((Still don't own it, also getting used to formatting on this sight, I hope I'm getting better. Please don't judge me based on that. I really hope to turn out a quality story. Any input would be appreciated"

Oliver paced in his office waiting for the rag tag team that he'd assembled during his previous time in Japan. In the end he'd called Masako Hara this morning and asked her to join them. He'd learned from Lin's file that the young women had formed a warm friendship and often dined together between Masako's filming schedule. He'd also tersely told her that she had no leverage this time and not to try it or he'd cut her off at the knees and bury her alive. He knew they'd all lie to him about her in a misguided effort to protect her from him so he had to prepare. He pulled the documents he'd printed offline and went to receive his guests in the lobby of his new office.

He didn't have to wait long till he was rewarded with the sound of the door opening and the voices of Ayako and Takigawa, he'd been surprised that they'd formed a romantic relationship. Their interactions had always been strained when he'd worked with them those years ago. They entered his office with Ayako's voice cutting through his thoughts.

"Oh Naru, we're here! Come out Come out where ever you are."

"Kazuya?" He heard Father Brown ask, and turned to see that Yasu and Masako had joined them. So they'd decided to all come together. He raised an eyebrow as they came to stand around his seat in a semi circle.

"So," He began as he looked at their faces, hoping his own would show just how serious he really was. "Tell me." He crossed his arms for emphasis and looked at them all with steel in his eyes.

"Where is Mai?"

Ayako looked at her fiance and then back at Naru. "Why I told you Naru, she's traveling abroad with her boyfriend. She won't be back for several weeks. That young man of hers really likes to sweep her off her feet and pamper her." She smiled while she smirked while lying to him because she wanted to see his reaction. Would he be jealous? Would he show any emotion at all.

"That's very interesting Miss Matsuzaki considering she's your maid of honor in just eight days," He said pulling the print out off of her personalized wedding page from a website he'd found called 'The Knot' by googling her and Takigawa's name. He showed her the print out; and she felt the blood rush to her face in embarrassment that'd caught her, looking at the write up she had posted about the wedding party and their significance to the couple. She'd named Mai as her maid of honor and little sister. "Want to try again."

"Er, Uh, well, she'll be back for that but gone again the next morning so I really didn't uh count that as uh coming home." She lied badly falling all over her words. She suddenly felt very awkward under Naru's gaze.

Oliver smirked dangerously at the shrine maiden. His eyes gained a cold edge and he turned to look Yasuhara in the eye. "But how does this "Boyfriend" feel about her sex change operation?". The young man with glasses wasn't deterred and looked him back right in the eye. He could lie much more easily than Ayako. "The boyfriend is made up. It's really a girlfriend. She's crazy for Mori"

"Hmph" He dismissed the younger man out of hand and looked at Father Brown, "And how's her intensive solo study in India going? What was it again, semester abroad through an exchange program via Tokoyo University?"The priest had the sense to look ashamed and didn't bother to try and compound his lie. He was really bad at it and quite frankly had been really troubled that he'd done it in the first place from what Oliver could guess.

He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward with a deeply set frown. He flicked his eyes over the troubled faces of the people assembled before him. He was struggling to control the turbulent emotions just below his cool facade. The tea cup he'd set on the table split from an inadvertant spike of his PK. "Let's try this again. WHERE. IS. MAI."

"Why Naru, so you can use her dreams again? Well no. Not going to happen. You really used her up last time and then tossed her aside like a broke toy. I won't let you near jou-chan got it? I don't care how powerful you are. You don't get to do "study her" or "use her" or "HURT HER" again. We will not allow it." Takigawa yelled at him. He was so angry that this asshole thought he could just breeze back into Japan, and expect to just pick up where he'd left off where he'd left before his vanishing into what seemed like thin air. He braced himself expect to be thrown across the room by Naru's awesome power but he wasn't going to offer Mai up to him no matter what he did. She had been to broken the last time he'd disguarded her he wasn't sure that she could survive a second go round.

Squaring his shoulder he set his jaw and leveled his own hard stare at Naru. "Just who do you think you are, you can't just waltz back into our lives like nothing happened. You have no idea the damage you did to her. Do you know for days she was like a living Zombie. The only thing she could seem to say was "It's you, not Gene." Whatever the fuck that means."

Deciding that she'd had enough Masako finally spoke up. Her own girlish crush on him had long since cooled replaced by a deep seething dislike for him. She could see how hurt Mai had been by the truth and it had hurt her as well that she'd kept such an important thing from the group of people who'd never looked at her askance like the people who came to her shows did. To them she was just Masako who had talent. She wasn't a freak and she valued that feeling of acceptance having been looked down upon because of her abilities.

"So Oliver Davis, why do you want to know so badly? Did you come all this way to finish her off?" She heard the stunned gasps of her friends when she revealed his true name but she pushed forward, she'd had a long time to plan out what she'd say to him if she ever had the misfortune of crossing his path and she wouldn't be denied. "Have another ghost hunt you can't solve with out her? Perhaps you want BSPR to study her. You lied to these people for a year. You knew when we were at that mansion that that man was a fraud because YOU are Dr. Oliver Davis. So you only went to protect you own reputation. You put us all in danger. I was tortured for your EGO! Mai was tortured! Did you ever care? It's all about you, your great quest for knowledge. Your sterling reputation!"

When she'd finally stopped for breath she realized that her friends were staring at her open mouthed, their eyes wide. She'd never acted in such an unlady like manner but she didn't care. It was about time he was stopped

Lin looked on from the doorway of his office. He knew that the people who'd come in response to Oliver's call would be protective of Mai, but he was shocked by just how deeply they cared for her. They were willing to go toe to toe with Oliver, something they'd never been willing to do three years ago. The only people he'd ever seen challenge him had been Luella; albeit gently, Gene and Mai. He guess that that was part of his attraction to the young woman, her backbone. What he didn't know was how the young genius would handle this situation. He'd never been confront with such passion to deny him something. He'd always just been able to bully his way either intellectually or by intimidation into getting what he wanted. Just how would he take being denied?

Mai was confused. She woken up to a text from Ayako that had been sent around 3:30 in the morning. She canceled their date to get their nails done for the wedding and lunch after Mai's morning class. She'd really been looking forward to it so Mai was left wondering if she had canceled so she could go to him. Her text said that there had been a call out at the hospital and she was forced to work since she was about to take three weeks off for her wedding and honeymoon but it seemed like an excuse. Mai supposed that there was no use ruminating on the matter.

She finally managed to push the warm quilt she was rolled up in back and threw her legs over the side of the bed. She had to try and eat. Perhaps she'd see if Masako was free today. She'd already scheduled the day off from her job in the afternoon so she didn't want to waste it and she knew that Masako would want to know he was back.

Making up her mind to skip class that day and do something for herself she made the decision to call her other best felt certain that the other woman would be the only one who could understand her feelings about his sudden appearance after so much time. Mai knew that she wouldn't be able to focus and Dr. Himoto didn't like to be ignored. She thumbed her phone open and scrolled down till she highlighted Masako's personal cell phone number. She smirked when she thought of just how many lines the other girl had for 'Business purposes' but very few people knew her personal number. She knew Masako was lonely and they'd bonded over it. She pressed send and waited while the phone rang. Mai really hoped that Masako wasn't filming today..

The room was at impass and neither faction seemed to want to give up and tell the other anything. Naru clenched his jaw and looked at them and they all glared back. The all jumped when the sound of church bells played on Masako's phone. When she pulled the phone out of her pocket he was able to see the screen and his heart constricted. He had an opening and grabbed at the phone before a stunned Masako could spirit it out of his reach. He pressed accept and brought it to his ear before anyone could stop him. His heart was pounding and he suddenly his mouth went very dry. He struggled for air and to make sense of the feelings colliding in him. Fear. Excitement. Longing. Love. So many things that he was so unused to feeling. After a few heartbeats he heard her voice and bit his bottom lip when she sounded worried

"Masako, Hey Masako, are you there? Is everything ok?" He could hear the timber of her voice climbing in worry. His memory offered up just how much Mai always had cared for others welfare. Even his own before he'd walked away, leaving her in the rain.

The group of people assembled in his new office all looked at him expectantly. Even Lin was focused on what he'd do next. Closing his eyes and swallowing hard he breathed out the only thing he could seem to say.

"Mai.."