Shellsan: Hey guys! Here is the next chapter of TCOL!
Mai: Remember, Shellsan doesn't own ghost hunt
Shellsan: Sorry this took so long. No matter how much I tried to type it up it just wasn't working. But in the end this is what I have ^_^ Enjoy!
It had been two hours since Mai and the others had left the Davis' to talk about their deceased son and grieve over the fact that he was trapped here and in those two hours Lin had not let Mai so much as get a word in. Somehow – in a way that was almost amazing if it weren't so irritating – the Chinese man had managed to plan out a two hour long lecture just for her.
This was a fact that scared her.
But what she found even more frightening, was the fact that Lin probably would have continued if it weren't for Naru entering the room at that moment.
"So this is where you escaped to. Where are Miss Matsuzaki, John, Takigawa, Miss Hara and Yasuhara?" He inquired, walking into the study type room.
Lin regarded him with a look that showed hidden worry for the young man. "Miss Matsuzaki and Takigawa decided to go sight-seeing, I believe that Miss Hara and John were doing the same thing off on their own." He explained.
Naru nodded. "And Yasuhara? He's hardly the one that I want poking around on his own. I don't want to discover what type of mischief he could get up to." He commented dryly.
"You wound me." A voice called from the entrance to the room.
Mai stood up and gave Yasu a surprised look. "I thought you were working on some changes to my information?"
Looking over at her, he grinned. "But my dear, I hardly wish to leave you all alone with these two scary men." He joked.
Puffing her cheeks out, Mai huffed. "Too late for that. You left me alone with Lin for two hours and now my ears are about to bleed, so do pray tell – what the difference is when you add another to the equation. Somehow I doubt you're here for such a menial reason." She scoffed with a slight pout.
In truth, she really did wish that he was going to whisk her away from her current predicament. Naru being there did make a difference as opposed to when it was just Lin and her. A big one. Because now she had to hear the lecture that Naru had come up with all over again, repeating all of Lin's previous words and probably adding some issues that the elder had neglected to add.
Yasu gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Mai, but now I'm leaving you alone with Naru. Sadly the one I'm seeking out currently, is Lin. I'd like some help with something and I think he may be the best person for the job." He explained before giving her an overly obvious wink. "Have fun with Naru! ~" He called as he quickly left the room to avoid anything Mai might attempt to do to him, fully expecting Lin to follow. Which he did of course, but not before throwing a slight smirk towards Naru – who naturally glared at him.
As the door clicked shut behind the other man, Mai turned around and busied herself with the tray placed on the desk of the room which was laid out with various tea-making necessities – purely the basics such as tea bags and the like.
For a moment the entire room was silent and neither of the spoke. The quiet was nerve racking and definitely not pleasant, the tension in the air being dense enough to cut.
After a few minutes, Mai turned around to face Naru, who was sitting in one of the smaller couches placed in the room and handed him a cup of earl grey. "Here." She muttered.
Gently, Naru took the cup from her and indulged himself in a much needed long sip.
Even though it wasn't anything like the blends Mai made herself, or any of her normal tea's made with the leaves and strained, somehow the brunette still managed to make it taste better than anyone else's.
His muscles relaxed slightly as he felt some of the tension built up from the past few hours leave his body.
"How's the professor and Mrs Davis?" Mai asked quietly, finally breaking the almost constant silence.
It took a moment for Naru to process the sudden word before he answered. "She's much better than earlier. Most of it was shock more than anything. She's worried about everything but she's happy that he's safe for the time being. Father is still with her and she should be fine. As for my father, I think it's more stress then anything. Even though you've insisted that Gene can't become an evil spirit, he's still worried and wants him to be able to pass on."
The brunette regarded him with a guilty look. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you. You've just started to heal and then I forced this extra weight upon you. I-"She began to apologise.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Naru cut her off with a stern look. It seemed almost un-characteristic the way he was acting right now but then again – he had learnt more than his fair share of information to do with the paranormal –or more specifically the paranormal rules surrounding his brother - today.
She looked at him in surprise. "But-"She started again only to receive a glare in response.
"Don't make me repeat myself, Mai. I would be angry if you hadn't informed me of this fact. It was something we deserved to know, regardless of the effects."
His tone was meant to reassure her and make her stop feeling guilty but it had the opposite effect.
The brunette's head tilted down and she felt tears gather in her eyes. He was acting so brave but she only had to look back at the expression he'd had earlier to determine exactly how he was feeling then and is likely still feeling – even if it had mellowed a little bit. He was in pain, he was suffering, and he was wilting. And it was her fault. She should have known better than to answer a question such as that so openly. She should have made it so that they weren't made aware of the full extent of what was happening.
There were many things that she'd done that she wished she hadn't. Enough to make her wish that she could regret the decisions. But regrets are like grudges – life is much too short to hold onto them. She casts them away, cleansing herself of such unnecessary emotions.
As Mai sunk deeper and deeper into her thoughts of the subject, Naru eyed her carefully – intentionally. He hadn't seen Mai in such a long time and he'd barely had the time to notice the changes and similarities. Her hair was only slightly longer, her eyes still held the same warmth and comfort that had loosened his clients up so much. But there were more noticeable changes to her as well. She'd grown smarter, in more ways than one. Her eyes now spoke of more wisdom and less innocence. Her actions portrayed more motive then feelings in some minor cases, or rather she's simply controlling them better. And finally the way she acts suggests that she'd learnt more than just a language or two from the growth in her powers. The lengths that they'd extended in such a short period of time, it's something that not even he is able to comprehend. Not even her ever constant family was aware of many by the sounds of earlier. So how is it, that something this big was kept secret? Just what secrets are being hidden now?
Naru lifted his cup of tea to his lips and took one last sip, emptying the contents. Clearing his throat, Mai snapped out of her thoughts quickly and turned her attention towards him.
"Now that we've established that fact, I'd like to know more about Gene's visits and how often it happens. When was the last time you and he spoke? Does he always help with you when it comes to dreams anymore?" He questioned carefully.
The brunette watched Naru for a moment and contemplated on what to say. Taking a deep breath, she crossed her legs and made herself comfortable. As long as they were on this subject, Naru wasn't lecturing her. But grilling her for information wasn't much better – or so she supposed.
"I haven't seen Gene in a while. The first and last time I saw him was around three months after you left. At the time I was still wrapping my head around things. I haven't seen him much since so I can't tell you much about whether he's in all my dreams – seeing as he hasn't been around enough for me to speculate. He hasn't been in any of them since you left though for the most part. He's probably avoiding me." She informed him, offering an unamused grin.
At that, Naru raised an eyebrow. "Why would he be avoiding you?"
Letting out a slight laugh, Mai tried to look serious. "I really should feel more regretful for my actions but I don't… I slapped him. And screamed at him. But to be fair, it was his fault." She accused.
He watched her for a moment with an amused look. "I would prefer it if you'd refrain from beating my brother up next time you see him. Why did you hit him?" He needed to understand why exactly she had done what she claims to have. Perhaps it was out of fear of Gene once again being a substitute for something he did. If Mai had hit him purely because his brother looked like himself then that was something that he couldn't condone.
Mai looked at him with a serious look. "Because he's a jerk. He didn't tell me that he wasn't you and instead chose to deceive me. I was angry and emotional. Looking back now, I probably would've slapped you as well if given the chance." Her features morphed into a sheepish grin.
The look she got in return said that he didn't believe she could hurt a fly – a fact that was in many ways true. "You couldn't have hurt me. My face is too precious."
She felt the irritating urge to slap that look off of his face right now but at the same time, Mai found herself being relieved. This was more like the Naru she knew. Vulnerability wasn't something that she saw much of when it came to Naru and it wasn't something she wished to see more of.
It was silent once more throughout the room and Mai tried to think of something else to talk about.
"Your powers have grown a lot." Naru commented out of the blue.
Stunned, Mai looked at him with a tilted head. "And?" She asked cautiously.
The teen was silent again for a minute before speaking. "Powers come at a cost. My PK can kill me without Gene here. What was your cost? How did you acquire these powers?" He asked carefully.
Gulping, the brunette tried to think of a way to explain it without actually telling him anything, wracking her brains for anything to help her out of this situation. 'He can't find out yet. It's not time.' She thought.
"I was trained by a monk for a little while. After you left I was a little upset and everyone thought that taking me with them to expel a spirit would make me feel better. But without Gene there to guide me, I kept having constant nightmares, realistic dreams of what had happened to the people who had been injured and killed in the house we were in. Things were going out of control and after the case was solved, Bou-san introduced me to his grandfather. It was three months of isolation and hard training before I could sleep safely again." She explained.
Naru nodded slightly in acceptance, slightly guilty that he wasn't there. It didn't take a genius to know that it was his fault for the dramatic increase in her powers. Emotional stress and trauma were often linked to cases of poltergeist activity and Mai had already shown signs of powerful spiritual abilities.
As if sensing his thoughts, Mai reached a hand out and grabbed his clenched fist.
He looked down in surprise but didn't remove her hand from his, much to Mai's pleasure.
It's not as if it were a bad feeling per say, which was odd to him because he'd never enjoyed physical contact, merely tolerated it.
Smiling at him, Mai squeezed his hand firmly before pulling away at the last second when the door opened.
Luella stood there and looked at them suspiciously. "What were you two doing?" She asked, eager for some gossip. It looked as if they'd been holding hands but as much as she wished it were true, chances were that wasn't the case. Noll didn't like to be touched.
"Nothing mother, what is it?" Naru asked, acting as if he weren't slightly miffed at the interruption.
The woman stared blankly at them for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Oh yes. Sorry. I was going to tell you that lunch was ready." She explained, "And also that your friends were back from looking around. Everyone's in the dining room already."
Standing up, Mai brushed herself off slightly and walked over to where Luella was standing, turning to Naru with a grin, waiting for him to do the same.
With a sigh, he gave the two overly enthusiastic girls an irritated look. "I'm not hungry." He brushed them off, ignoring the exasperated look that his mother was giving and walking over to one of the bookshelves in the room instead. Truthfully he just didn't want to sit through a lunch that noisy right now.
Luella opened her mouth to comment on his lack of eating but before she could Mai was marching over to where Naru was and grabbing his arm.
His eyes snapped down to the brunettes, causing her to close hers on instinct. If she looked into Naru's eyes then she'd lose her nerve, stupid jerk.
"You have to eat." Mai decided firmly, turning away from him so that she could open her eyes and tugging a little on his arm in an attempt to drag him towards the door.
Naru didn't budge at all as she tried and instead mentally rolled his eyes at her. "I don't have to do anything." He scoffed with an annoyed tone.
Pouting slightly, the brunette pulled harder on his arm, succeeding in unbalancing him enough to drag him a couple steps. "Yes you do. If you don't eat then you'll get sick or pass out or something else that's stupid."
Luella tried not to laugh at Mai as she watched the scene before her in amusement. It was odd to see such a small girl ignoring Naru's glare and his personal space while telling him off, especially when Noll was so much taller that her.
"It's alright, Mai. It's not unusual for Oliver to miss lunch." She tried to appease the girl.
Almost immediately Mai snapped her head to look at Luella. "I see."
For a moment it seemed as if Mai had finally given up but instead she turned around, letting go of Naru's arm and crossed her arms. "You skip meals that often?" She asked.
Naru shot his mother a glare at the lack of help that he'd been given before turning his narrowed eyes to Mai's. "Why's that a problem? What I do is none of your concern."
Thinking about it for a second, Mai smiled brightly. "But it is my concern. Which is why you're going to sit down and eat something. Or do you want to upset me and have everyone mad at you?" She asked mischievously.
Smirking, Naru raised an eyebrow. "I don't care what they do." He pointed out.
Mai stamped her foot in irritation. "Fine then. I'm not eating unless you do." She decided, walking over to a seat and sitting down with a pout.
Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Go eat idiot." He ordered.
Looking away, the brunette said nothing in reply, much to Luella's amusement. "If you two decide to join us, then you know where we are." She stated, turning around and walking out of the door, closing it behind her.
As soon as it was shut completely, Naru walked over to Mai, standing in her vision. "Stop being stupid. Go eat."
Mai avoided looking at him. "Only if you come eat too." She insisted.
Naru sighed at her proclamation. It was clear that she wasn't joking which made him feel slightly guilty. If there were two things he knew Mai loved to do it was eat and sleep so she was definitely hungry.
It was silent in the room once again before Naru mentally groaned. She'd gotten to him.
"Come on, idiot." He stated.
The brunette's head snapped up to look at him happily. "You'll come eat?" She asked.
"I'll walk with you to the dining room."
Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not going unless you plan to eat something." She repeated.
Naru gritted his teeth in exasperation. "Fine. I'll have something small to eat." He allowed.
Standing up, the petite girl smiled again and walked over to the door.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She mocked, opening the door and turning to walk down the hallway.
Following her, Naru turned in the opposite direction. "Wrong way idiot."
Puffing out her cheeks, Mai quickly turned around and caught up to Naru. "Well, so-rry." She grumbled, her voice going high pitched when she nearly fell, not paying attention to the stairs.
Reaching out on instinct, Naru grabbed Mai's hand and pulled her back up to balance before she could fall too far ahead.
"Dummy. Pay attention to where you're walking." Naru teased, hiding how worried he actually was. If it was this dangerous just for her to walk and talk then how was she even alive right now. It was a scary thought and it made him squeeze Mai's hand tightly to make sure that she wasn't going to disappear.
Blushing bright red, Mai huffed but didn't let go of his hand, squeezing back slightly. "Jerk."
Shellsan: So that's the next chapter. I was trying to add in some Mai x Naru moments for you guys while accomplishing what I wanted in this chapter. What did you guys think?
Naru: It sucked. You made everyone wait this long for something like this?
Shellsan: *pouts* Well I'm sorry if you don't like it.
Mai: *Sweat drop* Please read and review