Mai sat up abruptly, tears leaking out of her eyes, her breaths coming in short gasps. She looked frantically around, trying to remember where she had fallen asleep. Though it was dark, save for some light flitting into the office from the building's lights in the hallway (they were always on), Mai realized that they had not left the office.

Quick as her body would allow, for she was shaking badly with fear, she threw the blanket off of her and rushed to Naru's office door. It was cracked, and a light was streaming from it. She didn't bother to knock and pushed it open, rushing inside to find her boss. The young man was sleeping soundly, hunched over with his head on his arms, lying on his desk.

"Naru! Wake up!" she shook him, a bit harder than she meant to, but it worked. The raven haired teen shot onto his feet, looking mildly frantic as he stared at Mai.

"What's wrong Mai?" a slight hint of worry etched his features and came out through his speech. He was staring at her intently, demanding to know why she woke him like she did.

"It's Gene! He's in trouble, and I-" when reality struck her she paused in her explanation, her heart speeding up again. Her eyes became wide and tears came again. She sank to floor, unsure of how to say what needed to be said.

"Mai? Please tell me what's going on," Naru's clear, commanding voice rang through her suddenly miserable thoughts, causing her to stare at him, this time with guilt. Naru saw this and decided to calm her down first, before getting her to speak. So, he gently helped the clearly disturbed girl up, leading her to his small couch in his office. Once she was settled, he set off to make her some tea.

When he returned, she seemed to be breathing more slowly, and her tears had stopped. She didn't look at him though as he handed her the cup of tea, taking a seat next to her. She drank it silently, all the while ignoring the fact that Naru was so close to her. When the tea was gone he took the cup and set it on a small table near the couch, then grabbed one of Mai's hands.

Mai supposed it was a gesture of comfort, but for her, it felt like him comforting her was wrong. Like she should be doing it, since his twin was now in danger. And she hadn't even told him yet because she was afraid. Afraid for Gene, afraid that Naru would break down, afraid that he would blame her somehow, hate her, and she just couldn't bear it if he did.

Naru, patiently watching his assistant's many expressions as she thought, knew that whatever she had to say, he would not like. Despite his position on how wrong it is to read someone's thoughts without their permission, he had tried. However, Mai, for reasons unknown to him, was suddenly able to block him out. He doubted it was due to her skills developing, and was more likely attributed to her instincts.

Something I will have to explore another time, he thought as he watched her keep tense. She pulled her hand from him, which shocked him because she usually wouldn't distance herself the way she was suddenly. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he waited. The young brunette, knowing there was no other choice, got up and walked toward the other side of the room, then stopped and turned. She hesitantly brought her eyes to his.

"Naru, what I'm going to say is bad, really bad, and I hope you can forgive me," she started. His eyes went wide and his heart began beating faster. Is this is? Is she finally going to tell me she really does love Gene? That doesn't make sense though, not after what I saw before, in the cemetery, between them. And she said he was introuble…

"Whatever it is, Mai, I won't be upset with you," he stated. She nodded slowly, as if unsure she believed him.

"O-Okay…Well, there's no other way to say this. So," she paused and blew out a breath of air she was holding, "here goes. Gene and I were doing our usual meeting when he and I sensed something. I asked him if it was the demon, and though he didn't exactly answer, I knew he knew it was." She waited, taking in Naru's reaction. He seemed to be in deep thought, typical for him she supposed, but not comforting as it should be.

"Look, I didn't want to leave, but Gene somehow made me return to my body before the thing showed up," she rushed out and began pacing. The worry was clear on her face as she continued. "I feel like something bad happened, and your idiot brother made me go before I could even find out what was up! I swear, he is so much like you sometimes, I could just-" her face became angry then, and Naru almost laughed.

"Mai, I'm sure he had you leave for a good reason. What did he say?" Naru was standing as well now, heading toward her. She stopped pacing and looked at him, thinking hard.

"Something about he'll be fine, and I needed to get out before I got stuck there. But he wasn't even sure that would happen!" she huffed in frustration and ran her hands through her hair, frowning.

"Naru, I don't like this!" she groaned as she walked to him, causing them to meet halfway across the room. He just nodded, still thinking of the situation. "Naru?" she asked. When he didn't answer she growled and stomped passed him to the couch, throwing her hands in the air, closing her eyes, and plopping down in defeat.

"Uh! You are ignoring me and we need to do something because I have a really bad feeling and this is all my fault and-" she stopped when opened her eyes to see blue staring right back at her. She hadn't realized Naru moved so close, and it freaked her out to see him right in her face. She yelped in surprise.

Naru just smirked at her reaction and shook his head, then stood up again. He reached out and ruffled her hair a bit, smiling when she swatted him away. His smile caused her to blush and stop her antics. She grew quiet and looked anywhere but at him.

"Mai, calm down, okay? My brother can handle himself. We will find out more later, once you've slept again anyway, so don't worry. In the meantime," he stretched, working out the tiredness of his body, "let's head home. We have just enough time to get there, sleep for a couple of hours, and then get ready for the day. Sound alright with you?"

Mai nodded and stood, also stretching and yawning. She waited for Naru to turn off the lamp at his desk. They walked out, grabbed their light coats, and locked up before heading to his car. It was a black (surprise surprise) luxury car, though what one Mai didn't know. She wasn't into cars like some people, so she knew one from the other as well as she knew one crayon from the other (in other words, she knew colors and that's about it, aside from it being a car, truck, van, etc.). Within minutes they were heading home…

Everyone was waiting patiently, and surprisingly silently for once, as Mai made them all tea. Naru had phoned them personally the evening before, briefly explaining the encounter with the demon who was thought to be gone since it hadn't turned up for a couple of weeks. He then ordered everyone to the office by ten o'clock, saying they all needed to have a serious discussion concerning Mai, the demon, and the team's plan of action.

Mai appeared within five minutes, tea cups steaming and a couple of plates of various cookies and biscuits as well. Everyone thanked her as she set out the cups one by one, a few of them grabbing a cookie as well. Once done handing out everyone else's tea, Mai took her own plate and a cookie and sat down next to Naru. To everyone she seemed fairly calm, but if you looked closely, as Naru and Lin had, you would have noticed a slight tremor in her hands. Also, Mai was not saying much, and was staring at the floor, clearly uncomfortable about what they were going to discuss.

"So Naru, you said last night that the demon returned? And here of all places?" It was Monk who spoke first, breaking the silence. Naru nodded and took a sip.

"Yes. It had me and Mai cornered in the kitchen at the time." He took another drink, glancing to the brunette out of the corner of his eye. She hadn't looked up yet, so he continued with their story, taking that as a sign that she didn't want to speak yet.

"Well, what happened? You two seem fine to me," Masako spoke from behind her sleeve. She, although straight to the point and seemingly harsh, was not trying to be mean at all. In fact, she was concerned for Mai, and Naru, two very good friends of hers as far as she was concerned. Masako had let go of her feelings for Naru a while ago, after he had left for about six months. And she and Mai had grown closer then. They began to hang out and do "girlfriend" stuff, sometimes with Ayako too. All in all, she valued everyone at SPR, harboring no grudges or ill will toward any of them.

"As I said, the thing showed up and attacked. I actually had to use my powers against it." At that statement all hell broke loose. Monk and Ayako started to lecture-slash-yell at Naru, John looked mortified, Masako as well, and Yasu was faking a heart attack, attempting to lighten the mood. Meanwhile, Naru continued to drink his tea, and Lin just sat back and smirked.

"Should I stop this?" Madoka whispered to Lin. He just glanced at her and nodded. The pink haired woman stood on her chair and whistled loud enough to break glass. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Mai had even come out of her musings to stare at the loud woman, who was smiling triumphantly.

"Thank you! Now, I believe we should let Naru and Mai explain things before we jump on their case," she said. Everyone grumbled in agreement (well, Ayako and Monk anyway). They turned their attention back to their boss, who turned to Mai.

"Care to continue?" he asked. She nodded slightly, nervously fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Well, Naru is perfectly fine, as you can see," she said, smiling brightly. The blank stared that greeted her as she looked around made her groan. She looked away again, unsure of how to start.

"Mai, what is it?" Ayako said. She could tell the brunette was stalling. "What happened?" Worry laced her voice.

"Well, simply put, I sorta helped Naru keep his powers in check," she trailed off with the last part. Waiting to see if there would be more outbursts, and when none came, she continued again.

"Gene has been training me for a while now." At this she didn't want to look at Naru, knowing he'd be angry about what she was going to say. "He never left me, not really. Even when Naru found his body and they took him home to be…buried…he was only gone for a week. As soon as the funeral was over, the night of it actually, he returned to the astral plane, and my dreams."

Her friends' eyes went wide, but she pushed on, trying not to waiver in her resolve to share everything that had been happening in the last year and a half or so.

"When he came to me that night, while I was at the Davis house, he told me that although he wanted to finally pass on, he couldn't yet. He told me that I was going to need him for a while. He didn't know for how long, just that he was meant to be there for me, to mentor me this time. Whereas before he was helping me on cases, now he would be able to show up even when we weren't working, in order to help me hone my powers." Mai sucked in a breath and stood, turning her back to everyone, but more specifically turning from Naru. She could feel the anticipation leaking from him, and the sadness.

"Gene, he confided something in me he shouldn't have, but he felt he needed to because he knew if he didn't tell me everything I was going to go to Naru and ask him to help me cross him over." She turned around, facing everyone, and more specifically, looking at Naru. When she spoke, it was mostly for him. Her boss looked surprised by her revelation, appreciation dawning in his eyes at what she just said.

"But obviously you didn't do that," Lin spoke this time. "You didn't even tell us he was back until sometime after rejoining SPR, two months to be exact."

Leave it to Lin to be spot on, she thought bitterly, nodding and smiling sadly. "There was a reason for that. Gene didn't want to hurt Naru, so he made me promise not to tell him he was here still until the time seemed right."

Naru's face once again changed, his eyes narrowed in anger. Mai noticed him ball his fists and she frowned before walking over to him.

"You need to know that I wanted to tell you the second I woke from that dream that night," she whispered. "But your brother made me swear or he would leave, and with his revelation I knew it would mean the end for me if he did."

"What do you mean, Mai?" Naru almost bit out. He glared at her. She stepped back.

"I mean Gene told me that he was perfect medium, which you already knew. However, when he died, he learned something." She turned away, guilt washing over her as she sat back down.

"What did he learn, Mai?" Masako asked this time. Mai smiled sadly and faced them all, determined to finish this.

"He learned that the person he was searching for when he came to Japan was someone like him, same powers and same path for those powers laid out for them. Unfortunately, he didn't get to her before he died," at this she looked down, the tears beginning to form.

"Her? Mai, you don't mean-" Lin started.

"Yes, that person was me." She looked at Naru and no one else. "The person he was trying to find was me, and he died because of it!" she whispered fiercely. Naru went stoic, unsure of how to handle the news. He simply sat down, not looking at anyone. Everyone was watching him and Mai, the discomfort growing in the room.

"But this also means that you are a perfect medium?" Lin asked. Mai looked to him and nodded.

"Yes, but not yet," she smiled bitterly. "Apparently, as Naru likes to say, my brain works differently, so I am having trouble with that part of my powers. With all of them really," she said.

"Which is why my brother refuses to leave," Naru stated bitterly.

"Yes. Though his full potential was never realized, he says he can help me so that I do not lose control, or hurt anyone, or myself. He told me that these powers are conflicting inside me, and though they balance out well enough, if I don't learn how to use them all, then I might injure myself or someone else. Also," she paused and looked around again, "he told me that eventually I will become one of the more powerful psychics in the world, right up there with him and Naru."

"All the more reason for your training, am I right?" Yasu asked. Mai smiled weakly and nodded again.

"Yes." She turned to Naru. "That's why he won't be passing on anytime soon. I am nowhere near the amount of control I need to have." Naru simply nodded, not looking at her. Mai's shoulders hunched and she sighed.

"So, is that everything Mai?" John asked.

"About Gene and I, yes. But my powers, now that is something I also need to share." Everyone settled in, ready to listen to her some more.

This is going to be a long day, Mai thought as she continued.

JADE: Tada! And now we know more about what's happening with Mai!

GENE: True, but you still left me out of this chapter and I'm upset! *crosses arms and turns away, pouting*

JADE: *hugs him tightly* Awww, don't worry Genie Bear, you will make a comeback! I can't leave you out for too long! *kisses cheek*

GENE: *blushes and hugs back* Thanks Jade!

NARU: Aren't you married?

JADE: Yes, but that was a friendly kiss and hug, nothing more! *suddenly glomps Naru and kisses his cheek too* There, better? Feeling left out?

NARU AND GENE: O.O

JADE: Hehe! *smirks* Anyhoo, please let me know if I am doing okay with explanations here. I realized that I started all of this with a case, so I want to kind of let people know what happened after Naru left and came back a little at a time. Unless you think I should have a separate story for that? Let me know, and thanks for staying with me! LOVE YOU ALL! *grabs stunned Davis twins hands and skips off with them in tow*