Authors Note:

Thanks again to my beta-er Ayjah. Sorry it took me so long to update. I was rather uninspired (and lazy). But I finally got this out.

Chapter Five

It was now night. Mai followed Naru and Lin out of the base and waved goodbye to everyone. Mai waited for Naru and Lin to take their bath before she took hers. When she thought of last night she blushed. It had been so nice sleeping with Naru even if Lin had teased her. It made her feel so secure, and she had no longer been afraid of what she would dream. It also reminded her of her parents. As a child, whenever she had felt scared she had always ran into their room and squished herself between them. Even if they were asleep she still felt better, them just being there helped her. She wondered how to approach Naru about it. Lin would surely make fun of her, but that wouldn't bother her that much. What she really feared was Naru's reaction. Perhaps she could sleep with Lin? Lin is scary even in his sleep, she thought. As Naru came out of the shower drying his hair she was about to ask him, but she lost her nerve when he looked over at her. He motioned for her to go in as Lin had already gone. She grabbed her clothes, headed into the bathroom, and closed the door behind her, blushing severely. Lin looked over to Naru to see his reaction, but as usual Naru's face was blank and devoid of emotion. Naru sat down on the bed next to Lin. In the bathroom, Mai slumped against the door as soon as she closed it. Why did she have to be so afraid of Naru? Perhaps it was because he was so different from the other people she had met. She turned on the tap so that the water would be very hot. She wondered how Naru liked the water in his bath. She shook her violently. What was she thinking? Wondering how Naru would like his bath water… The water vapor from the tap drifted up enveloping her in a thin layer of moisture. The water droplets beaded on her skin and trickled down her arms, she lowered her self into the steaming water.

o O O o

Mai had taken a very long bath that night. She had mused over all the possible ways to approach Naru about sleeping with him, but with each one of those possibilities she imagined Naru's reaction of annoyance and dismissal. It was pointless. Giving up Mai got out of the bath, she dried herself off and put on her clothes. She opened the door to the bedroom letting all the built up steam escape. When she stepped out she saw Naru was already asleep on her bed his laptop open and still on in front of him. She smiled, he was unintentionally cute.

"Why is he on my bed?" she directed the question to Lin. Lin shrugged, but she could see a shadow of a smirk on his face. The perfect situation had arose: Naru was on her bed already asleep. But when push came to shove she couldn't bring herself to face Lin's ridicule. "Lin will you help me move him to your bed?" Lin's smirk became more obvious.

"I think he's fine there, you should tuck him in." Mai looked at Naru. He was right, Naru could go to sleep comfortably like that. She moved the laptop to the night stand and closed it. She struggled to pull back the covers Naru was sleeping on. Lin made no move to help her. She pulled him up, rested his head on the pillow, and pulled the sheets over him. She glanced toward Lin and noted he was still watching her. What was he waiting for? She climbed into her bed next to Naru.

As soon as she was done pulling the sheets over herself she heard Lin say, "You could have gone to sleep in Naru's bed." That was what Lin had been waiting for.

From Lin's position he could still see Mai's ears turn an amazing shade of red. "I like my bed," she responded weakly. With that she turned off the light, so as to avoid Lin's gaze. This didn't keep her from hearing Lin laugh. She moved over to where Naru was. She could feel him through the fabric of her pajamas. She rested his head against his shoulder and lay there for a very long time. She could not fall asleep. Suddenly she felt Naru shift under her. Mai closed her eyes and feigned being asleep, and he made a small noise when he realized what the weight on his shoulder had been. He rested his hand on her head for a brief second. She felt his muscles go limp under her suddenly, Naru was asleep already.

She fell asleep soon after. She was in an old fashioned house and was staring outside at what looked like a smaller version of the tree at Amasawa's house. This was the same place but many years ago. She softly rubbed her bulging stomach and realized she was pregnant. An old woman came up to her and handed a letter. She opened it and read. A man, Yukito, had married another woman. They had been engaged and now he was marrying another woman! She thought he had loved her. She was a disgrace to her family, pregnant and unmarried. Her parents would surely disown her and they would die of shame. She had hid it from them because she had thought that she would marry the father of her child. She had been betrayed, for perhaps a more beautiful richer woman. She felt a deep sadness overwhelm her. Her child could not be born into such a cruel world. She stood up feeling the weigh of the child in her stomach. She walked through a few rooms before she came to a room with a single futon in it and a small package next to it. She tried to bend down in an attempt to pick up the package, but the child in her stomach prevented her from reaching it easily. She sat down on the futon and reached across and picked up the parcel. She removed the cloth on it and opened the clasp. She lifted the lid and inside there was a small dagger. Mai felt her heart race in this other woman's body. Not again, not again! She lifted the dagger out of the casing and held it in both of her hands. She closed her eyes and recited a short prayer. She grasped the hilt with both hands and plunged it into her beating heart. The pain was harrowing. Everything became excruciatingly sharp in her mind as she lay on the floor the blood pouring out of her chest. She felt her blood rush out of her body and saw it pool on the floor. In a short while she had lost much blood. She began to feel dizzy and lightheaded from the loss of blood and was overcome with a sense of euphoria. Her face was pressed against the cold wooden panels of the floor. She heard her heartbeat in her head and pretended it was the sound of the earth's heart beating in her ear. The beat gradually slowed down. She grasped her stomach, feeling her unborn baby kick weakly inside of her. In her last minutes a feeling of intense hate overcame her. The man she had loved had lied to her, and toyed with her feelings. He was the reason she and her child had to die. As the world faded, she cursed him and all other men on this earth who had caused her pain.

She woke up gasping. Naru was above her, his face concealed in the semi- darkness. Lin had turned on the lamp. "Mai," he said, his hands on his shoulders. "Was it one of those dreams?"

"Yes. This one was a very very long time ago. In this same area there had been a house in the traditional style. I was a young woman who was pregnant with the child of her fiancé. However, he married someone else and I, drowned in hate and sorrow, killed myself."

Naru frowned. "I wonder what spirit it is," Mai said curiously. "The other woman I dreamed about haunts the piano. The other locations are the toilet, the dining hall, and outside the dining hall."

"I think we can safely assume that the woman and her daughter who were killed are the ones inhabiting the dining room area," Naru interjected.

"So that means I dreamed about the spirit in the bathroom. But why the bathroom? The place she used to live in had been replaced with this house."

"Perhaps the bathroom reminds her of the place she died. We will examine it in the morning."

Lin, who had been watching the whole time, asked, "Are you alright Taniyama- san?"

"Oh I'm fine," she responded with a smile on her face. "I guess I was upset last time because I hadn't had those dreams in a while." Lin nodded, as if not quite convinced, and reached up and turned off the light. She heard Naru pull the covers back over himself. She imitated him, and pulled the covers over herself as well. She scooted closer to Naru, but not close enough to touch him. She closed her eyes absorbing Naru's warmth as she drifted off to sleep.

o O O o

Mai was awoken the next morning, not by Lin, but by the blinding light coming in through the window. It pierced her head with a vicious intensity. With one hand held over her eyes she managed to find her way to the window and pull the curtains shut. It was much darker now. Neither Lin nor Naru seemed to have been affected by the light coming in. Naru was definitely not a morning person. She smiled at that thought. She then wondered what time it was. She walked over to the clock on the nightstand, and bent over to check the time. It was eleven o'clock. She had really slept late today. She should wake Naru and Lin up. Mai sat on the edge of the bed so that she was looking down on Naru. "Naru," she called softly. Naru didn't answer. "Naru," she tried again a bit louder. He still didn't awake. "Naru, time to wake up," she said a third time. This time Naru stirred.

He opened his eyes. "Mai. What time is it?" He blinked his eyes several times.

"Eleven,"" she responded simply. Naru sat up and looked at Lin.

"Lin," Naru said abruptly. Lin opened one of his eyes. He glanced at Naru before opening both eyes. Mai was sitting at Naru's side, while Naru was sitting up in the bed. This reminded Lin strongly of something, but he could not remember exactly what. He got up as well.

As soon as they were ready they left to go to the base. They had fallen into something rather similar to a schedule and it was new today. So far they had not been on a case where they had done the same thing every day. It was getting rather monotonous. When they entered the base the first thing they saw was Takigawa and Ayako snuggled together on the couch sharing a nice cup of tea. Lin coughed and looked the other way, with a smirk on his face. Mai's jaw dropped and her face turned very red. Naru simply said, "Do that on your own time."

Takigawa and Ayako jumped and quickly separated, each looking equally embarrassed. Naru sat down facing the monitors and then turned around. "Why aren't you in the groups?"

"Well, um," Takigawa said. "It seems there really aren't any spirits to worry about, so they are pointless aren't they?" Naru did not respond. He turned back around and continued observing the monitor. A few minutes later he said, "Mai, when Masako comes back, we shall go to the bathroom the girl is haunting."

"Why are we waiting for Masako?" Mai asked curiously.

Naru gave her an odd look, and then said rather condescendingly, "Because she can sense spirits." Mai's mouth made an 'O'.

"Did you have another dream?" Takigawa asked.

"Yes, Naru thinks it's the spirit haunting the bathroom upstairs.

"Aw, poor Mai having scary dreams," Takigawa said as he ruffled her hair. Mai smiled good naturedly, but she wouldn't describe her visions as scary dreams.

Masako came back a while later with John and Karasu. It seemed that Masako and Karasu had become good friends, but Mai wondered what had happened to Koneko. When Masako saw Naru, she went over to him, making it look as if she was wandering aimlessly.

"Hara- san. We need to check the bathroom with you," Naru said stiffly.

Masako smiled behind her kimono sleeve. "I would be glad to help." Naru turned and motioned to Mai. Masako looked surprised but she refrained from saying anything. Mai and Masako walked on either side of Naru. They took turns glancing at each other from behind Naru's back, and when their eyes did meet, they turned away embarrassed. They went up the stairs to the second story and followed Naru around until they arrived at the bathroom. Naru opened the door and turned on the light. This bathroom was rather bare compared to the ones they had in their rooms. There was a toilet and a sink. The room was painted in gray colour and the floor was a plain wood.

"Does it appear to be in the same area, as the place in which the woman died?" Naru asked.

Mai thought about. She mentally measured the distance from the tree to the bathroom. "I think so," she answered. She looked down at the floor. "Oh, this may be a coincidence, but it's the same type of wooden floor." She knelt down and touched the wooden panels. "They are so cold too."

Naru thought about it. "Masako, do you sense anything?"

She sighed. "No it's the same. I get the vague sense of something supernatural, but I am unable to determine what it is."

They then left the room together. Mai noticed how the each kept a certain distance between them. It was as if they weren't outwardly trying to appear unfriendly, but they were awkward around each other. The way they walked, they were almost touching, but they never did quite meet. When they got back, Mai sat on the couch next to Takigawa and Ayako. She was drifting on when she heard a slight noise behind her. She turned around but no one was there. In fear she grabbed Takigawa's arm.

"Something's behind the couch," she whispered. Takigawa turned around and looked down. He laughed a bit, covering his mouth.

"What is it?" Mai asked cocking her head. Takigawa put a finger to whose lips and motioned to behind the couch. Mai turned around and looked down too. There was Koneko sleeping in the sunlight from the window outside. She was curled up into fetal position, her arms wrapped around her legs protectively.

From then on the days began to bleed into one another. The days they had been there increased, each one as unproductive as the next. Naru had become especially irritable as time had passed. The fact the tea had run out was doing nothing to help the situation. Lin had gone to the nearest store, which had been 20 miles away, in a gracious attempt to meet Naru's fastidious demands. But Naru threw out the tea saying that he would rather have no tea, than tea of such poor quality. Lin looked rather upset at this, and sulked for the rest of the day. Mai tried to stay awake but always ended up falling asleep. However, she didn't have any more of her visions.

One day after Mai finished her dinner, which had been rather good this time because she had made it, she fell asleep on the couch. When Mai next opened her eyes she heard voices. Koneko and Naru were talking somewhere behind her.

"Oliver, isn't it such a coincidence we met here?"

"I don't believe in coincidences." That was Naru. But why did she call him Oliver? Mai was very confused. Had Naru been lying to them even more than she had imagined?

"Nani?!? Are you saying you took this job because I took it?"

"Why would I want to work on a case with you? I was suggesting that you purposely took this case because I had taken it."

"You seem to be under the impression that I enjoy your company," Koneko snapped back.

"Well, why are you still here?"

"Why are you still here?"

"Because I am working here on a case," Naru replied simply.

"So am I!"

There was a few moments of silence. Then, "Do you miss Gene?"

Silence.

"When he died, I thought it was the end. Of everything. Don't you miss him?"

"I try not to dwell on the past."

Ignoring this comment she continued, "When he died did you wish, 'Why not someone else? Why him?' I did. Just once though. I actually wondered 'Why not you?' But then I decided that you really can't trade one persons life for another, and what has happened has happened. Also, I like you. I really do. Not the way I liked Gene, but I liked you nonetheless." Naru was quiet. "But the pain is still there? Did you ever feel guilty in any way? I did. You wonder why you couldn't have said or done something that would have prevented that. And then you end up blaming it on yourself."

"That's foolish."

"Is it? I know you have feelings to, even though you hide them. Everyone does. You know, it hurts more when you hide them."

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical," he returned. There was more silence.

She did not reply for a while. "It's different."

"How?"

"It just is."

"When people die, there are always things you wish you said or thing you wished you had done. I wish I could have told him how I felt, but somehow I couldn't then. You knew though, but you never told him. I don't think you liked me much. I don't think you like me now. I like you though, but you barely like anyone."

"I don't like anyone," Naru corrected.

"No," she smiled at this. "You barely like anyone."

"Your drunk. Haven't you learned you can't handle alcohol."

"I only had a glass! How could you tell?"

"First of all you reek of alcohol, and in addition to that you are saying idiotic things."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are."

"Why can't you just show admit your feelings? Aren't you sad?"

"I was, but I have accepted it and have moved on."

"You just see people as disposable! You meet them, you use them, and you move on and forget about them. They aren't real to you." Her voice was rising, and the anger in it was evident.

"That's not true. It's just that I don't form personal relations with every person I meet."

"You do your best to avoid them."

"Most people are not worth socializing with. They all seem to have a certain idea about how they should be treated and where there place in the world is and they dislike anyone who disagrees with this. They have childish views and are ignorant."

Mai heard a slamming noise. Koneko had apparently fallen off the chair. Naru sighed in annoyance. "You need to go back to your room."

"I'm fine," she said.

"If you are trying to make a fool out of yourself, its working."

"Fine I'll go back."

"You need someone to go with you. I'll take you."

"Fine." She heard the rustle of fabric as Naru got up and then their receding footsteps. Mai rolled over facing the ceiling. She was very confused. Naru was Oliver? She had never heard anyone call him Oliver before. Who was Gene? From the gist of the conversation she guessed he was someone very close to Naru. This meant that he had known Koneko when they were younger. And that Naru had been lying to them more than she had previously thought. Did Lin know? Yes Lin probably knew, after all Naru's parents and sent him to observe Naru. So both Lin and Naru had been deceiving. She felt very angry. How could Naru just lie to them like that? He probably thought he was clever, being able to trick them so easily. She suddenly hated him, she tasted bile in her mouth. He had tricked her. And all this time she had been blindly putting her faith in him. Loving him, following him, doing whatever he had asked. She felt like crying.

She looked over to the doorway and saw Naru standing up there. She sat up immediately. When did he get back?

"You heard?" Naru asked. Mai nodded. "What did you hear?"

"You aren't really Kazuya Shibuya. Your name is Oliver, and there is someone named Gene who died, who I presume was very close to you. You have been lying to us the entire time. We trusted you, and you lied to us." Mai glared at him, but Naru could tell by the shine in her eyes she was very close to crying.

He sat down beside her. "Would you like to know why I didn't tell you?" he asked.

Mai turned away for a second. He saw her bring her hand across her face, presumably to wipe away her tears. She turned back to him. "Yes, I would like you to tell me," she answered softly.

So he did. He told her about how he had had an identical twin brother named Eugene and how they had been orphans. They had been adopted by the Davis'. Naru was a PK- ST and had psychometry, and that Gene was a medium. Their mother did not want them to be used as test subjects for psychic research. When they were older, Naru went to college while Gene went to Japan to investigate psychic phenomena there. While in Japan he was killed in a car accident. Neither his body nor the killer were found. Naru had experienced Gene's death due to his psychometry. He left England for Japan and created the SPR in Tokyo. However, he had never found his brother's body or his killer. When he finished he looked up and was not surprised to see a tearful Mai.

"Naru, I am so sorry. I said you had never known what it feels like to die, but you saw your brother's death." The tears were now overflowing, spilling down her cheeks and onto her lap.

Mai was so sensitive, she always took other peoples pain upon herself. "It's not like you would have known," he said.

"Oh, what's psychometry?"

"If you didn't know that shouldn't you have asked earlier?" He didn't wait for her reply, but explained what psychometry was and gave her an example of it.

Mai looked down at her lap, her brows met signaling her concentration. "But things are fitting together. That time you touched the chair, we had the case where the spirits at each other, I had been wondering how you knew they played the game. You used your psychometry." Her face turned contemplative, and she subconsciously wiped away her tears. "Makato must have found out, and this is what she is blackmailing you about," she said half to herself, with a slight air of triumph. "Don't worry Naru. I won't blackmail you!" She turned to him an inculpable smile on her face. He resisted smiling back. Until then he hadn't believed in such things as "winning personalities", but there was something about her he couldn't resist.

Lin walked in then and he noted the two of them sitting on the couch together. "Naru," said in a voice she might have thought was barely audible. "Does Lin know you are Oliver?"

Naru turned away. "If he didn't already he does now." Mai blushed and turned back to her lap.

"You told her?" Lin asked harshly.

"It couldn't be helped. She heard Koneko call me that."

Lin frowned and then sighed.

"Hey!" Mai said suddenly. "Doesn't this mean the person Bou- san really admires is you?" A wide grin spread across her face, and Lin turned hiding his too. Naru simply shrugged.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading. And I would like to this time to thank all my reviewers again (I love you).

I finished watching Air and Lucky Star recently, and they were quite good. Air was very very sad, and me, being the emotional person I am, cried. A lot. Lucky Star was very cute (but totally plotless). But they have cake buffets in Japan. I am so jealous. I actually looked them up online and the nearest on to me is about two hours away (I was so devastated). Anyhows, thank you again!