Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. Sadly.
Dedication: To Tiffo the Chicken Flea whose Author's Note and follow-up PM helped me find the short stories I'd been looking for. (Which ended up causing a few re-writes so timing was excellent.)
Experimentation Required
December 23rd
"Why don't you go bother your friends with this nonsense," Naru sighed from where he stood in the door of his office watching Mai decorate a Christmas tree. She was blatantly ignoring his order not to, but she didn't think he actually minded.
"Because Christmas is about family!" Mai smiled at him. She had made herself very clear to her group of coworkers that they were her new family whether they liked it or not.
"Or dating," Chiaki-chan remarked slyly as she left Lin's office after their training session. While Taka-chan had quit after summer to focus on exams, Chiaki still regularly came by for her sessions. The two had always been happy to tease Mai on her crush on their boss and not for the first time was Mai grateful that they had not been there to witness The Incident.
"Dating?"
Lin had been the one to ask so Mai was happy to smile at him.
"Well, we aren't really Christian, right? So, in Japan it is a day to be with those who are special to you. Sometimes that is family, sometimes it is a boyfriend or girlfriend."
"Not that Mai ever has a date," Chiaki grinned.
"Never fear, Mai. I will be happy to whisk you away to somewhere romantic. Just say the word," Yasu offered dramatically as he came in the door. While Mai and Chiaki laughed, he came to kneel before Mai, holding his hands up in supplication. "Fear not fair maiden. I would never abandon you."
"Mai."
The ice cold word cut through the scene like the sharpest blade and Mai couldn't help but notice Yasu's gratified smile as she looked over to Naru. His expression was stony as he met her eyes.
"Tea."
Despite his coldness, Mai couldn't keep her heart from fluttering. If it had been anyone else, she would say he was acting jealous. Still, the atmosphere was broken and Chiaki said her goodbyes as Yasu sat down at the desk to work.
A minute or two later, Mai entered Naru's office but was surprised to see that he was not at his desk. Instead, he stood leaning against it looking at one of his notebooks. When she approached to set the tea down, he closed it with an audible snap.
"It is about time we finish our previous discussion," Naru said coolly.
"Um," Mai stammered, wondering which discussion exactly he was referring to.
"It is past time you start learning about your abilities. It really is remiss of us not to have addressed it earlier. An untrained psychic can be problematic and, as it seems that your skills are still growing, we should rectify that."
"Oh," Mai responded, partially surprised but also curious and a little relieved. While she didn't really experience things outside of a case, the fact that he she could constantly sense Kosori's presence made her nervous. She had never had such a strong connection to the spiritual world before and she had not failed to recognize what it might mean. "Okay. So where do we start?"
"We will start tonight after we close the office. Start thinking about the different dreams you have had on cases. One thing we need to ascertain is what dreams you get from my psychometry, what you get from Gene, and what you get from yourself."
Mai nodded. Taking the words for the dismissal they were, she crossed to the office doors. Before walking through, though, she glanced back at him, slightly surprised to find that he was still looking at her. She smiled widely at him, a gesture that seemed to surprise him.
"Thank you, Naru."
Knowing she would not get a response, she turned ad closed the door behind her.
Later….
"To begin, the easiest thing to sort out is which dreams are Gene sending you my visions and which are not."
Mai nodded. "Well, we know three for certain right? The one at the music school, the one with Kosori, and the one with Urado." While he had not explicitly told her about the previous two at the time, she had put two and two together and he had confirmed them when she asked.
Naru nodded and typed something. It felt strange for Mai to sit there in his office, especially after everyone else had gone home. She would probably be too nervous to live if he hadn't been treating the entire thing so clinically. Once again, Mai wondered if he planned to treat The Incident like it never happened.
"In what other dreams did you experience visions of the past?"
"The first one was when I fell into the well. You were gone doing research."
"I did not do anything at the time. Would you say that the dream felt like the three mentioned previously?"
Mai thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "No. In those, it was happening to me. In this one, I was watching."
Naru nodded again and typed some more.
"And the case at Yuasa High School?"
"Nothing post-cognitive. Though I did have a dream where I could see the will-o-the-wisps." She paused. "You know those dreams always feel different. I am dreaming of what is happening at the moment, not something in the past or future. Sometimes, it even takes a while to realize that I am asleep at all."
"We have observed that you can astral project. Perhaps, those dreams are not dreams but your astral projection while you sleep. You should make note of the separation from here on out."
"That is easy enough to do. I think."
"What about your dreams at Ryoukuryo High School? Were they post-cognitive?"
"Neither of those felt like that either. The closest I got was a dream about Sakauchi-kun's room after his spirit was swallowed. The other dreams were just seeing him or the other spirits."
"Would you say then that they were typically astral projections?"
Mai considered this before nodding. "While I cannot say I really thought about how to tell the difference between the two before – especially since sometimes they will move from one to the next - all of these were in present day and I could see what was going on while I was sleeping."
"And Gene was in those?"
"A couple of them. Mostly telling me to leave," she smiled.
"Simpleton," Naru murmured as he typed. "What about at the Yoshimi restaurant?"
"Oh, ah, well, we know that you didn't use psychometry there right? Mai asked, blushing at the idea of discussing the dream she had had there.
Naru narrowed his eyes at her. "Mai."
"Yes, I had one there, but it was…different, too," she muttered.
"How so?"
"Well, I was experiencing what the spirits must have experienced, but I was fully myself. You even -," Mai broke off, kicking herself for saying it.
"Me?" he asked, raising one of his eyebrows. "You mean Gene?"
Mai shook her head. "It was you," she corrected in a quiet voice, her blush only getting worse as his face showed clear curiosity. This was the only dream that she knew had involved Naru. It was why she'd never shared it. It felt too much like fantasy even if it had been confirmed true later in the case.
"Explain."
"Um, it had two parts. The second part had both of us and Bou-san, Ayoko, and Lin-san. We were acting out parts of a scene. From one of the things Yasu looked up, with the villagers killing the betrayers."
Naru nodded seeming to accept that before raising his eyes, a small smirk curving his lips. "And the first part?"
"The two lovers who committed suicide," she answered in a small voice.
"You and I playing the role of lovers, I assume?"
Blushing furiously, Mai nodded, looking down at her lap.
"Interesting."
The only sound that followed for a few moments after that was the sound of Naru typing.
"With this, we can confirm that not all of your vision dreams come from mine. Though, they may still all come from Gene."
Mai shrugged. "I know that the one I just talked about did. He said he sent it. But I don't know about any of the others he hasn't been in."
"Did you have dreams on cases while I was in England?"
"No, but the cases were usually pretty simple and typically didn't ever involve actual ghosts. I did have one dream outside of a case, but I could not figure out what it was about. And it only appeared once. Truthfully, I cannot say for certain that it even counts."
"What did it involve?"
Mai looked up at the ceiling trying to remember the details. "I don't really remember. It was something very ordinary. I only took note of it because I felt like an observer, like I did in that first dream and the one on the last case."
"I see," he replied, clearly aggravated by her lack of diligence.
"I'm sorry! I already bought a dream journal. So far, there really hasn't been anything, but I am writing them down like you told me to!"
Naru nodded. "See to it that you bring it on cases too. Even if you tell us, it is better to keep a written record. Better still a digital one with time stamps," he trailed off clearly thinking of the scientific part of their profession. Sometimes Mai forgot that they were still all trying to actually prove that the things constantly sending them to the hospital even existed.
Mai nodded. "So…what next?"
"I am still determining a way to help you learn to cut off the dreams. You are not awake so that poses a problem. It is also difficult to describe how I learned to someone else. You and I have very different ways of thinking so it might not be as effective if it works at all. Additionally, some of it just comes with extensive practice which you cannot always control."
The brunette sank back in her chair, deflated. While she was eager to hone her skills, cutting of the dreams was a big part of what she wanted to learn. Dying in her sleep was never pleasant.
"Your astral projection is not something I am qualified to work with at the moment, though I will make inquiries. I doubt that Gene would have the ability to force you into that state if you were not already latently able to do so," he commented, pausing for a moment in thought. "Especially as you were able to transfer material items during one of those episodes."
"I haven't tried to do that again, so I don't know if it was a one off," Mai commented with an apologetic look. "Honestly, I think desperation did most of it."
"Perhaps, though I doubt that would account for all of it," Naru agreed. "As for your intuition and burgeoning mediumship, which do seem to be separate from Gene, it might be better for Hara-san to help you. Or Gene," he added after a pause.
"Well, since I only see Gene on cases, that would mean I would need to talk to Masako. Her schedule is pretty busy, but I'll still ask her."
"About that," Naru began, a slight edge to his voice. "I want to do some experiments with Gene and yourself if you will permit."
The word experiment made Mai think of a different conversation, but she pushed that aside. "What do you mean?"
"I am wondering if it is a proximity issue."
"Huh?"
"Well, I used psychometry while in England and you did not experience it. Since we know Gene was still around, he could have sent it to you."
"From another country?"
"Perhaps not. But I also used it while here outside of cases. On my trips."
Mai's eyes lit with understanding. "And some of those weren't really that far," she commented remembering some of his trips being completed within the day.
"Indeed. Yet, I suspect Gene cannot interact with you unless you are relatively near to me."
Slowly, she nodded. "That would make sense. He did say I was only kind of a last resort."
"But in the vein of science, I would like to experiment with this."
"How?"
"First, I would contact Gene and have him try to contact you while you are home. He may just never have tried."
"Okay, that makes sense," Mai agreed.
"Then, if that doesn't work, have him contact you when you are sleeping near me."
Something about how he said that mad her flush and her heart beat oddly. He wanted her to sleep near him? As in….
"I would also test the psychometry the same way," Naru continued, ignoring her reddened cheeks. Or so she thought. He smirked at her knowingly. "You do love to sleep on the job after all."
"Oh," she replied, a squeak in her voice. "So, um, when do you want to start?"
"No time like the present. After you leave, I will attempt to contact Gene and tell him our plan. There is a chance he is sleeping, but I doubt it. Tomorrow, come in before business hours and we will discuss."
"Trust you to want to work even longer on Christmas Eve," she muttered. "What happens if you cannot contact Gene?"
"I will call you at home and let you know."
"Sounds good," she said, standing up. While the idea of trying to sleep while Naru was watching was a lot to think about, she was excited at the idea of learning more about the strange connection the three of them had. "I will see you tomorrow then!"
Not expecting a goodnight – that ship sailed the year before – she grabbed her bag and headed to his office door.
"Mai."
Startled, she turned around to find that Naru was right behind her. She took a step back to put some space between them, but only found the door pressing up against her back. The look in his eyes set her heart to pounding and she felt her breath catch.
"There was one other experiment I had in mind."
"Oh?" she asked, her voice cracking as he stepped closer.
For the barest instant, she saw him smile, but before she could take it in, his lips were on hers. She hardly had time to react before she felt one of his hands on her waist to pull her against him as he leaned his other forearm on the door beside her head. She gasped at the contact winding her own arms around his neck as she committed to the kiss whole heartedly. Over and over, their lips met until Mai felt so lightheaded and out of breath that she could float away.
Finally, he pulled away, resting his forehead on hers as they both caught their breath. They looked into each other's eyes and Mai watched as his midnight blue gaze went through a series of emotions and she felt a little pride that she had been the one to make him lose composure this way. Then, he slowly pulled away, reaching to guide her hands from around his neck. Before she had a chance to feel rejected, he turned her right hand and kissed the inside of her wrist.
"More experimentation needed."
With that, he walked calmly away from her. She watched him for a moment before turning to flee. Even if she could get more out of him – which she knew she couldn't – she was in no state to think rationally. So, she hurried home, sure that it would be entirely the wrong brother who appeared in her dreams that night.
~o~o~O~o~o~
"You know, if you tease Mai too much, she might just run away permanently."
"I doubt it."
Oliver could hear Gene laugh in his head. "Unfortunately for your ego, you are probably right. Don't ruin this, Noll."
"Even though she is undoubtedly better off without me?" he asked, glad he could not see his own bitterness in his reflection but just Gene's soft smile.
"I doubt she would feel that way," Gene smiled, the fact that he was having to reassure his brother not lost on either of them. "I think you two are connected in a special way. If I have to leave, I'm glad you found her."
"Don't be an idiot," Oliver muttered. Both of them knew the words that he would not say, the way he had felt broken at his brother's loss and the conflict he felt at knowing they could still talk but at the risk of Gene's spirit warping.
"You are the idiot scientist," Gene laughed. "Now let's see if I can stalk your girl's dreams."
"I would not call her my girl."
"We both know you already do."
Initial Author's Note:
I have found that there seems to be some inconsistency in the understanding of what psychometry actually is supposed to be. By definition, it is the psychic reading of an inanimate object to find information or visions of previous owners or others who have been in contact with that object. It does not work on people as that is an entirely different type of psychic reading. (Mamoru from Sailor Moon has this and it is why he is so good at (stalking) finding his beloved.)
I make this note because it is part of the story and, while other stories have made their definitions work quite well, I am a stickler for sticking to truths.
