Author's Note: Thank you so much for the positive feedback everyone; I'll try not to be devastated if I don't meet up to expectations (and hopefully you will too). Every follow, favorite, and review has meant the world. Please enjoy the next part.

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Resonance

Part II

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The monitor flickered, a streak of static spiking over the screen before everything normalized. John leaned over the table, brow furrowed, "Oh my, what was that?"

Naru watched the feed and rewound before shaking his head, "I'm not certain. But the temperature readings show no congruent drop, usually indicating a spirit."

The young priest looked thoughtful, "Didn't the homeowner say something about the second floor and how she'd hear static every time before something sounded like it fell from—"

"The stairs," Naru finished, annoyed at having missed that information. Clearly, it was happening in a different room.

He was already walking out of base at the realization, the priest closely behind him. Thankfully, the house wasn't exceptionally large and they were at the bottom of the grand staircase in seconds. Just as they reached the landing, they were interrupted by the slamming open of a door.

"Don't move!"

For a moment Naru imagined the words coming from his own mouth but there were yelled from a voice above them: Mai leaning over the railing of the stairs, head shaking back and forth. "Hold on—I have this."

"What are you doing?" Naru demanded. He spotted Lin coming into the hallway and shot his assistant a look. Lin nodded his understanding, his shiki at the ready. Naru turned his attention back to Mai as she appeared to be having a conversation with something he couldn't see—the spirit, most likely.

She turned back to them, signaling reassurance with a raised hand. "Really, Naru," she said as Masako appeared behind her, eyes wide as she withdrew her casted foot and stilled behind Mai. Naru tensed. He'd told Masako not to go anywhere without Takigawa, who didn't appear to be anywhere in the vicinity. In her condition, the last thing they needed was for her to be left unattended in a haunted house. Or with the ever-impulsive Mai.

"Is that…?" the medium's voice sounded above the banging that had started on the stairs. Lin and Naru exchanged glances and the Chinese man shook his head slightly, indicating that there was nothing he could see.

"Yes. But he's ready to leave," Mai said, answering Masako's question. Louder, she said, "John-san, Naru, just give me a moment."

"What is going on?"

Naru felt John's hand on his arm and realized he'd been about to move up the stairs and took stock of himself. Absently, he wondered when his employees had started to listen to Mai's directives.

Before he had time to charge away from the priest's grasp, a bright white glow overtook the second floor landing, illuminating Mai's crouched pose and Masako's wide eyes. Just as suddenly, the light was gone and the young brunette straightened and expelled an exaggerated breath of air. She grinned before offering Masako her arm, leading the medium down the stairs as quickly as her cast would allow.

Naru drew his mouth into a tight line, refusing to say anything until she explained herself. Mai caught his glare and gave one of her own before helping the medium the rest of the way to the foyer. Masako slowly made her way forward, "Don't be angry at Mai, Naru. She was only trying to put the boy to rest after he appeared."

Naru shot the dark-haired woman a look, turning back to his stubborn assistant, "And when did you figure the spirit was a boy? The last homeowner's son, I take it?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Mai said, her own arms crossed, "I'd just pieced it together when he showed up—I had a vision."

"And you couldn't inform one of us?" Naru wasn't entirely sure why he felt as angry as he did, but he supposed that he didn't like her insubordinate attitude. Or that she seemed completely dismissive of the danger she'd put them in.

"I didn't want to leave him," Mai defended, "And I wasn't going to let Masako go wandering with a broken leg. Besides, I would have yelled if I needed help—"

"How reassuring," Naru sneered, "And need I remind you that you caused that broken leg on our last exorcism?"

Mai's face was red, "That's not true and you know it. It was an accident. I couldn't have predicted that water had filled up the hallway—"

"But you did lead the charge after the ghost, without warning I might add—"

"I was closest! I didn't think—"

"That's not news."

"Davis-san," John interrupted gently and the young man was forced to remind himself that they had an audience, "Can we have this conversation elsewhere? I believe that the homeowners are coming now."

Naru looked at the medium and then Lin, who was frowning slightly, and gave a dismissive nod, "It's fine. We'll resume this later. Go find Matsuzaki and Takigawa."

John gave him a small smile before exiting with Masako, Lin soon following.

"Can we talk?"

Naru brought his attention back to the brunette and tried not to show his caustic feelings; he had not meant to engage in such a childish back and forth and fought to control his temper. He walked to the adjacent room and waited for Mai to follow him, which she did soundlessly.

"Naru?" she said when he didn't speak and Naru turned to looked at her. "I'm sorry," Mai said softly, "I know you don't want to be left out of the loop and I promise to—"

Naru raised his eyebrow, "You think this is about wanting to be in charge?" He pushed aside the fact that he'd used the same explanation to himself mere moments before.

"And I'm sorry for compromising Masako's safety—and mine," Mai added. She looked sincere and contrite and Naru knew he should leave it at that. It didn't make sense to feel agitated. They've been doing this for years, and every one of his employees had messed up or compromised their safety at some point or other. It was just that lately he'd been more aware of Ma—of Mai's blunders.

He regarded her: she'd snaked a hand to her elbow, her feet shuffling from side to side and Naru recognized it for the nervous gesture it was. She was barelegged again and he could see two brightly cartooned bandages on her pale shins. The sight was amus—childish, he corrected quickly. Ridiculous.

"That spirit could have been violent," he said, recovering his momentary lapse, "You shouldn't be "handling" this without articulating your deductions first."

"But…" Mai bit her lip, seemingly struggling with something.

Naru frowned, "What is it?"

"But I did know," she said carefully. She stopped and looked at him in earnest, "I mean, I don't know how, but even before the vision I could just sense he was…good. Not violent."

The statement took him by surprise and Naru scrutinized her for a moment, considering her words. "You mean you could read the spirit?"

Mai nodded slowly, "I…I guess. There was just nothing…off about him. He was healthy—good."

So she was a reader. Of course, it made sense, given her ability to intuit emotions, even her occasional telepathic capabilities. Still, to have this just develop—

The scientist narrowed his eyes, "How long have you been able to do this?"

He could see her hesitation. "Er…in a way? Always," she said, "I just didn't really think about it before. I just did it. I didn't know it was, you know, psychic."

Naru felt that anger again, but it wasn't directed at her this time. Regarding Mai's slightly weary posture, the way her eye-lashes cast a shadow on her cheeks as she looked away, made her look so young that he was thrown back in time. In his mind's eye he saw Gene and himself in the orphanage, budding and unsure of their powers, isolated and chastised for doing that which they had no control over. There had been no one to help or explain anything before Martin and Luella adopted them…and here he was—had been—able, but uncommunicative with someone who was in a similar position.

That'd not true, Naru tried to defend: he'd tried to once and she'd refused. But—she'd come back to SPR after that, her burgeoning powers evident to everyone, himself included, and he'd concretely avoided getting involved. Had not wanted that distraction, he supposed, or perhaps…. Naru forced himself to stop analyzing it further. That kind of thinking was not productive; the past was that, past.

Mai was still waiting for his response. "I think testing needs to start as soon as possible," he said.

Mai's eyes widened, "I thought you wouldn't have the equipment for at least another month…"

"There are other tests," he said, "Ones involving your clairvoyance and telepathic abilities. We'll start next week."

She nodded and looked pleased, a relieved breath escaping her. Naru found her enthusiasm unfortunate. "It might be difficult for you. It requires a lot of scrutiny, and a lot of will."

Mai simply shrugged,"I figured. I'm not afraid of some work."

Naru remembered his own testing—the white coats and sterile labs and electrodes. He also remembered the objectification; only Gene's presence had comforted him during those early years in the facilities.

With a sigh, Naru suppressed the thought and let his eyes slip from their direct contact with Mai's. If he was going to do this, he'd have to start thinking of her as a subject instead of…well, he'd just have to be much more objective. It would be good for all of them, he concluded, if he refrained from this recent involvement into subjective reaction. He was straying dangerously from the established pattern of things, the scientific approach was necessary to regain his mental faculties.

Naru found himself nodding, voice clinical. "That's good."

…

...

"Alright, final card."

He could almost imagine her nod, "Okay."

There was a long silence as he focused his attention on the slip in front of him. After a moment Naru heard a sigh and he could picture the brunette leaning back in her seat as she stared at the ceiling in frustration. When he turned he was gratified with the exact pose he'd predicted, save that real Mai seemed much wearier in the dim light of the office. When she noticed him standing she met his eyes, extending the answer sheet to him, "I don't think it's working."

Naru took the paper and looked over the slanted writing carefully. After a minute he nodded, "Reading this, one would assume you're about as psychic as a cucumber."

"Naru," Mai growled and Naru found himself looking at her throat for a half second, the sound oddly hypnotic—he frowned. So she'd made a growl, he thought, it only proved his animal comparisons.

Startled by what she assumed was a reaction to her mind-reading performance, Mai shot up from her seat, apologetic, "Sorry, I know it's probably annoying and a waste of time that I can't do it. We can try again if you—"

"Stop," he said, taking a step away from her fumbling words, "The test might not account for something, or your abilities could perhaps work differently than those of other psychics. The use of Zener cards has, in fact, never been a very supported means of gauging telepathy." He looked up again, "How do you usually read thoughts?"

Mai bit her lip, "I really don't know. So much of the time it just…happens."

Naru leaned against his desk, crossing his arms, "You must stop considering things as you know them or have done them prior to this." He paused, "Think instead as a researcher looking over your past experiences as individuated occurrences: what do you notice? What comes to mind? We can establish pattern and testing from there."

Mai was nodding, sitting back down in her seat with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well," she said, "I usually hear…thoughts…when I'm close to the person."

Naru straightened, "You mean physically? There have been reports of psychics needing to touch the person in order to forge connections…of course, this is often discredited as muscle reading." He paused at Mai's confused look and explained, "It's a manner of reading a person by the signals they give off physically, first shown by Washington Bishop in the late 19th century. It's akin to a high level of body language observation."

Naru paused, "However, my phsychometry works with objects handled by the subject, after all. I can only see what they do if I have physical contact with an item."

Mai looked at him intensely for a moment and he realized this was the first time he'd shared anything about his abilities directly with her. She didn't seem surprised and Naru surmised that much of her knowledge of…him…came either from observation or others, perhaps Lin or Gene in the past. "I don't know," she coughed, bringing his focus back to the conversation, "I do have to be nearby, usually no more than a few feet. But I don't know if…touch…helps."

Naru nodded, "That should be something we consider then."

Mai was looking at him, her brow slightly furrowed, "There's something else. In the past I'd have to be…" she paused, hand to her forehead, "I don't know how to describe it; on the same wavelength with someone?"

Naru looked at her, interested, "How do you mean?"

"Er," Mai sighed. She got up and walked to the window, frustration heavy in her tone, "I guess I had to be in the right mood—their mood? Almost like, I was feeling and thinking the same things they were." She brushed her hair behind her ear and looked at him, "Like, I once read Ayako during our first case and it was because both of us were afraid and tense and in the same situation. And another time I knew Masako's thoughts when we were in a fight and I heard her think, 'She doesn't even know how good she has it' and I'd had a similar feeling a few minutes before…" Mai stopped and seemed to be waiting for his response.

"Wavelength." He hadn't even realized he'd said it aloud until he saw Mai's confused expression. "That's good thinking," he said, retrieving his computer and typing in the information, "When you'd read mine in the car you must have been feeling…saddened or perhaps reading the tension of the 'room' so to speak…" He was talking to himself somewhat absently as he dwelled on this new information, "A level of intuition that perhaps matches itself to emotional chemicals excreted by the body? Akin to animals sensing fear or danger in others. Not a terrible hypothesis, given her ability to intuit. Intuitive telepathy perhaps, retrocognative certainly, maybe even emotive…"

As he continued writing he didn't notice that Mai had stepped very near him until she spoke, "I read you?"

Naru looked at her, his writing momentarily suspended. Mai's eyes were staring at him intently, one hand back to rubbing her forearm. Her pale arms were inches away from touching his side; he could see the white of her knuckles and the slightly pinked flesh of her fingers. She was stiff and seemed to be struggling with something.

"Yes," he confirmed, unusually distracted, "When you knew the difficulty of not using my PK. The night I drove you home."

Mai's lips parted slowly, "I didn't…I didn't think I could read you."

Naru set his laptop on the desk and stepped away from her, trying to clear his head. She seemed to be taking something from his words that he was not aware of. Naru wasn't used to feeling out of the loop and tried to think about what could possibly be affecting her, replaying their earlier conversation, "Why would you not be able to?"

Her face was oddly pink when she mumbled, "Just it's…you. Your mind works differently than other people's. You're just, well, brilliant." Naru blinked, unused to such offhand praise from her. Mai blushed even harder, "I just never thought I could ever…understand any of the things you did or feel even slightly like…uh, sorry. I don't know what I'm saying."

Her agitation seemed to have spread to her fingers which here, once again, tapping out something on her thighs. For some reason, Naru wanted to correct her, tell her that despite his claims to the contrary, she was not so unlike him. That, in fact, sometimes he did wonder if she understood better than she knew. But then he looked away and dismissed the unusual sentimentality as quickly as it had occurred. His preoccupation with the new hypothesis must be discombobulating him.

Presently, Naru watched as Mai seemed to collect her thoughts, stumbling slightly as she distanced herself from his desk, "It doesn't matter. I'll let you get back to your writing now. We can test again next week." Her eyes widened as she seemed to realize that she was already at the door, the handle at her back. She gave him a weak smile, "Uh, thank you for all your help."

With another quick goodnight she was out of the room and then out of the office, the echo of the door still vibrating in the front hall. Naru stared at the vacated space for several seconds, his mind uncertain and his chest oddly tight. It unsettled him that after years of dealing with the supernatural, this might be the most inexplicable encounter he'd had.

…

...

"Well, that was the most disgusting exorcism to date."

"Oh, I don't know Yasu," Takigawa said thoughtfully, wiping swamp water from his face, "I seem to remember that one on the farm, with the earthquake—animal scat everywhere."

"Oh lovely," Akako muttered, "Excrement talk again." She called out to Mai, who was walking ahead of them with Lin and carrying bags that looked far too heavy for her, "Wait up."

"I would," Mai said, glancing at her as they made their way through the muddy forest, "But I just want to get back as soon as possible and shower."

Ayako grunted her agreement, picking at her now-brown shirt, "Lucky Masako gets to miss this."

Mai smiled ruefully, darting a look at Naru ahead of them, "I think she ducked out beforehand for that very reason."

The miko's eyes widened, "How did she know it would be…this gross?"

Mai looked away, cheeks pink, "Er…"

Ayako scowled, "You had a vision, didn't you?" Neither seemed to notice their boss slowing his pace.

"Yeah," Mai sounded abashed, "It was just a short visual when the client came to the office but Masako all but scrambled away after I told her."

"Coward," the shrine maiden said, shaking her head.

Yasuhara caught up to them, gleaning off his glasses, "I don't know about you guys, but I could use a drink."

Ayako gave a nod, "Now that you mention it. It has been a pretty crap week."

"Yeah, I'm in," Monk said, "What do you say, Lin? Boss?"

Lin surprised them by giving a slight nod of assent...until Mai noticed that his entire front seemed to be soaked with what looked like liquid sludge; his shiki had done a lot of the work. Naru stood a little bit away from them, about to give a scathing response, but Mai's voice interrupted him.

"You guys wouldn't mind if I brought Kauro, would you?"

"Not at all," Yasu said with a grin, "Been dying finish that conversation I started with him last time—"

"Don't you dare!" Mai scowled and Naru was once again paying far more attention to his employees than he wanted to. Quieter, Mai said, "You know he's not really into the supernatural stuff that we are…"

Everyone exchanged looks at Mai's words and Naru felt an overwhelming urge to say something. Thankfully, Yasuhara's inquisitiveness prevented him from having to.

"'Supernatural stuff'?" Yasu said, "He knows you're an investigator, right? He was a client of ours when you met him. How could he not be 'into supernatural stuff'?"

Mai staunchly avoided their eyes, "Well, I mean, he's just skeptical. And," her face flushed, "he, er, just thinks I'm an assistant. Like a secretary. I told him about my abilities but I think he thinks I'm exaggerating."

There was a silence and it took a moment for Naru to realize it was because everyone, save for Mai, was looking at him expectantly. Naru frowned and kept his face forward as they walked; what did they expect him to say? It was not his problem that Mai's taste in men left a lot to be desired.

Exasperated, Ayako gave him a look before turning to Mai, "He shouldn't be so dismissive of your abilities, you know."

Mai shrugged and kept walking, "It's not a big deal—we never really talk about it anyway. I don't ask about his job and does the same." She grinned, "Now come on, I can smell Monk's stink from here."

"Hey! Have some respect for your betters!"

Ayako took Mai's hint and directed her attention to Takigawa as they walked, "You mean elders, not betters, right?"

"You should talk."

"Why you insufferable, annoy—"

Mai smiled and worked to keep up with her friends, promising herself to thank Ayako later for letting the conversation go. Her thoughts were interrupted by something in her periphery and Mai turned only to find Naru walking next to her. She opened her mouth to say something, perhaps about his stealth, but he beat her to it.

"Give me a bag."

Her mouth dropped open as if to speak, but when she didn't respond, Naru grabbed a strap from her shoulder, settling it on his own. Wordlessly he passed on ahead, leaving a still-gaping Mai wondering at his unusually kind gesture.

…

...

Oliver Davis was not easily deterred from self-created schedules, which he considered, above all, the proper exercising of mental acuity. It was something that needed to be trained and developed; he had not gotten a doctorate at seventeen by letting his brain stay complacent and sedentary, after all.

It's just that he felt slightly off kilter lately…he hated even describing it as such. Naru detested unspecific wording, hated discussing subjective feelings and vague supposition. He watched his cursor blinking on the screen. His fingers would not move.

Somewhere, somehow, the almost imperceptible momentum he'd established for himself was changing. Some obstruction was there, was throwing him off his preconceived course.

More than a little annoyed at his sudden lapse into inane metaphor, Naru stood and walked out of his office and into Lin's.

"I'm going out," he said without preamble.

The tall man looked at him, bewildered, "It's Sunday."

"Yes."

"You detest weekend commotion in Shibuya."

"Yes," Naru sighed, "I can't work."

Lin's eyes widened imperceptibly and Naru hated the admittance and that he was causing Lin to have to wonder at his behavior. He turned back around and walked to the door before he regretted his impulse, "I trust I can go unescorted?"

Lin nodded absently, before realizing Naru couldn't see it, "Yes." As an afterthought he added, "Have fun." It wouldn't do, after all, not to press on the absurdity of Noll's actions.

A growl accompanied the slamming of the door.

…

...

She was there.

Of course she was there.

Weekends in the city were made for daft girls in good spirits to flit about and giggle and shop or whatever they did. She did not look out of place there either, watching the passerby's: Mai was created for this scene…her yellow dress bright as the sun, shopping bags at her feet, air of amusement around her like incandescent light. Colorfully dressed people were milling around her, music was playing somewhere at the end of the street, commotion and laughter everywhere: everything was so trivial…and so completely in place with her standing there.

It was in direct opposition to Naru, sullen and dark some distance away. The summer heat hung around him oppressively, searing into his dark clothes, whereas she seemed to be basking in some current that was rearranging her hair and the hemline of her daffodil skirt. She was scanning the crowd, pale neck extended as she sought whatever it was that occupied her mind. Waiting, no doubt, on the boyfriend to meet her, perhaps for ice-cream or one of the recent blunders that passed as popular cinema nowadays.

Un-beckoned, a scowl fixed itself on Naru's face as a rush of anger overwhelmed him.

He watched her smile at a nearby child waving a hand and suddenly he had the urge to go to her and shake her—demand to know why she had to be so silly and carefree. How she could just exist in the world, so full of unpleasant things and not let it get to her? How could she be so recklessly bright and determined in the face of these ridiculous social mores? And why would she ever choose the unhappy fate of death and possession and ghosts when she could have the bliss and pleasure of this…where he had never belonged but she was more than suited for?

Unheeded, Naru's mind continued the logical progression of his agitated inquiry: why choose his life when she had every advantage of spirit and nerve to live out the rest of her days with others whom she could joke and dance and love in the excessive and demonstrative way that she sought?

Alarmed at the progression of his thoughts, Naru realized that he'd overstepped mental boundaries that he'd erected for a reason. They were there to never feel self-pity or to wish on a way of being that was, to him, as inaccessible as a bear wanting to be a moth. He liked himself, he liked his routine, Naru insisted.

Then why do you hate her for hers?

Naru was, if nothing else, an uncompromisingly logical person, and in that illuminated instance he had no choice but to be reasonable in the face of his epiphany: hatred was a sign of envy, of dissatisfaction. Hatred meant quite, quite the opposite.

Across the city square, wide brown eyes chose that very moment to meet his own and Naru felt shock akin to being drenched in cold water. He wasn't sure if was from his realization or from the recognition in Mai's eyes, but he had never felt less in control of the firm grip he usually had on his emotions. Because, in that moment, Naru felt what could only be described as his heart stuttering in his chest. Their eyes held.

Something alien but familiar slipped itself into his mind and he heard Mai's voice clearly in his consciousness, full of concern and wonder: Naru?

Without a second glance, Naru turned and retreated into the crowd.

...

tbc...