6 November
"Noll?" Luella calls out as Noll is closing the front door behind him. She emerges from the living room. "You're just in time. Come have a cuppa."
He acquiesces.
"How are your classes?" she asks as she pours him a cup of tea.
Noll considers his reply as he accepts the cup. Since there is not much else to say about his studies other than he wants to finish as soon as possible, he settles with "Fine." and takes a sip of his tea. The flavor spreads, and he is struck with the memory of his office in Shibuya, bathed in the faded orange of the afternoon sun. He could practically hear the muffled chatter and laughter that used to filter through his office door. He exhales. What a nostalgic taste.
"That's good to hear!" Luella continues with delight, pulling him back to the present. "I was worried we'd disturb you in your studies."
'We'? Pieces of information begin to click in his mind. If he is right… He looks at his mother in expectation.
"My, I haven't told you, have I? Silly me!" she laughs lightly. "I brought over some guests. They're just fetching the biscuits from the oven." She straightens in her seat to look over his shoulder. "Ah, here they are."
He turns in his seat.
"Oh, you're here already?" Madoka asks as she enters the living room. "I thought you'd drop by HQ and come home with Martin."
"He said he'd be a bit late," Luella answers for him. She looks around. "Where's Mai?"
So she really is here.
Madoka looks behind her then walks back out. She stops just outside the door and returns, dragging Mai into the room.
Noll blinks at the déjà vu. The only difference between now and their previous encounter a few weeks ago is that Mai is holding a tray of biscuits with her head bowed. The smiling, confidently violent Mai is all but gone.
"I brought the biscuits," she mutters somewhat ashamedly, setting the tray on the table.
Luella reassures her with a smile. "Thank you, dear. Please, sit down."
Noll watches Mai consider the free seats. There are two three-seater sofas and two single-seater armchairs surrounding the living room table. Luella sits on one sofa, while he sits on the other, across from her. Since Madoka has settled herself beside Luella, Mai is left with four logical choices (because choosing to share the sofa with the two other women despite the abundance of seats is blatant rudeness): the two armchairs opposite each other or the two seats at his sides. Mai shoots a deploring look at the armchairs before she dejectedly shares his sofa, sitting as far away from him as she could.
Luella opens the conversation. "How are you finding London, Mai?"
"London is… a bit gloomy."
Luella and Madoka chuckle at the honest answer.
"'A bit gloomy' is an understatement," Madoka says. "London's a dreary place."
"B-But it's beautiful!" Mai defends.
Luella smiles at her response. "If you find it beautiful, I'm sure the rest of the country will astound you. I hope you'll see them during your stay."
Shyly smiling back, Mai tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.
Without being distracted by an unwelcome vision like last time, he is able to properly observe Mai. Her hair now falls past her shoulders, and Noll must admit that it suits her features, which are more defined and feminine than when she was in high school. She seems to have grown a few inches taller, too, and he can see that there is sureness and confidence in the way she carries herself. It is a strange feeling, juxtaposing the unknown Mai before his eyes with the Mai he had all figured out five years ago.
The slight lull in the women's conversation recalls him from his thoughts. Luella and Madoka have proceeded to talk to each other, leaving Mai without anyone but him to converse with. They both stay silent until Mai could no longer bear not talking. It actually takes just over a minute.
She fakes a cough. "So. You're still studying? Graduate? Post-graduate?"
"—Graduate," he answers after a short pause. "I obtained my second undergraduate degree last year."
"And I suppose you're about to finish your Master's soon?"
"If my adviser permits it, I should finish this term. Otherwise, I finish on second term."
"I see…" With her noncommittal reply, their conversation peters out, and a long moment of silence passes.
"You never told me why you are here," Noll finally initiates, setting his teacup down.
"I… Mori-san and I bumped into your mother outside the restaurant we ate at. She invited us here. I'm sorry—I tried to decline, but—"
"That is not what I meant. What are you doing here in England?" He smiles cynically. "Surely you did not fly from Japan just to slap me?"
"Ahh, I forgot how narcissistic you tend to be," she returns with a saccharine smile. "No. I'm studying here. It's a one-year program."
"Where?"
Before Mai could answer, Luella calls her attention. "Mai, won't you stay for dinner? Martin should be arriving soon."
She shakes her head and hands frantically. "Oh, no, Mrs. Davis, I—"
"Just Luella, please." Luella says warmly. "And I insist."
Mai glances at him before sighing and accepting the invitation with a small smile.
It is the first genuine smile Noll has seen on her face in a long time.
He never hears the answer to his question; Martin opens the front door just as Luella predicted, deep in a debate with a few colleagues from SPR. As the debate reaches its peak, the new arrivals ask for Noll's opinion and, after Madoka's masterfully timed introduction of Mai, Mai's opinion as well. Mai mentions that she can only base her insight on her experience, and the discussion shifts its focus to Mai's latent psychic powers, with everyone talking about the relationship between psychic potential and paranormal phenomena all throughout dinner.
Noll crosses his arms. He could not help thinking of the group of men as little excited boys with so much enthusiasm and not enough attention span. But by the way Mai participated in the discussion with such eagerness, it is evident that her interest in paranormal and unexplained phenomena has not waned, and Noll finds himself smiling slightly at that fact.
Author's Notes: I'm finally free for about a month! :3 And as such, I'll be able to update a little more frequently. Anyway, Mai and Naru's second encounter after five years! "Surely you did not fly from Japan just to slap me?" We all know Mai did. Of course she did. XD Next chapter this weekend!
To Nollypoo: Thank you! And I agree; as smart as he is, Naru can be so dumb sometimes. =.= OMG a med AU, yes! Mai could be a resident internist with abnormally strong intuition, most of the time having diagnoses that at first glance aren't related to the patient's signs and symptoms but are correct. Naru will probably be a radiologist (because of the relatively low rate of meeting patients in person), always pissed at all the seemingly random confirmatory imaging scans that this Dr. Taniyama from Internal Medicine keeps requesting but always begrudgingly amazed that she's right. And then in comes a patient with a complicated case, and they will have to work together closely to monitor and heal this patient. *u*
To darkgenius2003: Thanks as usual for your review! I forgot to mention last time, but I've seen your reviews of my other fics, too, and I'm so happy you liked them! :)
To Glass Dragon's Rose: Thanks for reviewing! Indeed, Madoka is one formidable woman. No wonder Noll can't just win against her. XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters.