Chapter 10 – The Day Before
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt, if I did the series would never have ended and Mai and Naru would have little paranormal grandbabies for Martin and Luella running around by now.
Author's Note: Sorry, this took so long to get out, and even then I had to cut the end of the case in half since it was running so long. While I was healing with the sprained wrist I went back and edited some glaring mistakes in previous chapters (Thanks to those who pointed them out to me!) Leave me some reviews, or messages to give me your input and tell me what you think so far? Am I on the right track? Am I changing too much? Are you as excited as I am to take Gene home to his mum and dad?
Also, a shout out to Kayoni, who is still writing an epic Mass Effect Trilogy/Shakarian story, "A Legend Begins"… I am talking over 50 chapters and 400k words and this epic and amazing story only has a handful of comments, but it deserves soooo many more. They were the reason I decided to post my own story. I figured if she could publish that many chapters without worrying about reviews then I needed to get over my stage fright and offer up my own vision of NaruxMai even if it turned out no one else ever read it. I have been incredibly blessed in the last month with some very kind and supportive feedback, so I am beyond elated that she inspired me and that others are enjoying what I am writing. BTW Anyone who is a ME fan, check out the story, I promise you will not be disappointed!
Not yet edited.
The next morning Mai felt more like her old self than she had in the previous days, and this was evident to Naru by the fact that the auburn-haired girl did not want to get up in the morning. Naru, while not a morning person himself, was always the more reliable of the two of them at actually following the dictates of their alarm clock than his Mai was. When he finally managed to rouse the sleeping beauty, he decided that it was good that Mai did not need to be at her school at her normal time because if that had been the case, the girl was already late. Lucky for them both, Mai finally awakened with enough time for her to shower and dress before they were to meet the other spiritualists at her school at 9 A.M.
Instead of convening at the old schoolhouse building, the two met everyone else at the administrative office of the newer portion of the school. Naru was carrying a mid-sized black briefcase that was full of the equipment they would need for his experiment with Mai following closely behind him lugging along a camera and tripod they had brought from the van with them. Speaking with the school secretary Naru, had her arrange for Kuroda, Michiru, and Keiko to be called to the office from their classes and join in on the experiment. Oliver and Mai had discussed bringing in the two extra girls, since technically Keiko and Michiru were part of the original information query by Naru about the schoolhouse, and would serve as more red herrings for anyone trying to figure out the identity of the blackmailer the two had previously mentioned to Ayako, Takigawa and John.
With everyone assembled in the school office, with the exception of Masako and the other students that were currently on their way from classes, Mai and Naru knocked on the principal's door to await his invitation to setup the necessary equipment inside his private office. At her sensei's bidding, the two quietly entered, speaking softly about what they were planning to do in order to get the principal's express agreement to the experiment. While this was occurring, the three girls from Mai's class arrived at the office, the two who had yet to meet any of the spiritualists were wide eyed at the site of so many new people, and then there was Kuroda's reaction. Kuroda, even after her heart-to-heart conversation with Mai, felt very uneasy around the other psychics… especially Ayako, who she automatically gave a cold sneer.
And Kuroda, further staying true to herself, made it a point to self-importantly introduce all of the new faces to her classmates as if she was truly an industry insider. Just as Kuroda finished explaining who everyone was to Keiko and Michiru, another new face for them entered the room. Masako Hara had finally arrived, her petite form walking delicately into the room wrapped in soft blue kimono printed with pastel cherry blossoms, and her stormy grey eyes searched the room for a tall raven-haired figure. Showing her disappointment on her face at not spying the handsome ghost hunter, she refused to give any of the other occupants of the room eye contact and sat down primly on a visitor's chair near the door of the office.
At five minutes until 10 A.M. Mai came out of the door of the principal's office and says, "Hey guys! Everything is all set up, come on in and Naru will get started," she smiled at the group, encouraging them all to enter the testing area. Naru looks at the assembled group as they entered and asked, "Is everyone who was involved in this case here and accounted for?"
When Naru received a nod in the affirmative from both Mai and the principal, he turned off the lights, closed the curtains at the windows and sealed the room in darkness saying, "Everyone relax, please release any tension you might be carrying in your muscles, as this is a safe space for all who have entered here," he spoke to them in a calm modulated tone that was calculated to lull the participants into a more serene mode for the experiment at hand.
A deep red light lay on the table, flashing in a steady repetitive pattern reminiscent of a flickering flashlight, and the ebony-haired boy continued, "Please look at this light," as the room flashed from light to dark with a slow steady pulse creating a strangely otherworldly atmosphere, and Naru spoke again, "Look at the light, then slowly breathe in and out… Relax your shoulders and listen carefully to each breath you take. Breathe in steadily through your nose, and out through your mouth… Time your inhale with one thrum of the light, then exhale on the next," he said calmly. Naru repeated this process until everyone in the room save Mai and himself, were breathing deeply in concert with the pulsating red light in the center of the room.
Once they had confirmed that the other seven occupants of the room were currently in an altered state of consciousness induced by Naru's form of hypnosis, he began to conduct the planned autosuggestion experiment. Naru's monotone voice rang softly through the air, the fluctuating rhythm of his tone successfully implanting suggestions with each of the participants as he slowly repeats the following information to those gathered, "Tonight… Something will happen… The chair on the ground floor of the old school building…Will move by itself. Tonight, in the old school building inside the lab room… The lab room on the ground floor… The chair will move itself."
The room slowly brightened as the pulsing of the red light on the table slowed to a halt, and Naru stated, "Okay, it's finished, thank you all for your cooperation," the young scientist bowed and indicated an old wooden chair no one had noticed before next to him with a smirk. He turned off the recording on the camera and began to pack his equipment as he dismissed everyone else saying, "This experiment has concluded for the moment, there should be definitive results by tomorrow, or no results at all. Both of which results can give us a clear answer to what issues are plaguing the old schoolhouse. Any students other than Mai should return to class at this time, and the rest of our psychic friends are welcome to return with me to the old schoolhouse while Mai takes care of some testing with the principal here."
A tired looking Kuroda, Keiko and Michiru immediately vacated the office, intent on getting back to class as soon as possible, but Ayako gave Mai a questioning look when Naru stated she had some testing to do and Mai responded, "Oh! We made arrangements for me to take exit exams early so that I can focus on other things rather than re-learn information I already have stuffed in my head," the cinnamon-eyed girl grinned brightly at the others left in the room.
Bou-san spluttered, "Jou-chan, leaving high school at 15, talking about marri…" he was cut off as Mai gave him a perfect imitation of Naru's death glare and exclaimed, "This is not up for discussion, Nosy Monk! I have the support of Sensei in this already, and an opportunity for several scholarships at university through a contact of Naru's and I am certain that my parents were they alive would support me fully in the plans I have made." The young girl firmly stated while glowering at the monk, and then continued, "Does anyone else have any suggestions how I should plan my future?" When Naru opened his mouth to speak, she turned to him nearly hissing in response, "Not you, you're the only one who does get a say, but if you dare utter the word tea right now, you can bloody well make your own tea for the rest of your life, you narcissistic tea-loving jerk!"
Moving closer to Mai, Naru patted her gently on the top of her head, his touch instantly calming her down as tendrils of his energy swirled against her own in as close to a caress as possible for energy. She breathed out a sigh, and he said, "Actually I was just going to suggest that once you were done with testing for the day that you join me over at the base, and we could finish setting up the part of our experiment there before leaving for the day," he smiled gently down at her, his body angled so only she could see his expression. Mai nodded, bowing slightly to the others as he moved away from her side, and she said, "I'm sorry guys, it is just hard sometimes. I had to fight hard for my emancipation and cannot understand when people believe they understand what I need in my life better than I do just because they are my elder. With my visions, and the insights I have gained from spirits as a medium, I do not really fit the mold of the normal high school girl, so why play to type?" Mai explained to the others left in the office with her, giving a special searching gaze at Masako, in an attempt to discern how the other medium is processing this information.
Masako, who felt Mai's gaze on her, turned her head and glared at the ginger with undisguised annoyance, and Mai let out a dejected sigh at the realization that re-gaining the relationship the two girls had finally developed later in life would certainly not be any easier this time around. Naru took this opportunity of silence from the entire room to usher them out the door and towards the old building; he turned his attention on Takigawa and while walking together they made plans for the monk's Buddhist exorcism ritual. The rest of the psychics followed the two men silently, only Masako glancing back at Mai's form as she turned to speak earnestly to her principal to begin her own activities for the day.
A mentally exhausted Mai entered the old school building after completing 3 of the 5 exams she needed to take, even though the principal suggest she take one per day throughout the entire week. She managed to finish the portions of her exams in Japanese, social sciences and science on the first day, which meant she would easily complete the English and math sections the next day. She figured that if she completed them so quickly, that her results could be returned to her by the end of the week and she and Naru could then really start making some real progress in all the ways they could best utilize all their memories. She was smiling happily as she dragged her tired feet to the base where she knew that Naru would be waiting for her, and then she saw Masako basically chasing poor Naru around the room trying to corner him for a private conversation.
Mai rolled her eyes, and flounced into the room, pretending not to notice Masako's presence at all and said, "Ooooh, Naru-chan! Sorry that I am so late, I know you want to hurry and finish setting the equipment up since you have a hot date tonight! Direct me where you want me boss," Mai spoke as she removed her school bag and jacket, dropping them onto a chair in front of the bank of monitors before turning to Oliver. "Oh! Oops! Am I interrupting something Naru? No wonder Onii-san's voice was cackling with laughter in my head as I walked over here, tell me exactly what would your partner say about getting so close to another medium?" She asked him; internally laughing because she knew her words could be misconstrued by Masako, and probably would be since previously Oliver Davis was never known to have any sort of girlfriend or even boyfriend that anyone knew of.
Masako glared angrily at Mai, annoyed that she was unable to make her move on the boy she knew was Oliver Davis. She had already had to wait to speak to him alone until after the loud-mouthed monk finished his unnecessary exorcism; the flashy Miko wouldn't leave at first either, if she had not had some kind of medical emergency then Masako knew she would have to fight for Naru's attention against the abrasive older woman. Then finally, she had to wait until after the young priest left to take care of some parish business. She knew that John Brown was planning to return so she had to take advantage of the window of his absence to speak with the ghost hunter about what she knew about him.
Now, finally after getting him alone, another obstacle presented itself in the form of that assistant girl, Mai Taniyama! Masako was seething at this point, she needed to let Oliver know that she knew his identity and convince him that the two of them would be perfect together, and well, if he didn't agree at first, she wasn't above using all the information at her disposal to convince him. But then, that girl shows up too soon, spewing some nonsense about her Oliver Davis having a date that night! The girl had to just be jealous of her, that was the only explanation, Masako knew. No one could hold a candle to Masako in beauty or talent, and both she and Naru were famous in their professions, so their pairing would be natural, and they would become the power couple of the paranormal world, she thought to herself in glee, her bad mood evaporating as she decided it would make no difference whether the beginning of their relationship started the next day or not.
Her mind made up, Masako, turned to Mai and said, "Nonsense. What would one such as you know about conducting a true professional conversation? Kazuya and I were merely discussing taking our relationship in a deeper direction, but a measly assistant would never be able to fathom that," the doll-like girl sneered. Turning to give Naru a coy smile, Masako, touched his arm and while batting her eyelashes coquettishly informed him, "Don't worry Kazuya, even with this interruption by your charity case assistant, we can fully finish our intimate discussion tomorrow after completing our work here. We can go out to this restaurant I know of that will be perfect for us to celebrate our partnership."
Oliver's face began growing colder as the secondary medium continued to speak, and he looked pleadingly over at Mai, telepathically saying to his fiancée, "Mai, I have never been happier to see you in my life, help me! I forgot just how horrible this early version of Masako was, and she's already touching me; I feel like a piece of meat!" Mai nodded at him, thinking back, "I think she was about to make her move on you, I'm glad I made it back to you in time. She really needs to get over herself and you quickly, but for now…" Mai moved closer to Naru and Masako and stated, "Masako, I am so sorry my humble assistant self has caused you to postpone an important conversation with my boss, but I at this time of day, when he is tea deprived is not a good time to discuss important business. If I know his moods, and I do, he needs at least two cups of earl grey in his system before he will be open to suggestions for partnership," she smiled with a falsely saccharine expression evident on her face and advises the other medium that it would definitely be better to leave for the day and return at the pre-arranged time the next day.
Once Masako finally took the advice to let the situation go for the day, Naru collapsed heavily into his preferred chair in front of the monitors and pulled Mai to him relievedly and spoke softly to her in English, "It is definitely obvious she already knows my identity and was planning to start blackmailing me today! This case isn't even done yet, and previously she waited until the start of the dollhouse case to bring it up. Even though she appears to be in denial of noticing all the signs of our relationship I think she realizes it subconsciously and that made her act earlier than before." He shook his head in exhaustion, and then said, "I already set up the equipment in the lab room, including the camera, and radar, and then I placed the chair in the center of the room and circled it with glow in the dark neon green chalk. When John gets back, we can all board the room up and then get going for the day, I'm sure you are as tired as I am today." The raven-haired boy hugged the girl to him where she stood at his side and continued, "And I need more than 2 cups of tea, I could use 2 pots full at this point, love."
Mai shifting her body to be able to use her hands to massage Naru's tense shoulders, nodded in agreement with him before saying, "I am so ready for tomorrow afternoon, this case is even less impressive the second time around isn't it?" Mai stilled, hearing faint footsteps in the hallway, she stopped speaking until the blonde-haired form of John entered the base room and she sighed in relief. Continuing to speak in English, Mai said, "Welcome back John! Thank you for making more time to help us get this experiment set up, let's head over to the lab room," she beamed at the young exorcist, feeling truly glad that he was there with them that afternoon.
John, Mai and Naru helped one another to place boards over the doorway to the lab room, nailing them shut in such a way would make it difficult to remove the boards without causing very noticeable damage to them. Naru then handed calligraphic brushes to both Mai and John and instructed them, "Sign your name on the boards, and make sure you write largely, and overlap the edges where you can," he nodded in satisfaction as the sealing of the room was completed for the night and gave John a small, honest smile before thanking him for his help. After thinking for a short moment, Naru asked John, "John, actually would you be able to help us one more time this evening?"
John nodded slowly; his curiosity piqued at the other teenage boy's request and said, "Sure thing mate, I'm always happy to help anyone who has been as kind as the two of you have." Mai, quick to follow Naru's train of thought said, "John, if you don't mind we could discuss our request in a more private setting. You can come home with us, we can order some dinner and then afterwards, I would appreciate your help to test out the efficacy of my new skill? I am able to use mental projection with Naru, but it would be very helpful to test it with someone I don't already have a telepathic connection with," she explained to John with a kind smile.
John looked at the two in surprise when Mai revealed their ability to speak to one another telepathically before smiling sheepishly at them and said, "No wonder you both always seem to know what the other is thinking! Of course, I will be happy to help you guys out, I am honored that you trust me enough to ask for my assistance," and as he finished speaking Mai let out a happy noise, grasping one of his hands in hers and replied, "Of course we trust you John! Let's head over to our suite, I know of a restaurant with great western style food that will deliver to our hotel. I want to make sure that you have proper sustenance before we begin in case you end up as drained as I will after practicing," her excitement palpable to both teenage boys as she urged them to finish closing up base for the night so they could exit the decrepit building for the night.
After the three teenagers arrived at the hotel suite, John let out a small exclamation at the understated elegance he encountered there and said, "Wow, mate, you really have nice taste, but you guys live in a hotel?" Mai answered him quickly, "Yes and no, I have a really small apartment of my own, but this is closer to my school right now and has more space for both of us to share. We actually plan to purchase a larger property once some other business abroad is concluded, and we are back in Japan this summer. Right now, the hotel seemed the most effective option, especially since Naru's other assistant is also usually here with us acting as his guardian," she finished as they all heard a firm knocking sound from the door at the suite's entrance. Dinner had arrived.
For John, the atmosphere during dinner with Naru and Mai opened his eyes to true relationship between them, and if anyone ever asked him when he realized that these people he had only just met would become so important to his life, he would tell them it was that evening. The first half of dinner was unremarkable and sprinkled with light conversation, mostly about pop culture ghost television shows that Mai had conflicting feelings about (not Hara-san's show though). It was during the latter part of dinner, when the trio had almost finished with their Shepherd's Pie that Mai stiffened, looking frantically at Naru and said, "Gene is knocking, it has to be urgent, and I'm going to let him through."
Naru looked at Mai in shocked trepidation as Mai's demeanor changed completely and while she still physically looked like herself, it was almost like he was seeing his twin brother alive and well in front of him through the different mannerisms and posture the medium now portrayed. "Noll! I'm so sorry to interrupt before you guys called me, but they found me! Go call Lin, tell him to get his arse back to the lake," Mai's body said with a newer masculine voice that sounded like a slightly more feminine form of Naru's. John looked on in wonder at the small medium, because while he had seen other mediums channel spirits, in his experience none of them had ever so fully transformed with the spirit's characteristics.
Naru stood up, grabbing his phone from the coffee table near the couch and left the room to call his other assistant Lin, leaving John alone with the not-Mai, Mai, who looked at him smiling brilliantly and said, "Pleased to meet you formally Father Brown, thank you for being such a great friend to my little brother and his better half," the voice said with a laugh, "My name is Eugene Davis, recently deceased perfect medium, and elder twin to Dr. Oliver Davis, who you know as….hey Mai, hush! You know we can trust him, and if Noll gets upset at losing out on his big reveal too bad… the dead do not get many options for fun you know," he said rolling Mai's eyes in her head as he debated with in their currently shared mind.
"Sorry Father, Mai is right, I probably shouldn't have spilled the beans yet, but they were already planning to share the information after the case closed tomorrow, just with that NDA. Oliver needs to keep his identity here quiet so he can actually achieve some real research without having to worry about publicity getting in the way, and he originally only came to Japan so he could find my body, but with Mai in the picture…" he trailed off smiling at the priest before continuing, "Please put your trust in them, I know that in the two of them already have great trust in you and in the future you will all become close like a family, and if you want to know how I know what the future holds, just ask Noll or Mai, but only if you really want to know because knowing such things can be one of the hardest things to do."
John just kept gawking at the sight in front of him; his brain was currently in the middle of its short circuit function and all he could do was nod slowly as each different revelation was laid bare before him. Finally, he calmed his racing thoughts enough to speak, "I'm pleased to meet you too mate, and I promise I will never betray the trust the three of you are offering me," the young priest gave the spirit inhabiting Mai's body a beneficent smile and then said, "I thought it was intriguing that a couple of teenagers even younger than myself were so practiced and knowledgeable about our field, but knowing now that Naru literally wrote the book on scientific paranormal investigations clears up a lot of questions I had," he said with a small laugh.
Eugene, still grinning at the priest, starts to shovel the remnants of Mai's dinner into her mouth, and then groans with pleasure at he realizes that he can taste. "Oh my God, sorry Father Brown, but I never had any idea that a spirit could eat while being channeled and then taste the food! This is amazing!" He finished the rest of Mai's dinner and snaked his hand over to grab the rest of his brother's dinner to begin scarfing it down as well, pausing when he noticed John eying him warily and said, "Channeling a spirit as a medium is very taxing, Mai needs the calories, trust me. Not to mention, she will exhaust herself by practicing her mental projection skill with you once Noll gets back… if anyone, he might be the only one upset by his missing dinner since this dish is his favorite thing our mum makes for us," hearing an excited shout from the attached bedroom, Gene winced and said, "I think Lin just identified me, I can feel a pull back to the area my body is in, and I think Noll might need Mai, so I better get going. So glad to have met you Father Brown, watch out for these two," he said with a wink, his voice fading out as Mai's body leaned back against her chair. After a moment her eyes fluttered open and she said in her own voice this time, "Well, that was definitely interesting, huh John?"
John started to speak but closed his mouth abruptly when Naru exited the bedroom excitedly and shouted, "Mai! They got him, it's really Gene! That stupid medium is finally going home to Martin and Luella, we need to hurry with this case so we can leave as soon as possible for England," his voice losing volume the longer he spoke until the last words were barely audible as he collapsed back into his seat at the table. Looking down, he noticed his dinner plate was in front of Mai and he raised an eyebrow in question at her stunned face, but John answered him before she could saying, "Your brother ate your dinner, Oliver. He said Mai would need the energy it would provide to her, and oh yes, by the way he blew your big reveal," as he grinned brightly at the dark-haired ghost hunter.
Oliver rolled his own eyes in a perfect imitation of his brother just minutes before, and said, "He's right, she will need all the energy she can spare, even with me feeding her some of mine during the process since it is a very new skill that we have yet to perfect. And as to my identity, you would have learned tomorrow afternoon anyway, and I believe that we can trust you John, you already knew that I spoke English and did not reveal that secret even by accident, so I think we are good." Noll nodded firmly and then suggested, "Since it is getting late, and I know that Mai and I will have an eventful day tomorrow, we should get started. I believe the vision Mai wants to share with you involves a case at the parish you assist at, and she is hoping it will help to resolve the issue before you need to call in more help."
John gave both Mai and Naru an interested glance, getting up from the table and asked, "Alright mate, let's get started then. Where do you want me?" Mai and Oliver also got up from the table and both moved over to the seating area in the living room area of the suite, and as they did so making sure to indicate that John should follow them and make himself comfortable.
John settled into the armchair next to the couch in the seating area, taking grasp of the outstretched hand Mai held out to him. He could feel a small jolt of energy at the initial contact, but it soon dissipated, and Mai spoke softly to him, "Okay, John please remember the rhythm we used this morning to regulate your breathing and try to mimic that as best you can. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth in time with my and Naru's breathing if at possible. If we can sync up I believe mental transference will be easier to achieve," she explained and gave him a gentle smile, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
John steadies his breathing, at first having to make a conscious effort to sync with the other two in the room, but as he begins to feel an almost tranquil sense of calm and serenity nudging at the edges of his mental shields, the meditative breathing becomes more natural. Closing his eyes at the welcome intrusion to his mind, a vision with a dreamlike quality began to unfold within the vestiges of his mind. John is shocked when he recognizes the church of his compatriot Father Tojo; he is even more shocked when he sees himself arriving along with the rest of the spiritualists he met on this case and they begin to discuss how to take care of the possessions of the other children at the church, by that poor little lost Kenji. He watches with fascination as the vision plays out, with the Mai he knows being possessed and hanging off an extremely tall dark-haired man, which they all seem to know well, but that John has never met. The spirit of Kenji seems to believe that this unknown man, that John can only assume is the other assistant Naru has spoken of, is his father and it isn't until Naru gently explains to Kenji that the other man only looks like his father and that Kenji's father is waiting for him in heaven that the young boy's spirit disclosed where his body had been hidden for all the years he was missing. The images slowly recede from his mind after Mai's vision reveals the final outcome of Kenji's spirit and he moves on peacefully.
As she releases the mental connection between the three of them, Mai sags against Naru, mentally exhausted by sharing such a detailed vision with another person, but she still looks up at John and smiles kindly at him saying, "Were you able to understand everything ok?" A look of awe on his face John quickly nods and replies, "Mai, that was… astounding. I know about Kenji's plight already, I have previously helped to exorcise his spirit from several children staying at the church. With the information you just gave me I will attempt to help him move on later this week, when I return to the parish to help Father Tojo. This is a wonderful gift the two of you have shared," the gentle young priest effused, tears of joy gathering at the corners of his eyes. "Whatever other secrets the two of you are keeping right now, do not matter to me, I can see how much kindness and love resides in your hearts and you have my eternal trust from this day forward. If you call, and I can attend I will happily do so until the end of my days for I now understand why your brother told me we were like family in the future," his joy profound and apparent to everyone in the room, John fell to his knees in front of couch where Mai and Oliver were sitting, The priest prostrating himself as an agent of his God to the two he felt were now connected to him in order to help him accomplish the work of his Lord.
Mai, smiled sheepishly at Naru after viewing John's new position and said, "John, Brother John, please get up, each of us has special gifts to share with one another equally. Like you I feel we were all guided to one another, to do good work. We all have so very different viewpoints on life, relationships, education and religion, but every one of us do what we do, in order to help effect change for the better, right? I am so glad that I could share with you a small bit of the future that I have seen with my pre-cognitive visions, and as my skill evolves I hope we can further work together again in order to make our world a brighter, happier place," Mai stated, her words beginning to slow as her fatigue catches up with her.
Noll noticing how his fiancée's eyes were fighting to stay open, pulled her close, stroking her hair fondly as he remarked to John, "I agree with Mai, please Father Brown, you are the most effective exorcist I have ever met in my lifetime, and your empathy rivals that of Mai's as far as I can tell. I look forward to all of us having a long, fruitful relationship, and know that if you should call for us, we would also attend to you. You are our friend, our family, and a little bit of our conscience," Naru said, his deep indigo eyes brimming with his own special brand of friendliness before he went on, "I think Mai is about to fall asleep right here, I should get her to bed. If you are as exhausted as she is from the experience, you are more than welcome to take your rest in the other bedroom in the suite, my other assistant will not be home again this evening and would not mind offering it to you if you need it."
John shook his head saying, "Thanks mate, but I will be fine, my lodgings are not far away and I would like to make a stop at the parish before I rest anyway. I want to prepare for Kenji's recovery by offering a prayer tonight in his honor, but I will be sure to join you tomorrow afternoon at the old schoolhouse as planned. Oh, and mate, if you need another hand to take your brother home to England, let me know. I can ask for special a dispensation from the church to join you briefly; even if Catholicism is not very popular in Great Britain, as clergy I could help to clear any obstacles that might arise concerning transportation of deceased loved ones with many organizations such as customs." John offered his assistance to his new friends, hoping to ease what he knew would be stressful for them in any way that he could. With that final offer, he bade Naru goodnight, as Mai had already fallen asleep against the narcissist's side and left the hotel to head to accomplish his new goals for the evening.
Noll gently picked Mai up, carrying her to their room to lay her on the bed before he went to shower quickly and change. Once he returned, he cuddled up protectively against Mai's side, and tired himself after all of the draining events of the day slowly drifted off to sleep and once more joined his better half in peaceful slumber.
