Authors Note: Quick comment; this is going to be a slow chapter, but it's one I really enjoyed writing. We all have an understanding that Mai is not a push over in this story and won't instantly fall in love with Naru, so don't freak out. It's still going to go like that. But for some reason I had the urge to write this chapter. Some chapters will be slow like this, it won't be action every single chapter, but I still try to make each chapter worth reading in some way. Some action is coming the teams way, so keep an eye out.

Chapter 11

Consciousness slowly came back to Mai. She slowly became aware of her body, feeling warm and comfortably nestled in softness. She could feel something pressed against her back slightly, her feet tucked up and pressing against the wall behind her.

Her mind swam in slow circles, not in any hurry to become fully awake. Opening her eyes a fraction, Mai remembered where she fell asleep and directed her eyes towards the shoji screen, and noticed dawn was beginning to softly light the doors. It couldn't have been later than 6am. Realising she had plenty of time before she needed to begin the day, she let her mind stay in its half wakefulness, not wanting to leave the pleasant warmth.

Feeling something softly touch her head, Mai's mind hummed in gentle curiosity. Fingers were carding through her hair. Mai closed her eyes in content. Her mother used to do this to her to sooth her to sleep as a child. It always put her straight to sleep. Between this and when her mother would to gentle run her fingertips along her back, they had to be two of the best feelings in the world. Silently basking in the gentle attention she was receiving, Mai gave a quiet sigh, her mind beginning to calm again, right on the cusp of sleep before Mai felt the movement stop, the person removing their hand from her head.

Her mind gave another sleepy questioning thought. Where did the hand go? Rolling over onto her other side, Mai faced the person, coming face to face with blue and grey plaid patterned fabric, tipping her eyes up to make eye contact with Naru.

He was sitting on a zaisu on the floor next to her; his laptop perched on the table with a number of files perched beside it with his legs tucked under the kotatsu blanket. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt and plaid pyjama pants due to the cold, she imagined. Directing her gaze upwards to meet his eyes again, she noticed he looked blank but cautious, unsure, though he hid it well. His hand he'd placed back onto the table.

Blinking slowly in confusion, Mai's sleep dulled mind looked at him in question.

"Why'd you stop?" she mumbled in a sleep clogged voice, her eyes half-mast.

Reaching a hand from underneath the kotatsu blanket, Mai grabbed his hand off the table before plopping it back onto her head, sleepily pulling his hand back and forth to demonstrate what she wanted before dropping his hand altogether. Moving her sleeve covered hand underneath her chin, Mai let out a yawn and curled up a bit tighter, her legs pushing against Naru's legs underneath the table.

Slowly, she felt him begin to card his fingers through her hair for a few moments before she felt him stop again. Waiting a few beats, she let out a soft whine from deep in her throat, pushing her knees against his legs in protest to prompt him to keep going.

Feeling his side vibrate against her knees from his quiet chuckle, he resumed slowly carding his fingers through her hair; softly starting running his fingers at the top of her forehead at the beginning of her hair line, fingers tips on skin before they slid through her hair line, along her scalp before smoothly sliding through the ends of her hair. He repeated this process, not stopping again.

Mai closed her eyes in quiet content, letting out another sigh. Her mind quietly decided another hour couldn't hurt. She drifted off into a doze. She listened in a relaxed stupor to the sounds around her: the quiet clack of keys as Naru worked (one handed), his quiet breathing, the sounds of birds beginning to wake, singing their morning song, trees rustling peacefully in the light wind, the slight echo of Bou-sans snore in the next room over, the faint sound of someone sweeping the porch, the quiet hum of the heater under the table. All these sounds became a peaceful waking melody to Mai's mind as she enjoyed Naru's soothing motions.

This continued on before Mai began to see signs of the risen sun through her eyelids, opening them to see the shoji screens lit up softly in the morning sun. Knowing she had to get up to begin her day even though her mind and body protested. Giving a deep sigh, Mai untucked her legs before stretching out, her muscles trembling with the pleasantness of it.

Feeling more than seeing Naru remove his hand, Mai rolled onto her stomach before pushing herself onto her knees. Giving a jaw-cracking yawn, Mai turned until she was seated under the kotatsu again. Resting her elbows on the table and putting her head in the cradle of her hands, Mai tilted her head to look at Naru.

He stared at her a moment before turning back towards his laptop, speaking quietly, "You were having a nightmare".

Mai knew Naru and Lin liked to stay awake in case any unusual occurrences happened during the night and to monitor the cameras on occasion. Naru must have happened upon her when he and Lin switched.

Mai hummed in acknowledgement. She had nightmares occasionally according to her friends, though usually she didn't remember having a nightmare. She didn't have any recollection of having one during her second round of sleep.

Rubbing her eyes to dislodge any sleep that might have been left, Mai stood before heading to the kitchen, putting the kettle onto boil. Noticing the loaf of bread, Mai began making toast, surprised there was even a toaster at the ryokan. Quietly steeping the tea and adding a layer of jam to the toast, Mai placed everything onto a tray before bringing it over to the low table. She then walked over to the wall of shojo screens, opening them to show the large garden covered in snow, glass screens protecting them from the cold, but allowing the morning sunlight to stream into the still too dark room.

Moving back to her seat, Mai placed a cup of tea and a plate of toast in front of Naru before grabbing hers, slowly eating and sipping at her tea while staring out into the beautiful backdrop.

Hearing nothing from Naru, Mai turned her eyes towards Naru, seeing him staring at her with a quirked brow. Narrowing her eyes at him while chewing her toast she waited until he pulled her offerings closer to him, continuing to work but eating at the same time.

'This is only a one time occurrence', she thought grumpily while taking another sip of her tea, staring outside, 'This changes nothing'.

Sitting while watching the gardens and eating breakfast sure did feel like something a couple did, though. Mai's face scrunching up when that thought crossed her mind.

Deciding she'd had enough of that train of thought, Mai stood before collecting the dishes.

Quietly walking into the girls' room, noticing both girls were still deep in sleep, Mai quickly but silently changed before gathering her toiletries to begin her day, hoping they got some kind of lead on this case, suddenly feeling the urge to go home.

Authors Note: Loving you for the reviews guys. J Yes, this isn't going to be a 'Mai instantly is back in love with Naru and she becomes a pushover' story, so rest assured this is going to go on a bit longer. I'm thinking I might not complete the story after this case, and just keep it going on a case-by-case basis to allow for some character development. It won't be adrenaline pumping constantly throughout the story, I don't think that makes much sense in terms of plot. There are going to be parts where the excitement lulls and some normal everyday stuff occurs.

Also, a number of you asked for Naru's POV. I'm not sure if I will do that as I've never been the biggest fan of POV swapping. If people keep requesting it, I might have a go.

Again, Happy New Year! Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter, it's very different from my others and I'm a bit worried it will be ill received. I'm unable to do a 'thank you' list to all those that reviewed as the reviews for this story aren't showing up for some reason, so if you did review, you really made my day. You were all very encouraging, and I thank you for that. :) If they show up by the next chapter, I'll be sure to do it then. I will be travelling back to Australia (from NZ) on Saturday, so please be patient for the next chapters as it's going to be a hectic weekend.