Hey Guys! I'm back, and one week late. I'm sorry! I know what I'd said, but I am never making a promise like that again; I'd sectioned my break into parts to work on my story, but I never had time for the second part! There was just so much going on.

Speaking of so much going on, my school is putting on the play The King and I and I'm in the pit orchestra. Every day last week we had rehearsal after school until 7, and this week it's until 8!

Oh, and some people may not like how I made John turn out, but don't worry: he'll be just as friendly and compassionate as ever- just a bit more fun loving as well. I tried to make that seem obvious in the chapter, so hopefully you guys can tell.

But now I have my promised third part (counting Chapter 4) out and ready. So here you go!

Enjoy!

"Mai-chan."

"Jou-chan!"

"Mai-chan, wake up!"

No. Mai didn't want to wake up. Couldn't they see? She was tired and sleepy and…tired…and wanted to go back to sleep. *Yawn* Did she mention she was sleepy?

"Ayako. Bou-san. Yasu-kun. Go. Away. I'm tired and want to sleep."

"Well, Jou-chan, if you wake up, you can go to sleep on a real bed, and considering how fancy the dining room was, the beds are going to be soooooo comfy…Come on- you know you want to..."

Well, that logic was hard to argue with. It took a lot of effort on her part, but Mai slowly got up to her feet and-thankfully- was immediately supported on both sides by Bou-san and Yasu. Suddenly, Mai remembered something. Something that was going to take a lot of- *yawn*- time.

"Wait…aren't there only like five rooms? Or six?"

"Hmmm…you're right, Mai-chan. There are six rooms…Some people will have to share. Wait, guys!" Ayako suddenly yelled. "Come back! There are six rooms and…one, two, three…eight people."

She has to count? Mai thought. Ayako doesn't know how many people are in SPR? How can she not know how many people she works with?

Naru's cool voice suddenly cut through.

"Yes, so two people will have to share. Two girls and two boys. Why is that such a big deal?"

"It is a big deal, Naru, because I refuse to share with anyone, and I'm willing to bet Hara-san here doesn't want to share either." Masako hid her face behind her sleeve and spoke as if she hadn't noticed the heavy sarcasm in Ayako's statement. Maybe she hadn't, though Mai was sure she had.

"Yes. Ayako-san is correct." Ayako bristled. Bou-san and Yasu let go of Mai in order to hold her back. It took a while for her to shut up; it always does.

Yasu suddenly reappeared by Mai's side and wound an arm around her waist. Mai was too tired to stop Yasu or even to push him off of her. She leaned heavily against him, unknowingly making it seem as if they were a couple. Mai missed the slight narrowing of Naru's eyes.

"I'll share a room with Mai-chan." Yasu… She could hear the smile in his words.

"No." Naru spoke. Of course he had only said one word. Mai was too tired for this.

Why is this such a big deal? Mai blinked when she realized that she had spoken aloud, but continued anyways. "I will share a room with anyone. I. Don't. Care." She grumbled, talking through gritted teeth. Mai's eyes drooped lower and lower, and by now Mai was clinging onto Yasu- hard. Poor Yasu must have had to actually be holding her up now.

Ayako smirked. Not good. Mai's eyes suddenly widened- and the petite brunette was now quite wide awake. Oh God, she'd asked for this, didn't she?

"Well, Mai. How about you share a room with…Tomo?" Cue her waggling suggestive eyebrows.

"No," Naru stopped. Then he realized that he probably needed to expand and state his reason why. Or why not. "…He has his own room." Apparently that was reason enough for him. "This is where he lives, is it not?" Did he have to treat everyone like they were children? Mai was already blushing hard from the Tomo comment. It seemed her attraction to him had not gone unnoticed by…anyone.

"Well then…" Ayako started. "Mai-chan, how 'bout you share a room with…Naru?" Cue her waggling suggestive eyebrows. Again. Could Mai blush any harder? Apparently yes, she could. Could Ayako be any more obvious? Not at all.

And Naru…Oh forget it. He wouldn't think anything of the sentence. But everyone else would…

That, fortunately, made the over-protective Bou-san speak up. While he totally and whole-heartedly supported Mai getting together with Naru, he would not have his Jou-chan share a room unaccompanied with any male. He knew for a fact that Mai was totally safe with any SPR male, of course he did. But if she did have to share with any guy, he would rather it be with Yasu- because believe it or not, the monk actually felt better about Mai sharing with the mischievous grey-haired boy than Naru or Lin. Of course- this is all not counting John. Yasu may be creepy and he may flirt with Mai, but Bou-san knew he was a very good friend and would never let anything happen to her. Neither, for that matter, would Naru and Lin- and they had proven that fact many times now, but Takigawa's paternal instincts kicked in- hard- and he felt best when she didn't share a room with any guy- and that included himself- otherwise the monk would be a hypocrite.

"No. You guys are impossible. How about this: since no one would ever want to share with Masako, Jou-chan, you will share a room with Ayako." Then before Ayako- or Masako- could even open their mouths to complain- "Ayako- shut up. I don't want to hear it- and I know that you like sharing with Mai and I know that you know that I know that and that everybody knows that and since everyone already knows, just shut up already. No complaints." He paused. Then, almost reluctantly, he turned to the medium. "Oh, by the way: no offense, Masako."

There. Classic Bou-san: appeases everyone by either tagging a 'no offence' at the end, or saying so much that no one cares or remembers what he was even talking about in the first place.

"So that's one room over and done with. I guess I can share one with John…or better yet, John can share with Yasu."

"You know, Bou-san, I would rather share a room with you. You know I like you the most…"

"Yasu: if you could be so kind as to… Shut. Up. I would be very happy." Yasu acted like he had just been shot; he dramatically grasped his heart and sunk unceremoniously to the floor all the while yelling for his betraying lover. Bou-san's left eye began twitching and a vein became visible on his forehead. Even though he was a monk, Mai felt that Bou-san had shown an immense amount of self-control compared to any other man, but Yasu was testing Bou-san's patience and she had to intervene now- and fast. John-kun beat her to it.

"I don't mind sharing with anyone," John smiled. How could he always be so nice and caring? It was a quality Mai adored in him. "Bou-san, I can share with you or Yasu. I don't mind." Mai was really tired by now.

"John-kun, you are so nice. How about you share with Yasu and then all of our problems are solved." John grinned and nodded.

"Well, actually, there is actually just one more, teeny tiny problem that we have…" OK. That meant that we had a huge problem. Everybody sighed. No one even bothered asking; they all knew that Yasu would just tell them anyways.

"We actually have one more…person coming? Tomorrow, of course. But it's better to be prepared, yeah? And she can share with…Masako, right?"

"She? Yasu? Is this one of the girls you sometimes bring home? How can you even think of something like this right now?! I. Will. Murder. You…"

"Mai, Mai. Calm down! It's nothing like that…it's just…Wait! Who even told you that? It's not true! I never ever do that- ever! I've never done that! I mean it, Mai, nev-" OK, Mai knew that it wasn't true, and she knew that Bou-san only said it so she wouldn't tease the monk about Yasu liking him, but she was tired. She wanted to sleep.

"Yasuhara. Stop stalling. Who is coming?"

"Well…" Yasu paused. Wait. Yasu paused! Yasu never paused. Who was coming?!

"Her name might start with an M…and she may just be your former ment- Hey! Naru! Where are you going?" Naru spoke without even turning around.

"I am going to sleep, Yasuhara. In case you don't know, I will need a full night of peaceful sleep in order to face her tomorrow. Otherwise…I may just kill her. Or someone else…" Meaning Yasu.

Goodness! Naru needs to chill, Mai thought. Seriously.

Mai loved Madoka. When she was here, it was like having another older sister- one who could actually control Naru and get him to do whatever she wanted. Of course, when she was here, Naru tended to be MUCH crankier than normal. That was a downside, but it was something Mai was completely used to and could handle perfectly normally, thank you very much.

Since the sleeping arrangements were done and everyone knew where they needed to go, SPR finally dispersed and signed off for the night- except for Lin that is. Someone needed to stay in base to check up on things, and for today, it wouldn't be Naru.

It was their first night here and so much had happened already. Mai couldn't wait to see what would happen tomorrow.

And with Madoka coming, Mai just hoped that no one ended up killing someone else…

As she snuggled under her covers, the brown-haired girl smiled. Tomorrow, she knew, would be a better day. She closed her eyes and drifted slowly…off…to…slee-

Wait! Mai just thought of something. Why did Lin not seem surprised that Madoka was coming? Everyone else did…The petite girl knew that the Chinese man had a thing for Madoka- yet another Japanese he was actually nice to- and she knew he softened to the magenta- haired woman, but the fact that he knew…meant that…Oh, forget it!

Mai was too tired to think.

But tomorrow, she would get answers. And she would get them straight from the source.

While Lin and Madoka had been texting quite a lot- mostly about all things Mai and Tomo and Noll- well, mostly Madoka asking and Lin being unable to refuse answers- he had no idea that the magenta- haired woman was coming to Japan. Well, obviously, Lin knew she would be coming to Japan so as to not miss all the drama with Noll, but he had no idea it would be this soon. In fact he was almost positive that her flight wasn't for another two weeks. He could only conclude, therefore, that she had found about the whole footsie incident- no doubt Yasuhara's doing.

Lin hadn't wanted Madoka to find out about that incident quite yet, but obviously the leader of the terrible three- wait- the fearsome four now- had different plans.

The tall man groaned. It was too early for her. Madoka was too pushy and this whole drama was working great on its own. In fact, having the woman here would quite possibly make things worse.

Yes she would be needed, but not now-

Well, there was nothing to be done now. Lin just hoped he could convince the fiery, passionate, overenthusiastic woman to take things a little slower. Lin groaned again.

Easier said than done.

Ayako hated mornings. Especially mornings where sleeping-in was not an option. The priestess wanted to tell Naru what wasn't an option and where he could stuff it. But alas, the miko had to get up and going.

And while the process included a lot of unnecessary and very loud and violent yelling and hitting on many questionably innocent people, Ayako did actually manage to drag herself to base- without killing anyone. Progress!

At least there was one thing to look forward to- some Operation Jealous Naru planning with their newest secret weapon- John! The doctor figure had to say- the fact that John came to them instead of them coming to him was unexpected. A good kind of unexpected- of course! Even more unexpected, though, was him agreeing to actually be himself and let go of his friendly side- momentarily- to let some devious ideas come through. Ayako knew that John would still be friendly and relate to everyone, but she was glad that he would actually be able to contribute to the fearsome four- not three anymore!- without his emotions getting in the way.

It was a change that wouldn't make him any less friendly, and would benefit everyone- whether or not the benefits were immediate and obvious was a different matter altogether. Altogether, a win-win situation, indeed.

Ayako just couldn't get her head around the fact that this was only their second day here and that so much had happened already. Madoka was coming sometime today, so that would make things even more hectic around here, but Ayako didn't mind. She actually liked the woman- one of the few people the miko liked- and when both of them were with Mai at the same time, the petite girl was pampered beyond belief.

But she deserved it. The poor girl never let anyone see her sorrow and instead tried to cheer everyone up. Mai didn't just deserve it, she needed it.

The morning started uneventfully; Ayako and Masako went around the building sensing for any spirits or anything unusual with Mai trailing a little behind recording temperatures. There was nothing to do at this point since the spirit hadn't attacked yet. Naru needed to see the entire process- especially the healing- before he could determine a course of action.

So back in base, around lunch time, the fearsome four got together and started planning.

"So…John. Welcome." The monk smiled. "You have no idea how good that feels to say."

"I do." Ayako smirked; she did. It was great feeling- one full of hope for success.

"Actually, guys, it feels so good to hear that. I'm so glad to be here." John was practically beaming. This really must mean a lot to him, Ayako thought. He'll really be a great help to us-

"OK people. John: I'm really glad you're here, but now let's get down to business. So, the first topic we need to address is-" Ayako interrupted him.

"Sorry Yasu, but I want to talk about what happened last night, first." Seeing the "leader's" okay, Ayako continued. "Soooo, did you guys notice that yesterday Naru never denied wanting to share a room with Mai! And he didn't refuse the offer either! Of course, if I had brought that up, he would've just been like-"

"I was fully aware that Bou-san would interfere and say no to the suggestion, so there really was no logical point to even dignify that with a response." Yasu finished his perfect imitation of Naru. Everyone clapped, capturing the unwanted attention of everyone in the room.

Thankfully, neither Mai nor Naru seemed to notice any differences in the terrible trio. It was vital for everyone to continue to believe they still were the terrible threesome- John was their secret weapon. It may be counter-productive having the priest sitting with the trio in base with everyone watching them, but Ayako was sure they could think of some excuse to explain why he was there. No one besides Lin needed to know…

"And did you see Jou-chan? She was blushing so hard! This is progress, guys!" While Bou-san was talking, Ayako suddenly had a thought that swept the smile clean off of her face.

"Hey…guys. What if Mai really ends up falling in love with Tomo? Wait- stop. I know what you're going to say, blah blah blah, she loves Naru, but think about it. It could happen."

For a minute, all four of them were quiet. Then John spoke up.

"Well, we just won't let that happen, right. We're doing this to bring Mai and Naru together. Mai falling for the wrong boy isn't an option." Everyone cheered; truly John, that was the spirit.

Everything was going perfectly.

Yasu couldn't believe it, and some thought in the back of his head knew that when things happened this according to plan, something was wrong. The grey-haired boy wasn't quite sure what would go wrong, and for now he chose not to worry about it. For now he chose to cheer with the rest of his group- John was right.

So the fearsome four planned and planned. Or at least they tried to.

No one got anywhere, because they were too busy gossiping and teasing each other. Which, Yasu was happy to say, John at least tried doing. He was still friendly, but much more fun to be around. For example:

"Hey Bou-san. Before you call Ayako old, you should remember that you are older than her…"

"Hah ha! You old man. Calling me an old hag, just makes you older than I am!" Needless to say, things didn't end well for Bou-san.

Of course, that meant that things didn't end well for Ayako- and in turn John. Poor guy finally got into a fight with the old couple- one that included a lot of ducking, evading, avoiding, bruises, and the cause of it all, large purses. Or maybe the cause was the crazy woman, wielding the purse.

At the end, when Bou-san was crying about his bruises and injuries, John was actually laughing. The poor guy had had a lot of fun, and at the end, he gave Ayako and Bou-san each a long hug. Then he brought them both together and gave them both a group hug. Wow.

Yasu had to hand it to him. Not only did the priest have fun, but he got everyone together in the end. Bou-san apologized, but most surprisingly, Ayako did too. And then the old couple was actually in a good mood- with each other and everyone else.

Maybe John knew magic?

Maybe he was a sorcerer?

Whatever it was, John was a miracle worker. Someone who could get Ayako and Takigawa to apologize to each other and be friendly to each other was unheard of. Even Mai couldn't do that. And both of them loved Mai- though Yasu still wasn't sure if it was like older siblings, or as parent figures.

In fact, when they weren't fighting, Yasu had to say that they were good to each other- and that they looked good together. Hmm…Yasu smirked, his mind already flooded with brilliant ideas. Maybe some more matchmaking on the side? With John's help, that would be easy. And if these results meant anything at all, Mai and Naru would be together in no time.

So Yasu did the only sensible thing: he pulled the four of them back in a group hug, and turned it into a group huddle. And finally, the Fearsome Four planned.

Just Before Lunch

With lunch break nearing, it was time to put their plan to the test. John had contributed a lot, and he had very good ideas, Yasu had to say, but the priest had softened them all. That wouldn't do at all. So the original trio changed the plan to where it would work…and now it was ready.

The first part in itself had been kind of a failure. The four had counted on everyone coming to the dining room to have lunch- where hopefully a repeat of last night's dinner would occur, but Naru refused to go. Usually it was Lin who stayed back, but today Naru insisted.

Hmmm…Yasu knew just what to do. He sidled up to Mai and snaked an arm around her waist.

"Oh, Mai-chan! It'll just be the two of us. How romantic!" Mai shot daggers at Yasu, but couldn't resist a small smile coming to her face at the obviously blatant and exaggerated fake flirting.

Suddenly, Ayako pulled Mai away from Yasu. Yes! She was carrying out the backup plan perfectly! Of course, this was all the more impressive as there was no backup plan- note to self, have backup plans ready- but that could be taken care of easily at the next meeting.

"No, Mai-chan. Stay away from that creep. He just wants you to get to Takigawa!" Hmm…Yasu would take it if it meant getting Naru in the dining room. Ayako slowly, as if she had no idea what she was doing and where she was going, dragged Mai near Naru. "He was right about one thing, though; it will be very romantic." Ayako sighed dreamily; Yasu grinned secretly. "Mai and Tomo, Tomo and Mai. How perfect. We'll be sure to give you the privacy you need, of cour-"

"AYAKO!" Mai was so red, her face resembled a…tomato? Nope… darker. She was blushing so hard, it had to hurt. The miko just smiled. Gosh darn, why wasn't she an actress? Yasu thought.

"Well, Mai, you know it's tr-ue." The miko's voice had gotten high-pitched and sing-songy at the end. It was clear she was teasing Mai. The poor girl ran out of the room and leaned against the wall outside of base, before running all the way to the dining room. Yasu gleefully watched Naru as he surreptitiously observed Mai run out of the room out of the corner of his eye, and watched her still- running to the dining room- on the cameras. Now all Ayako needed to do push Naru's last button, and he'd be up running to the dining room himself.

"Well, Mai-chan can deny it all she wants, but she is crazy for the guy. Lucky man, huh?" She turned to Yasu. Oh, thank you, Ayako! After being the star of the show, she gave the last line- the game changer- to him.

"Yes, absolutely. Well, how about all of us just eat lunch in here. Leave those two together for even a minute and they'll be-" Yasu stopped.

Naru was already gone.

So hope you guys enjoyed that.

Please, READ AND REVIEW! And thank you to everyone who did. It means a lot and makes me feel so happy inside!

As always, suggestions are welcome. Thank you!