Shellsan: So I'm back… finally

Mai: You should give up on common updates

Naru: She's just too lazy

Shellsan: *pouts* I'm trying! I had to go away and then school was really busy and then that stupid cyclone…

Naru: Excuses

Shellsan: I'm sorry! At least I've got this done though ne?

Mai: *agrees* We hope you enjoy!

At first Mai didn't mind that she was stuck with Lin and Naru. In fact she was enjoying the abnormal and most definitely short lived peace that she was getting. But when the ride reached just over an hour she found herself getting increasingly bored.

Looking around the van she tried to find something to entertain her before she went insane from boredom. Spotting Lin's shiki she grinned slightly and began making small movements with her hands to try and get Min's attention. Instead all she got was a glare from Lin telling her not to distract his shiki and to stop being so irritating.

Pouting she leaned back again her chair carefully so that she didn't hinder her injuries. She was quite used to pain at this point but she could still feel a dull ache in her limbs and the burning of her back. It wasn't all too strong but it was still enough to keep her from falling asleep.

"Naaaaaruuuuu." She whined. When he ignored her she turned to Lin. "Lin. Naru won't speak to me." She complained.

It was childish, she knew that before she even said it but she couldn't help but feel as though this could quell her boredom.

The response she got from Lin was a roll of the eyes and another warning look. Crossing her arms she began to kick at the back of Naru's seat.

From where he was sitting Naru was finding it increasingly difficult to merely ignore the presence of his ex-assistant. But he didn't want to encourage her either. Sighing quietly he tried to focus on his book in the hopes that she would stop.

It became clear that this wasn't an option as she began to increase the force that she was kicking the chair with. Honestly it was becoming more then a little irritating.

"What do you want Mai." He snapped finally.

Grinning in victory Mai made a mental note of how long Naru lasted and filed it away for later dwellings. "I'm bored. Entertain me." She demanded.

The narcissist's fingers moved to the bridge of his nose purely out of habit and he began to rub at it to stave off the oncoming headache. "With what Mai? Read a book or something." He suggested.

Eyes lighting up, she sat up a little straighter. "Do you have any other books in the van?" She asked excitedly. Despite the fact that she had tones of books at home on various parts of parapsychology she was interested in finding out more and no doubt the best way to do that would be to read some of Naru's books.

With a roll of his eyes, Naru reached into the side of the van and pulled out a couple different books. With a quick glance at the titles he handed the one with the words "Appearances can be deceiving." It was about the different ways spirits could conceal themselves and their intentions.

As soon as Mai opened the book she was engrossed in the pages leaving both Lin and Naru to sigh in relief. Neither were sure they could handle Mai much longer in her current mood.

Even after she was caught up in the book however, it seemed as though the ride would last forever. The silence had begun to bug Mai again and she was muttering things under her breath. Luckily, it wasn't long after that the huge gates that signalled the Davis' Mansion.

Snapping her book closed she held it out to Naru. Glancing back at her he smirked. "Keep it for now and finish it. Maybe you'll actually learn something."

She tried to be angry at him for the comment but she couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips. "Stupid narcissist." She grumbled half-heartedly, a feeling of warmth spreading through her chest. As much as she hated to admit it – despite all this time her irritable feelings hadn't wavered all that much. There was a short period of time when she fell for another guy but that was another story entirely. As soon as Naru had gotten back the feelings she had thought had disappeared appeared once more. If she were honest with herself this made her mad. Why did she have to still cling to the one guy who had turned her down?

Naru ignored her – and the knowing look he was being given from Lin – with ease.

As soon as the van was parked, Mai opened the door and grinned as she stretched. "Ah." She sighed happily as her muscles shifted back into place, a couple cracking.

Rolling his eyes, her ex-boss was already at the top of the stairs. "Are you going to stand there all day?" He demanded, motioning for her to follow him.

Lin was already way ahead of them, holding the door open as he waited for the two of them to follow.

Nodding at Naru she walked up the stairs, still amazed at how big his place was. "I still don't understand why you need such a large house." She muttered. It was almost definite that she'd get lost in there at one point or another.

Seemingly thinking the same thing Naru sighed. "Just try not to stray from anywhere you already know how to reach. I don't need to spend all day trying to find you." He dismissed.

Narrowing her eyes at him she huffed. "I'll try not to get lost and make your days worse."

Walking up to him she stopped and waited for him and Lin too show her where she was going to. Before Naru could tell her what was happening now though Mai turned to see blonde hair before Naru was being pulled into a hug with Luella.

Smiling a little at them, Mai could feel a pang of sadness. She could faintly remember the feel of a loving mother's embrace. But it had still been a long time.

With little effort Naru weave out of his mother's arms, a scowl set on his face. "Mother, what did you need?" He asked with an irritated look. He loved his mother but sometimes she was just too much to handle.

Blinking a little she let out a little "Oh".

With a grin she turned to Mai and Lin. Lin was keeping a stoic face but everyone's favourite brunette was giggling quietly. Shooting her a glare Naru sighed. "Mother." He reminded.

Turning to Naru she grinned. "Yes, yes. I heard you the first time Noll. Your father wants you and the team to come for tea in the lounge now that your back. Speaking of which where is everyone else? I wanted to speak with Madoka." She rambled quickly.

It took Mai a moment to translate what she had said because the woman had been speaking much faster then she could keep up with.

"Madoka and the others will be here shortly." Lin supplied, "They had to stop and pick up some fuel on the way here."

Nodding a little Luella didn't falter. "Well then you lot can come in and have some tea with Martin."

For a moment Mai swore she saw Naru glance at her with a longing look and nearly laughed. He'd missed her tea – clearly. Of course that was to be expected when he had it every day.

When Luella began walking the petite girl didn't even think before following her, nearly collapsing as she walked in and was flooded by the emotions. Gasping silently she tried to school her features back into their previous smile but found it harder than intended. It wasn't that she wasn't used to this – well to be honest she wasn't, she could never get used to feeling the emotions of others so strongly- but the emotions within the Davis mansion were much stronger than many of the places she had entered before.

Turning to Mai, Naru gave her an indescribable look. "Are you alright?" He asked carefully. For a moment she almost thought he looked worried but that couldn't have been it. Naru doesn't show his emotions that easily. But she could've sworn…

Shaking the images from her mind she tried not to think about it too much. She couldn't read too much into things –she'd only end up heart-broken again.

"It's nothing." Mai replied easily, ignoring the feeling of weight that was actually hanging upon her. She'd just have to endure it for now. Later tonight she could get away and have a break.

Following them once more she watched as they made they turned to the side, heading away from the steps in the middle of the room. As they walked down the hall to the right Mai couldn't help but admire the artwork that was hung.

She'd never known much about art but it was clear that whoever decorated knew a thing or two. Most likely Luella she decided without another thought. The professor and Naru definitely had nothing to do with it.

Finally they entered a large well, furnished room. It was considerably different to the living room they'd relaxed in the other night. There was a large L-shaped white couch sitting close to the middle, a couple recliners and one two-person seat. In the centre was an oak wood coffee table. There was already a tray with a teapot and cups placed there with sugar and milk.

It took her a moment before she realised that Professor Davis was sitting on the two-person seat with a cup of tea and a newspaper.

"Ah, Oliver. Lin. Miss Taniyama." He nodded at them with. Lin nodded back and took a seat in one of the recliners. Luella took a seat next to her husband and Naru sat in the other recliner.

It appeared to be one of the usual arrangements and you couldn't help but feel a little out of place in the room. It felt off to be intruding on their space.

Noticing my discomfort a little Luella motioned towards the L-shaped couch. "Take a seat dear. Would you like some tea?" She inquired.

Mai blinked. "Oh no, I can get my own." She insisted, trying to reach for the pot.

"Nonsense." Luella gently pushed her hand away. "You're a guest in this house. It'd hardly be fair to do this."

The professor appeared to agree.

Sighing in defeat, Mai sat back into the seat. "One sugar and a little milk please." She requested quietly.

Smiling widely the woman nodded. "Alright."

It barely took her a moment before she was handing Mai the tea.

Thanking her, the brunette took a sip. Even she had to admit that it wasn't quite like her own –not that it was bad. In fact it was quite good. But she'd become used to the tea's back at her store.

Naru looked over at her with hard eyes. "I believe you owe me some explanation. We should hardly be getting back from that case so early on."

Gulping slightly Mai, leaned forward so that she didn't irritate the cuts on her back anymore.

"I know… I'm sorry." She apologised, staring into her teacup with a guilty look. "I didn't want to worry you guys but I had to do something. If I hadn't then maybe Megan would have been injured ever worse, or dead. I couldn't bear the thought of that happening and so I acted recklessly. I will explain everything though – I promise that what I did will have its merits."

Martin looked over at Mai with a curious look. "What did you do?" He inquired, confused as to what was going on. He couldn't understand what she'd done because clearly he hadn't been there and the report wasn't written. It was an irritating feeling to not know what had happened and from the looks this girl was being given from Lin and Noll alike it was definitely something he should be interested in.

Shaking her head, Mai smiled at him. "I'll explain it all as soon as everyone else gets here. Yasu knows some of the stuff that'll help make things more understandable and the others didn't know about this particular… ability per say so I'd much rather kill two birds with one stone." She continued nervously.

It was a risk asking Naru and Lin to wait even longer – she knew that already. But she couldn't help but want to stall for more time – not to mention it hadn't been a lie. The others had yet to learn of some of the things she was planning on trying out. Of course Yasu had known about it but that was another story entirely.

Naru nodded in acceptance. "Fine but we will talk about this." He admonished.

He'd been watching her carefully even since he'd seen something happen with her earlier. There was definitely more to her powers then she was letting and he doubted she'd tell them anymore than necessary. It probably had something to do with the fact that all of her abilities seemed to be dangerous towards herself.

It was honestly very amazing that her powers escalated this much over a simple year. Which brought him to another question. How was Mai going into parapsychology for the next schooling year which would begin in a few weeks?

He was sure she'd only been a first year student when he left so that would mean she should still have another year of schooling after this one.

Mai was about to say something back to him when they heard loud talking – or rather shouting on Ayako's part.

Naru rolled his eyes at the familiar noise of arguing in Japanese.

It was then that he realised something. Throughout the case… Ayako and Bou-san had been speaking English.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure out how. It'd been made very clear towards the beginning of their arrival that neither of them were able to communicate in English so when had that changed? It didn't make sense for things like that to happen.

Looking over at Mai it appeared as though she knew what was going on. He couldn't help but glare in response. He hated not understanding something.

Watching Lin, he moved to go and collect them and Madoka who had driven back out to the mansion early in the morning so that she could drive the team back. It had become obvious earlier on in the case that this would be necessary until Bou-san or one of the other adults were able to drive in England.

Ignoring these useless thought he watched in amusement as the team made their way into the room.

Looking around they quickly spotted Mai and Yasu was first to move towards her. "Mai-chan, my love. The Monk and the Priestess have wounded me once more by flaunting their love in front of me. Oh how my heart aches." He cried out dramatically, sitting unnecessarily close to her and leaning on her shoulder, careful of her cuts.

Mai rolled her eyes and grinned at him. "Oh Yasu. Cry your heart out on my shoulder." She allowed him, patting his hair softly.

Bou-san looked scandalised as he watched them and quickly moved to push Yasu away from Mai and take her place.

Luella watched in amusement at the strange bunch. He'd noticed how lively they were before but she couldn't remember them being this entertaining.

"Get your hands off of my Mai you creep." He demanded, smothering said brunette with a hug.

Struggling slightly, Mai hit his shoulder. "I'm not your Mai, you dirty old monk! Go be touchy-feely with Ayako." She teased.

Pouting he flushed. Before he could say anything though Ayako let out an outraged shriek, "How dare you. If you weren't so injured I swear." She grumbled.

Masako scoffed at them. "Do you not have any manners? I apologise Mr and Mrs Davis. They are quite rude. Please don't take it to heart, they've always been animals."

Turning her anger to the medium, the priestess ground her teeth. "What did you say, you brat."

John stepped between them. "Now now, I think we've caused enough problems. Why don't we all just sit down and relax." He tried to break them up logically.

Sighing they nodded, unable to refuse the kind priest.

"Now then. It appears as though my son has some questions."

Shellsan: And that's the end of this chapter. It was more of a filler chapter then anything.

Mai: The people want answers!

Naru: if they can't figure it out then they're stupid.

Shellsan: Naru! Leave thee readers alone. Some will be revealed in the next chapter. I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter.

Mai: Please read and review. They make her day!