Chapter 16 – The Time Is Drawing Near
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: Why is it that some of the conversations between these characters seem to take on a life of their own? I mean to just set a scene and move on, but nope. They decide they need to say stuff and won't quit badgering me until I transcribe it all. Go figure.
Also, I will be out of town for a bit this coming week for family stuff, I don't know how much time I will have to write if any at all. I've got an idea for the first case, but any suggestions what type they should tackle for their next one?
Not yet edited.
The next morning Mai woke up earlier than Naru, and eased herself out of the bed without waking him, so she could dress and surprise him with tea. Making her way down to the manor's kitchen she ran into Luella near the stairway and followed her downstairs chatting amiably with the older woman about their plans for the day. Once in the kitchen Mai quickly made a pot of black tea, and promising to return shortly, ran the coveted liquid up to their room to leave by the bed for Naru when he woke up. After returning to the kitchen Mai helped Luella prepare a light breakfast, and the two decided to call Ayako while they waited for Martin and Oliver to come downstairs and start their day.
Using the manor's landline to dial Ayako's number, since there were multiple handsets available, Mai waited impatiently for the shrine maiden to pick up, her fingers tapping out a rapid staccato on the kitchen counter. "Matsuzaki speaking," came a voice from the other end of the line, and Mai giggled and said in Japanese, "Ayako! It's Mai, I'm here with Naru's mum, do you have a few minutes?" When Ayako agreed that it was a good time to talk Mai went on, "Ayako, I have Naru's mum on the other line, I would like for you to meet Luella Davis, and don't worry she speaks Japanese really well."
Ayako laughed and replied, "Hello Mrs. Davis it is a pleasure to meet you, I enjoyed working with your son and Mai last week, and I wanted to offer my condolences for your loss. I know this must be a very hard time for your family, but thank you for taking care of our Mai-chan. I have only known her for a short period of time, but she has already become very special to me, and it is wonderful to know that she has such a loving and supportive family to welcome her to England."
Luella smiled at the shrine maiden's words and responded, "Thank you Dr. Matsuzaki, but please feel free to call me Luella. Mai has explained to my husband, Martin, and I that she considers you to be family and that means soon enough we will be too. It's a shame that Madoka isn't here today, or you could meet her as well… Mai said that the three of us become great friends in the future, and often drive everyone else crazy with our infamous shopping trips. Honestly, I cannot wait to add another shopping enthusiast to our family," Luella enthused at the idea, before continuing, "Today Madoka, who is Lin's girlfriend and an investigator with BSPR, and I will meet a wedding planner in town to start discussing venues for Mai and Oliver's wedding shortly after Mai turns 18 in two years. So we have lots of time to plan, but Mai wanted you looped in as soon as possible for your input."
On the other end other connection Mai and Luella could both hear Ayako squeal in excitement before the miko said, "That is wonderful news! I will be more than happy to help with any arrangements, and I can even take a few days leave to fly over there if you'd like to meet in person. My family owns the hospital I work at, and I only work as a fill in, or for special cases when needed, so my schedule is pretty open most of the time….and wait…Lin-san has a girlfriend? The same Lin-san, that had a permanent scowl on his face and barely said two words to any of us in Japan, has a girlfriend and I'm single?" Ayako half-joked and Mai giggled before saying, "And you will love Madoka, trust me. She is the polar opposite of Lin, and I really can't wait for you guys to meet!"
Luella laughed softly and said, "Mai has told me how kind and stunningly beautiful you are, so if you're single it must be because you are waiting for a good man who deserves you. I think your suggestion of us meeting in person would be quite lovely, and I will propose a work related trip here for Mai's birthday, for you and some of the other JSPR contractors. That way us girls can have our fun, and the boys will be able to talk shop while we work on wedding plans, and maybe the whole group can have a little ghost hunting fun here at some of our famed haunted hotspots. Then Mai, Lin, Madoka and Noll can all return to Japan with the rest of you," the older woman offered while winking at Mai who hummed her agreement into the phone.
"Luella, that sounds like a great plan, and if you don't mind I will give that annoying monk a call, and let John know too. I'd call Masako but she refused to give anyone her contact information, saying that Naru had it and he was the only one she wanted to hear from anyway," Ayako groused before continuing, "Mai, she never did figure out that you and Naru are a couple did she? Maybe inviting her to England to help with your wedding plans would knock that sense of superiority out of her," the priestess said while snickering at the thought.
"Well, Ayako, she has nothing to try and blackmail Naru with now, you all know his identity and she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement for us to even consider working with her again, but maybe that would be cruel to ask anyway," Mai paused at Luella's quizzical look and mouthed later before continuing, "I'll talk to Naru about it, I know he doesn't really care for her antics anyway, but oh…its getting late and neither of the Davis men have made it down for breakfast yet. We should let you go, so we can go find them, and I'll contact you later with more details about when to plan your trips, ok?" Mai asked Ayako and when the priestess agreed in the affirmative they ended the call so Mai could have a quick chat with Luella before Martin and Oliver finally appeared.
Mai quickly gave Luella a rundown of what she and Ayako were referring to when Masako Hara was mentioned. Luella's face paled when Mai told her the first time they experienced these events that Masako used her industry knowledge of Oliver's true identity to blackmail him into escorting her places, and doing her favors even knowing why he was originally in Japan. Mai assured her that ultimately Masako's hold over him was broken when they found Eugene in the future and the doll-like medium even repented eventually. Martin and Naru entered the kitchen during this explanation, and Naru setting down the empty teacup that Mai had left by their bed, moved behind his fiancé and hugged her tightly to him from behind in a comforting gesture, his chin resting on her shoulder and cheek rubbing against hers tenderly.
"Well, she sounds like an entitled little snob," Luella snapped and then said, "I don't think you should invite her with everyone else for your birthday, Mai. I thought you might like to include your colleagues in Japan, but I have a feeling she would just object and cause problems for the ceremony. Yesterday, I made arrangements for the two of you to marry that week after your birthday in a small town just beyond the border to Scotland. The solicitors are taking care of all the details concerning the proper documents; the inn there has packages set up for small weddings so we really only have to worry about finding someone to officiate and who to invite, and a dress for Mai. I propose that we hold your ceremony on the 4th, the day after Mai turns 16. That way in two years the same date will also be on the weekend so we can plan the full-scale wedding for that time, and it will be easier for people to attend if it is not on a weekday. What do you think?" the Davis matriarch asked.
Oliver nodded at his mother's question and replied, "I think not inviting Miss Hara is a very smart choice at this time. Mai and I intended to let Miss Hara figure our relationship out on her own, much like the others did on the last case. If she was not so adamant about constantly insulting Mai and flirting with me, then I believe she might have picked up on our close behavior the same as everyone else. It might be a bit too shocking to reveal our relationship to her at our actual marriage ceremony, and I know that Mai does not wish to be cruel, isn't that correct Mai?" Mai leant back into Naru, her back fitting snugly against his chest as she nodded and said, "I think it's a good idea, and by the time we have our real wedding, Masako should have matured enough to be the Masako I knew and really loved like a sister in the future. But, it will be funny to see her reaction the first time she clings onto you like seaweed in front of everyone else who knows we're not only just a couple but married. I can see Ayako yelling at her for being a homewrecker, or John telling her that trying to tempt someone to adultery is a sin, and the dawning realization on her face…That doesn't make me cruel does it? She just cannot seem to take a hint, and I mean she called me a charity case assistant and fake psychic to my face, so I kinda just want to see her have to take stock of her attitude and entitlement, without having to deal with a life threatening situation like we had with Urado," Mai mused, twisting her hands together anxiously as she explained her reasoning to the group only to have Luella reach over and soothe her worries by rubbing her own hand over Mai's.
"Listen Mai, this other medium sounds like a wickedly spoiled child, and sometimes the only way to break someone of that mindset is to confront them with something that they will never attain. In this case, she will never be able to cause a rift between the two of you and gain Oliver's regard for herself. Instead of confronting her with these facts at your wedding, where she could have a tantrum and disrupt the ceremony, it would definitely be best to wait until you all return to Japan and work with her again, and this is my professional opinion not as the mother of the groom, but as a trained psychologist. Just put the entire issue out of your minds and deal with it when it comes to pass," Luella stated then pointed out that breakfast was getting cold before shooing everyone over to the breakfast nook to eat before they each started their days.
Mai was bouncing with an excess of energy as they parked near the BSPR building, she was excited to get started with that portion of her day. Entering the building with Martin and Naru, they stopped at the security office near the reception area to get her entered into the system, and create her credentials, clearance level and passes to all areas of the building. Once they completed that tedious process they went to meet with Lin who had called a meeting for all the department heads and appropriate staff in one of the larger conference rooms at the Society so they could officially introduce their newest member. The room was set up panel style with Martin, Oliver, Mai and Lin seated at a table at the front of the room and all of the other members of the Society seated at several tables throughout the room facing them. Once all pertinent employees had arrived in the conference room Martin stood to speak to the group, "Sorry for the impromptu meeting this morning but there are several pieces of information that we need to impart to everyone here, so thank you all for coming so promptly."
As everyone quieted down and all eyes turned to the head of the British Society for Psychical Research Martin continued with a kind smile, "First, as I am sure you all know Oliver's mission to Japan to find his missing brother was a success and he recovered Eugene's remains early last week. Tomorrow the Society will be closed for the entire day as we will be conducting a memorial service for our valued Society member Eugene Davis, naturally anyone who wishes to attend is welcome. Those of you who are not comfortable with attending the service please take the day to be with your own families, or enjoy an activity that brings you happiness… this is something that Gene would encourage for each and every one of us, and we all process a loss like this in our own ways," Martin looked at the crowd in front of him, his smile slipping slightly as sadness fills his eyes before he turned to Oliver and indicated for his youngest son to speak next.
Oliver patted his father on the back consolingly as he stood to deliver the next bit of news for those congregated in the room with them. He cleared his throat before saying, "I would also like to thank each of you for attending this meeting at such short notice, but I believe that you will find the next information I am going to relay edifying," and Naru paused as a slight murmur went through the crowd at his words of gratitude before continuing, "You are all aware of what my mission in Japan was, and that it was successful, but you have not been apprised yet as to how successful it was. Some of you might have noticed there is a person seated at this table that none of you have met yet, and I would like for you to all meet Mai Taniyama, who was instrumental in recovering Gene so quickly. Miss Taniyama, like Eugene functions in part as a perfect medium, as well as a seeder and amplifier for my own PK powers, not to mention post-cognition, precognition, astral walking, mental projection, telepathy, and a litany of other psychic gifts that can be discussed at another time. She is a seasoned paranormal investigator who is familiar with our methods, and will be attending Cambridge to complete her undergraduate degree shortly and will then be joining our program there in the graduate program as well. While some of Mai's gifts act much like Gene's, she is not to be confused for him in any way, I hope that is understandable to everyone present," he said while giving the audience one of his trademark glares.
"With the addition of Mai to our ranks, we are currently completing plans to continue the SPR office that I opened in Japan, and conduct research and cases at that location for the foreseeable future as well. With this in mind, while Mai and I are currently in England we will be taking applicants who would like to work at the division in Japan. We have already recruited a formidable team of spiritualists that will act as contractors for investigations that include a Buddhist Monk, Shinto Shrine Maiden, Catholic Priest, a lesser Spirit Medium, and have leads on several others that we can train, or hire as researchers, but we would like to supplement the contractors with any BSPR members who would like to branch out and experience the paranormal from a more unique angle. We will naturally provide housing as well as laboratory and research facilities, and will use JSPR as a subsidiary of the original Society here in England. Those who are interested please make a case for your transfer and speak with Madoka when she returns to the office Thursday. We will be conducting several trial runs during cases here in England with any members who would like to be considered for transfer, and you will be part of the investigative team that will include myself, Mai and Lin and we will determine from these cases which members will be best suited for our initial overseas experiments. Please understand that these appointments are not required and are only on a volunteer and request basis only. Are there any questions," Oliver asked and glanced at the group in front of them.
A lanky young man, with deep chestnut hair, and watery blue eyes behind round-framed glasses bravely stood up near the back of the conference room and cleared his throat while raising his hand, when Oliver nodded his head in acknowledgement the young man spoke with a slight tremor in his voice, "Excuse me sir, I understand the young lady helped to find your brother but I don't think we have ever heard of Miss Taniyama before today. Usually we have dossiers on powerful psychics, even those from other countries and her name has never crossed our desks while searching for talent to scout for the society…" and the young man trailed off when Oliver gave him a small smile in return for his question, effectively silencing the young researcher.
"Well, Callum, you might consider that I have felt it prudent to keep Mai's existence quiet prior to this. Her gifts are unique in some aspects, and she and I are working closely on a long term research project together, that we anticipate being able to publish jointly in several years. There is also the fact that Miss Taniyama is in fact integral within my own personal life, which you all aware that I am known to keep very private. In order to cut down on the speculation I see running rampant on several of your faces, Miss Taniyama and I are engaged to be married in the future, and the status of our personal relationship has nothing at all to do with her place within the Society," Oliver declared flatly, as if daring anyone to make that accusation.
Mai looked up at Naru with a giggle and pulled him down to his seat, rubbing his shoulder with her hand before she stood on her own and turned to address the crowd with a respectful bow, "I am pleased to meet you all, as Oliver said my name is Mai Taniyama, but you may all feel free to call me Mai," she said brightly, giving them all a luminous smile before continuing, "I very much look forward to working with all of you, and hope to find some great friends that we can work beside for years to come. I can understand your questions concerning my previously unknown existence in the paranormal world that many of you have been part of for quite some time, but let me ask you this. How often have any of you ever known Oliver to be wrong? It was only recently that we decided that I should have a more hands on role. With Gene's loss it is obvious to both of us that we should not waste any more time worrying whether our professional relationship will be judged solely by our personal relationship, and I am certain the wonderful people here at BSPR will prove as insightful as Oliver has always told me you are. Please, let us all work hard together," and with another small bow Mai sat down, taking note of the welcoming response her words had encouraged before she turned to her fiancée and gave him a blindingly beautiful smile while grabbing his hand in her own.
When Martin asked if there were any further questions, it seemed as if the crowd was too stunned by the previous revelation to think of any, and when there was no response he indicated that the rest of his group should exit the room to their respective offices. After they left the room immediately buzzed with excitement and a plethora of rhetorical questions all being verbalized at one time. In the front corner of the room an icy blonde with cold green eyes sat fuming, her patrician features twisted in a state of disgusted anger as she watched Oliver Davis leave the room hand in hand with some ridiculous Japanese tart, and thought to herself, "I've been working too long to get his attention for some cheap replacement of his brother to come swooping in and take him from me. She must be blackmailing him, so I'll just have to get assigned to the next case, and it will be bye-bye little Miss Homewrecker!" Noticing that everyone else was slowly vacating the conference room, Josslyn Clifford stood quietly, covering her rage with an indifferent look on her face and left the room to escape to her shared office to plot a certain auburn-haired medium's demise.
Martin and Lin each went to their own respective offices to prepare for the rest of the week's business, which left Mai trailing along behind Oliver as they escaped to his own office. Luckily, it was the same office that Mai was familiar with sharing with Oliver in the future, and was quite pleased to notice that while they were absent the previous day Lin made arrangements for an additional desk and supplies to be arranged alongside the one already in the space. Mai smiled happily at the setup, before totally ignoring her own desk chair and the nearby couch before settling comfortably onto Naru's lap when he sat down at his own desk before saying, "I bet it was Lin or Madoka who did this yesterday, actually scratch that I am going to be on Lin. He really does know you very well, enough to anticipate both of our needs," she beamed as she hugged him and continued, "So, what do you say we take a look at those case requests that look to be piled up in your inbox? Wanna split the stack in half and then swap which ones we think are appropriate to decide for a final case from?"
At his nod of approval they did just that, narrowing the stack of 16 or so down to just two possible cases. They decided that within the next few weeks they would actually investigate both, but one of the two seemed more urgent, with several injuries already associated with it so they would tackle that case starting Friday morning. Oliver called one of the administrative interns to make arrangements with the clients, while he and Mai would discuss logistics with Lin, and Martin. Lin actually had a look of disappointment on his face when Oliver revealed which case they were planning to take on first, but his expression lightened when Mai revealed a second case they wanted to complete once they finished the first case, and Lin mentally noted that neither he nor Madoka picked the correct case file they would be investigating.
"Father, I am aware that many of the staff here at BSPR regard me as difficult to work with, due to my exacting standards, and I would like to request that you include some of my harshest critics on the investigative staff on these next two cases. I believe that they will also attempt to find fault with Mai since it is now common knowledge of our relationship, and I believe working with us will quell any such concerns," Oliver said as he looked over at his father expectantly and Martin nodded thoughtfully before replying, "That should be feasible. I have a few ideas already and Miss Clifford who has requested a spot on the investigation team for your next case. She also requested to be the lead under you on this case, but was flatly denied as she does not have the relevant experience. I know that she has often schemed to try and get closer to you or your brother on previous cases and I could deny her petition if you would like?" Martin asked Oliver, who shook his head.
"No need Father I am well aware of her short-sighted and unprofessional obsession with Gene and myself by extension as a substitute. If I recall correctly, she is merely a low-level empath, but she might prove useful to speak with the clients if Mai is indisposed," Naru glanced at Mai and let out an annoyed sigh before asking her, "We can always give her the Masako treatment if she tries anything stupid, what do you think?" Mai laughed softly and nodded back at him saying, "The hazards of falling for an accomplished and handsome guy huh? Always having to dodge lethal glares from all of your adoring fangirls, if I didn't know that you only went into hero mode for me I would be jealous," she told him with a wink.
Naru grunted noncommittally before smirking and replying, "The Masako treatment is it then. Let her dig her own hole and show everyone else the extent of her non-professionalism. She already tried to corner Gene in the shower on a case before when he was only 14, but when he turned her down flat she went to Madoka complaining he tried to follow her instead. Thankfully, it went no further since Madoka knows our family so well, but this time she might target Mai to try and discredit her, so let's be extra careful with that viper."
Both Lin and Martin stared aghast when Oliver revealed the trick that Miss Clifford tried to play to get into Gene's favor as they had not heard about it previously and Martin protested, "If I had known, we would have terminated her internship immediately at that time, that young woman was older then than you are now! I will assign her to this case with you, but only on the conditions that her role will be that of the lowest member of the team, I don't care how well-connected her family is. Have her act as a gopher to teach her some humility, and maybe she will actually learn by watching the two of you work together," the head of the Society stated firmly, leaving no room for anyone else to object then added, "Also, Oliver your mother and I would like to come observe as well, we can stay at a local hotel, but this case does look complicated even without your request for difficult staff members to join you. I do hope that this final request is amenable?" When Mai and Oliver both nodded enthusiastically, they all, except for Mai and Naru who left together, decided to head their separate ways to prepare for the case at the end of the week.
The rest of the day proceeded peacefully, and at the end of the day Madoka and Luella stopped by the Society to grab Mai and take her to dinner and let her know what progress the made with the wedding planner that day. Martin, Oliver and Lin all decided to get an intern to pick them up some takeout and work a bit later since their women were all occupied and they would meet up with them later that night at their respective homes before resting for the night.
Wednesday morning and all of its promised sorrow came far too early for the Davis household. When she woke that morning, Luella opened the curtains in their room and noticed that the day was dark and gloomy with a misting rain, and she sadly thought to herself that even nature was showing grief. Today, they were going to place her eldest son's earthly remains in the family mausoleum, and although she knew he was surely nearby watching she still teared up for his loss on this plane. Putting on a brave face, the Davis matriarch finished dressing for her son's service and went downstairs to await the rest of her household to join her. It didn't take long, as it didn't seem that anyone else slept any better than she had, and they all joined her in their mourning wear so they could arrive at the church early to greet any family, friends or colleagues that would join them.
To say that the day was hard for the family was an understatement of epic proportions. Even with his eidetic memory, Oliver would be hard pressed to give any details of what transpired that day, other than, the skies cried heavily for his brother as they left the church. Faces and people were a mere blur, and even though he could speak to his brother mentally any time he wished, only Mai's presence kept him from leveling the entire cemetery in his grief when they closed his twin, his carbon copy, the other half of his soul since birth, into the crypt bearing generations of the Davis family.
Only Mai's presence and her ability to connect them to Gene's energy signature several times during the process kept them all from wallowing in their anguish. Even knowing that their loved one would still be with them anytime they called for the time being, it didn't lessen the pain they all felt that day like they hoped it would. They were all still saying goodbye the life of a brilliant, mischievous, loving, and irreplaceable part of their family, and even with all the condolences and platitudes delivered from outsiders that day, there was no real comfort to be found.
The bystanders who came to pay their respects for such a vivid life lost were merely onlookers left to watch in awe at the family as they stood proudly, not crumbling even in the face of this tragedy, but the pain that they all felt was still tangible to all who observed. The kindly professor, Martin Davis, well-known for his serious countenance stood with his wife, tenderly cradling her in his arms, not once letting her go… almost as if he was afraid she might vanish. Luella Davis, known to be the most positive and cheerful member of the Davis family, appeared utterly fragile, almost as if the winds gusting with rain would shatter her into unfixable shards if she let go of her husband for even a moment. Neither of their reactions were shocking to anyone looking in on their family at this time, but Oliver was a different story.
Many of those who attended Eugene Davis' memorial service considered his younger twin brother to be defective in many ways. They often thought of him as an emotionless robot, not understanding that this was simply his outer shell, and a measure of the control he had to embrace every day to keep his PK under wraps. When they saw Oliver openly weeping onto the shoulder of a petite ginger girl, some of them even briefly wondered if they were mistaken in which brother had passed away.
Many of the people attending the service had been present the previous day when Mai was introduced to the members of BSPR even though they were given the option not to attend; many who were skeptical of the true relationship between the young woman and their own Dr. Oliver Davis, who many thought of as an automaton replica of his brother to some extent. At Oliver's first sign of grief, the winds already buffeting the mourners became colder and harsher and a golden aura and a crackle of ozone seemed to surround his stricken form until the young woman at his side gripped his hand tightly in hers and any signs of his PK leaking stalled instantly and the faint golden glow that moments before was only surrounding Oliver, seemed to encompass them both instead.
While the family may never remember the events of that day clearly, it was safe to say that any of their colleagues witnessing that feat would never forget it. Oliver Davis was not only as human as they were, and it appeared that the woman he introduced as his fiancée was indeed exactly who he claimed she was. With a single instinctive gesture of comfort from Mai, many doubts about her true purpose at BSPR were laid to rest.
Both Lin and Madoka stayed close to the Davis household for the entire day, but it is doubtful that they were able to do much more than provide a small buffer for the family from the others in attendance, or that either of them recalled much of the day themselves through their own sadness. Long after the end of the memorial service, internment and reception for the family concluded, and the family finally returned to their home exhaustion in each member quelled any desire to speak more than necessary. After a silent and somber dinner, everyone retired to their own rooms at the manor and tried to put the events of the day behind them.
End note: Anyone who has lost someone close to them could possibly have the same experience that the Davis family had in this chapter. I know that when we lost my own father that the weeks surrounding that, including the memorial service are still just a blur to me, and like this version of Oliver I typically have an annoyingly flawless memory. I know that some people also become hyper aware in those situations, and we all deal with grief in our own ways.
I did not mention a lot of Mai's reaction to that day because in her mind, a day like that was not about her. It was only how she could help get her new family through the pain and heartache she herself already knows all too well, so on that day while she may just seem like an afterthought, know that her role was to be the pillar of support to get them through to the next day without feeding into more loss.
