coming out of the kitchen carrying three cups of fresh hot Earl Grey tea on a tray, glared at her. Before Mai could enquire what was wrong, Masako had stormed over, pushed the tray that Mai was carrying upwards, and towards Mai, so that the hot tea spilled over her, and then ran out the door in tears.
Mai's shreak of pain brought both Oliver and Lin running out of their offices in a panic. Lin was the first to recover from his shock of a tea soaked Mai. He rushed her into the office bathroom and into the emergency shower based there where he quickly ran the cold shower water over Mai to negate the the hot tea, telling her to stay there.
Lin then shook Oliver out of his own stupor and made him go up the road to buy a change of clothes for Mai. Oliver only took 40 minutes before he came back with a tasteful white 3/4 sleeve blouse, navy knee length pencil skirt with a flirty hemline and white lacy underwear for Mai that was suitable for the office.
By the time Oliver came back, Mai had been allowed out of the shower and, after Lin left the bathroom, had removed her soaking clothes. She stood in the bathroom with a towel partially wrapped around her body as she applied ointment and bandages to her burns. Thankfully, the burns were light and Mai wouldn't need to seek further medical treatment.
Unfortunately, Lin forgot to alert Oliver to this fact before he opened the bathroom door without knocking. It was Mai's second shrek of the day that broke Oliver's next stupor. He barely remembered to drop the bag of clothes just inside the door as an annoyed Lin pulled the bright red-faced boy back out of the bathroom.
It took a while before an equally red-faced Mai could calm down enough to finish treating her burns and getting dressed into the clothes Oliver had bought her. Her blush deepened again on seeing the underwear.
Eventually a calm Mai left the bathroom with her wet clothes now bundled into the shopping bag. She was just glad that Oliver had good taste in clothes and got something that appeared to suit Mai perfectly. It looked so good on her that Oliver blushed again when he remembered what she was wearing underneath it.
Mai ignored the two men sitting in the seating area waiting for her and walked into the kitchen. Several minutes later she walked back out with a tray holding three fresh cups of tea and joined them in the seating area. She handed out the cups of tea to the two men and picked up her own before Mai gracefully sat down in the chair opposite them. Her voice had a icily cold tone to it when she spoke and both men shivered on hearing it.
"Now, would somebody like to please explain what that little tantrum from Masako was about?"
Oliver looked uncomfortable when he answered. "She attempted to blackmail me and I wasn't exactly polite in my refusal to play her game."
Mai glared at him coldly. "And how does that translate to her throwing a tray of hot tea all over me?"
He had the grace to look guilty as he replied to Mai's question. "I might have told her I was already involved with someone and therefore wouldn't be taking her out on her blackmail dates?"
"I see. And I ended up her target of ire, because... ?"
"... I might... have told her... that... I was seeing you..." Oliver's voice was so quiet near the end that Mai could barely hear his answer. She froze when she finally worked out what he had said.
" You... Said... What?!" Mai's voice seemed to get even colder, if that was possible. Lin excused himself to hide in his office. He was not a necessary part of the conversation. Oliver had no such excuse to hide since he was the cause of Mai's icy temper.
"Please, Mai, I'm not asking you to do it for real, but at least play along so I can keep Hara-san at a distance?"
Mai stared at him for a while. It was the first time, in either of her lives, that she had ever heard him plead like this. The expression in his face broke her icy temper. In the end she sighed and looked away.
" All right. I'll help you by playing along. But we need to set some ground rules."
Oliver could have hugged her in relief. Mai had agreed. Even if it was only pretend for the moment, it was a start. He would make it work. "Thank you, Mai. What rules do you insist on? We do need to have some flexibility however for any unforeseen circumstances."
Mai thought for a minute. "Are we doing this in front of the rest of the irregulars or only in front Masako?"
"Everyone."
Oliver's response was a little too fast and it made Mai suspicious. None of this had happened in her past life so she was a little uncertain how to proceed, especially when her heart was already involved with the man sitting in front of her.
"Will we be going on actual dates or just pretending that we have?"
"Actual dates would be better. I have a feeling that Matsuzaki-san and Takigawa-san would be particularly gossipy about it. They would get suspicious if you couldn't describe the kinds of dates we'd been on."
Mai nodded. She agreed with that assessment. Especially once Madoka and Yasu would arrive.
"Are you expecting any form of PDA and in what situation would you expect it and to what level?"
"PDA?" Oliver wasn't exactly sure what that term meant.
"Public display of affection." Mai answered him. It was the first time she had ever had to explain something to Oliver, ever! Talk about a day of firsts.
"Oh... Um... I guess it's a necessary action for a couple in a relationship and the others would expect it. I'm not exactly sure in what situation and to what level though. I don't have the experience to base it on. I've never actually been in a relationship before now."
Mai sighed. "I guess that makes two of us. Perhaps for now we can leave it with the basics? The occasional hug or hand holding or cheek kiss? I don't imagine they'll be expecting anything more from a newish relationship, anyway. Anything else we can negotiate as it arrives."
Oliver was happy with that suggestion. It gave him a base to work from.
"Then we are agreed?" He asked.
"Agreed." Mai nodded as she stood up. She collected the now empty cups to take into the kitchen. "I assume you would like another tea?" She said as she walked off.
"Yes," Oliver replied. He watched the hem of her skirt flutter as she walked away before entering his office with lightly flushed cheeks.
...
Over the next couple of months, they went on dates and practiced being a couple. Oliver got used to holding Mai's hand as they walked or wrapping an arm around her shoulders whenever they sat next to each other. He especially loved the slight blush that covered her cheeks whenever he kissed them in thanks for his tea.
Mai in turn got used to kissing his cheek as she left the room or hugging him during moments of happiness. It was ironic that both sides of the couple felt like their so-called relationship was real. Both quietly ignored the pretend factor in order to enjoy the realness.
Lin watched over them quietly taking the occasional photo and sending updates to Oliver's adoptive mother, Luella who was ecstatic that Oliver was finally living despite the shared grief of his older brother and her other son.
At some stage during that time, Mai made a point of talking to Lin about the whole Japanese vs Chinese judgement thing. While his standoffish behaviour was by no means as harsh as it had been in Mai's first life, it was still in existence until that talk.
Mai felt better about getting it out of the way sooner rather than waiting until the Urado case as she had in her past life. Lin, in turn, felt relieved from the guilt of liking Mai despite his familial prejudice against the Japanese. It helped that her argument was so like Eugene's was that it made him laugh.
...
"Is Shibuya Psy-something over here?"
A woman dressed in extravagant clothes entered. Mai stood up from her desk to greet this guest.
"Is there anything troubling you?" Mai asked and gave her a warm, business-like smile.
But the woman ignored Mai and looked towards the sofa where Oliver happened to be reading a book.
"That child over there."
"Excuse me madam, is there anything I can help you with?" Mai asked affably, again, in the hopes of avoiding Oliver's coming anger. She remembered how this meeting ended in the past and only vaguely hoped to change it.
The woman glanced at Mai, then continued to ignore her again. Mai sighed.
Paying no heed to Mai, the woman persistently spoke to Oliver, "Child, do you work at this office?"
Oliver didn't bother lifting up his head. Of course he didn't pay any attention to her. She called him a 'child'.
Mai stepped in front of the woman and sternly asked her again, "Please, may I help you?" She was ignored again as the woman side stepped her. 'Breathe Mai. Hold your temper in. She's a possible client.'
"If you have a request, please direct it to me," Mai politely asked her, stepping in front of the woman once again.
She stared at Mai rudely then let out a disdainful hmph. Mai finally gave up and glared at Oliver for help.
The woman moved to face Oliver, "That child over there... I'm a guest!"
"A guest...?" Oliver said coldly, not even looking up from his book.
"Correct. You should answer my question. Otherwise, I will be given a bad impression."
Oliver replied indifferently, "Please leave."
"—What the hell, I already said I'm a guest."
"I have yet to know of the etiquette I must show to a guest I've never met before."
The woman's face reddened, "You have no manners... Call the person in charge! I want to file a complaint!"
Oliver closed his book quietly before finally standing up, then faced the woman with eyes cold as ice. This kind of expression can stop anyone from talking. Pitch black hair, black pupils, and completely black clothes... He looked like a frightening, beautiful demon or vampire.
Oliver calmly stated, "I am the manager, Shibuya."
The woman became speechless.
He looked at her disdainfully, his pale lips curved into a mocking smile, "Please leave."
Simultaneously, he directed his voice to the nearby reference room and said, "Lin! Send the guest out."
The rude woman was thrown out by the tall, unfriendly assistant.
"Mai, tea." His gaze turned back to his reopened book.
"Yes, Naru. It's coming." Mai said over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen.
Oliver had been in a bad mood recently due to the numerous people coming in with stupid reasons and a poor understanding of what psychic research actually entailed.
There was that rude woman, a request to investigate an extramarital affair, a request to cure an aching waist, and even a request to analyze a horoscope for marriage.
Furthermore, there was that guy who thought they were part of a new religion. The only reasonable request was, "My daughter has been behaving strangely. She must be possessed, so please come and exorcise the ghost."
Mai had to explain to them every time. "This is a paranormal investigation office. We use scientific methods to solve paranormal phenomena."
"This isn't a detective agency."
"You're mistaken. We do not supply medicine here."
"I'm sorry, but we are not divine."
"No, this isn't a religious organization."
It drove Mai nuts and Oliver even more so.
"Here you go."
Mai placed the black tea onto the table.
Oliver stood up briefly to kiss Mai's cheek in thanks, before picking up his cup and sitting back down with his nose in his book to hide his smirk. Mai blushed a pretty pink and returned to her desk to get on with her work. Unlike her last life, since she already knew about Oliver's real identity and the background of the SPR office, Mai had actual work to get on with. She was trusted to open and sort the mail and answer the phone and to do the actual office work that Oliver prevented her from doing in the last life.
...
One afternoon, as Mai settled into her desk after school, she glanced at the calendar sitting in the corner. She paused. 'It's today. Norika-san would be coming in today.' She glanced at the clock. 'Two hours before her arrival.'
Mai started to organize the parapsychology books on the shelves in the office. Organizing them was part of her job. Almost 2 hours later, she stopped what she was doing and went into the kitchen to make 4 cups of tea. Only her way to the seating area, Mai knocked on both Lin and Oliver's doors notifying them that a client, Norika-san, would be arriving any minute.
Right when Mai placed the tray of tea on the table, the door opened, and a young lady entered.
She looked to be about twenty years old. Although she wore subtle clothes that adults usually wear, she gave me the feeling that she faced many difficulties lately.
"Please come and sit down. Would you like a cup of tea?" Mai asked, handing her a cup of tea. The woman looked around the office uneasily as she sat.
"Please excuse me... Is this SPR?"
"Yes, it is. I'm Taniyama Mai, an assistant. My manager and his other assistant, Lin, will be out shortly. I've already notified them of your arrival, Norika-san."
Noriko Morishita looked up at Mai in shock which was when Oliver chose to enter the room and greeted her. Lin following close behind with his laptop ready to record the client's story.
"...Is something troubling you?" Oliver spoke calmly. While the day had been particularly trying in annoying non-requests, something about Mai's unusual behaviour told him that this was a real case. Oliver signaled to Lin with his eyes, who then pulled out a cassette recorder to tape Noriko's account as well as type it.
Noriko lowered her head, not looking up at Oliver.
"...Well, strange things have been happening at my house," she admitted.
"What kind?"
Oliver's tone was polite. He was still mindful of Mai's unusual behaviour.
Noriko quietly responded, "There are strange sounds. Sounds of someone knocking on the wall and climbing onto the bed will come from empty rooms. The door opens and closes by itself..."
A glimmer of light flashed in Oliver's eyes.
"The door opens and closes with no apparent reason?" he restated.
Noriko nodded uneasily. "Objects in the room won't be in their usual place. The room often shakes. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but it wasn't..."
Oliver's eyes gleamed. He was interested in the case for its own sake now and not just because of Mai.
"Can you be more specific on objects not being in their usual place?" he inquired.
"Um... The flower vase moved, things I put in the drawer aren't there anymore, and they all end up in places they shouldn't be in."
"And the earthquake?"
"It kind of feels like an earthquake. The furniture emits a rumbling sound. And then there's this swaying feeling..."
Oliver continued to asked Noriko questions. "First of all, can you tell us about the other inhabitants?"
...
After Mai took Noriko's contact details and Noriko left, Oliver immediately started discussing the matter with Lin and Mai.
"It sounds like a reasonable request. Mai, you knew this case was coming?"
"Yes, this was our second case together in my past life." By this time both Lin and Oliver had come to terms with Mai's story about a dying wish turning back time to give them a second chance. "Remember the day we met, Naru? Were you already listening when I told my story?"
"The one about the mother who drowned herself in the well after her daughter was abducted and proceeded to take children's lives in order to find her own?"
Mai grinned. "I knew you had to be listening at that point! Anyway, that story is about this case."
"Since I wasn't privy to that story, mind explaining?" Lin asked.
"Sure, I'll even go into more detail if you like. Basically years before the current house was built there was another house built a little further away, which is no longer there now. In it Hiro-san lived with her young daughter, Tomiko.
At some stage while Tomiko was playing outside and tall strange man came up to her. After a couple of minutes, he took her away. Six months later, her body was found in the pond on the property and Hiro-san in her grief, threw herself down the well.
The current house is built above the well. Which is underneath in the living room floor. Anyway over the years Hiro-san's spirit hasn't been able to rest and she kills the children who enter the house over a period of time before trapping their spirits in her search for Tomiko. Of course, I didn't know any of this last time until Gene showed me the memory in my dream. Lin, you're probably going to need to make a hitogata for Tomiko to end this case."
"Anything else we need to know?"
"Well, I don't want to spoil it too much, but pay attention to Minnie." Mai refused to say anything more about the case. She didn't want to spoil the process too much, Oliver needed to feel like he'd actually solved the case and not just have it handed to him on a platter.