A/N: Thank you everyone for your kind reviews! I really appreciate it! I have prepared the next installment. It's the longest chapter so far! I hope you enjoy it! I enjoyed writing it.

Housekeeping: From here on out there will be two different languages being spoken by the characters in the same chapter. To avoid confusion, I am going to have to come up with a system that will be at least mostly consistent. Bear with me! In this chapter I tried to indicate which language was in italics.

Also, I've taken an assortment of canon ideas and molded them to fit my needs, but this ultimately does not follow the canon sequels.

Shameless plug: If you like "Business Better Left Unfinished," you should check out my other story, "Drip"! I will warn you that it is rated M for relatively extreme violence/death, though... But I am very happy with how it turned out! I've never written horror before "Drip," but I still encourage you to check it out (if that floats your boat).

And now without further ado...

December 21st, 2:20 PM, Tokyo

Bou-san, Ayako, Yasu, and Mai sat in four uncomfortable airport chairs, yawning and waiting for John to join them. John had accepted the Davises' offer to celebrate Christmas with them in London, but Masako regretfully was unable to make room in her schedule due to her packed filming timetable. The four of them gazed out the large airport windows, watching planes land and take off in tired silence. Although their flight was scheduled for that afternoon, the last-minute preparations, the stress of fitting all four of them into Bou-san's car with all of their luggage (the majority of which was Ayako's), and their travel nerves all took their toll.

Mai clicked the side-button on her cellphone to check the time. John was likely finishing security checks at this point, she reasoned, as he promised to meet them at the gate by 2:25 to board with them and make the 2:45 departure. He had some business to finish at the parish that morning so decided it would be best to arrive separately, just in case he got held up.

In an effort to boost morale, Ayako jabbered on about how excited she was to live the London lifestyle, listing all the places she wanted to see and stores she wanted to visit. Yasu seemed to be listening intently, but Bou-san continued watching the planes, nodding his head once in a while to placate her. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice his indifference to the topic. Meanwhile, Mai sat in ominous silence with a scowl on her face.

She had seriously tossed around the idea of not going to London after all, seeing as the sole reason she would have gone in the first place was dear old Naru, who clearly didn't feel it was necessary to continue speaking to her. Mai had never felt so angry at someone in her entire life. He ripped open the wounds he caused via heart wrenching rejection that she so tenaciously worked to close. She could only imagine what seeing him would do to her. Though, she liked to imagine that the physical wounds she wanted to rip open on him would hurt more than her feelings…

However, by the time she actually decided she did not want to go the Davises had already bought her ticket.

Mai sighed deeply, some of her anger diminishing. Deep down, she knew she was looking forward to the trip and actually seeing Naru, though those feelings were often overcome by her lingering irritation. At least if she went, she reasoned, she would be able to give him a piece of her mind while taking an all-expenses paid vacation on his family's dime. As rude as that idea was.

In the end, it all evened out. Sort of.

"Cheer up, Mai!" Bou-san ruffled her hair affectionately, bringing her back to reality. "I'm sure Naru has a good reason for not returning any of your letters."

"Yeah, okay," Mai snorted.

"And you get to spend quality time with all of us!" He added with a mammoth smile. His smile faltered when her demeanor did not change. "Look, Mai… I'm sorry. I know you're upset with him. Hell, I'm upset with him for you!" he declared. A grin pulled at her lips. "See? That's better! Try and not let him ruin this trip for you, okay? That's Ayako's job." He nudged her with his elbow. She shoved him away.

"You're such an idiot, Takigawa," she replied.

"Thanks, guys… I'll try, I promise," Mai swore. She really did mean it.

Behind them, a familiar voice belonging to their blonde-haired priest John rang cheerfully from behind them.

"So sorry I'm late! I got here as soon as I finished up with my work at the orphanage," he apologized sweetly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And just in time, too!" Bou-san said as he stood up. The airline attendant had just called for the boarding of their flight over the intercom. Her friends stood up and gathered their carry-on luggage. She sat for a few more moments, trying to push away her overabundance of emotions.

Mai sighed. She truly had no idea what direction this trip was going to take.

December 21st, ?

Yasu and Mai shared a row of two on the right side of their massive airbus. Yasu had graciously given her the window seat. To their immediate left in the center aisle sat John, Ayako, and Bou-san. John read a Catholic devotional as Bou-san watched the inflight movie, Ayako fast asleep against his shoulder.

"Damn it, you win again, Yasu," Mai sighed in defeat. Yasu chuckled softly, pulling a marked up sheet of paper from her fold-down table to place it on his own.

"What can I say?" he replied, scratching out their latest game of hangman to make room for another. The word he managed to guess was aardvark. "I'm a pro."

Mai was glad to be seated next to Yasu during the flight. Over the past few months he had become one of her dearest friends, almost like an older brother. She of course loved the others, but they were significantly older so it was nice to have a friend that was close in age; they were better able to relate to one another. Not to mention he was smart and never failed to make her laugh. He had a certain charm about him.

The two of them decided to play the English game hangman, which they often played in school for English vocabulary review, to pass the time. Neither of them were particularly skilled in English (though he fared better than her) so they decided to practice a bit before landing in a primarily English-speaking country. Lucky for them John was a native English speaker, Bou-san knew basic survival English, and conveniently, Ayako was nearly fluent. She recently bragged to them that she started studying English with a private tutor when she was ten years old.

So far the game successfully passed three hours. Only nine more to go.

Yasu pensively tapped the pencil on his table. After a few moments, he set the pencil down and turned in his seat to face Mai, a wan smile on his face. He pushed his glasses up his nose a bit before speaking.

"Mai, if you don't mind me asking… Are you going to be okay?" The question caught her off guard.

"Y-yeah, of course," she answered immediately. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Why do you think I'm asking?"

Mai thought for a moment.

"I… Well…" she sighed, knowing he would see through any lie she tried to tell. She was a terrible liar. "Probably because of Naru…" he nodded, gesturing with his hand to continue. "And because I've been a little upset about him not answering my letters…"

"A little? Mai, you were a little upset when I ate the last onigiri at lunch last week," he jested. "C'mon now."

"Okay, a lot upset. But it's no big deal!" her voice cracked. Damn it.

"So you're telling me if Naru never spoke to you again you would be completely okay with that?" Mai said nothing. "I didn't think so." He deduced triumphantly. A lump formed in Mai's throat. Whatever she did, she would not cry. Not again. She had avoided talking about this for a reason.

"I…" she trailed off. She had no words. He held up a hand to silence her, shaking his head a bit.

"It's okay, you don't need to elaborate if you don't want to," he leaned his elbow on his table, supporting his head against his fist. "I've just noticed how upset you've been since you found out…well, what you found out. I'm really sorry…" Mai shook her head.

"Don't apologize, it isn't your fault…" she assured, her voice a whisper. She looked at her folded hands in her lap.

"I know, but I'm still sorry. It must be hard. I know you love him," he said nonchalantly, like it was no big deal. The lump in her throat grew even bigger. "And don't try to deny it. It's obvious. I don't know what happened between you two, but if you want my opinion, I think he felt the same."

Mai laughed bitterly.

"Prove it," she challenged.

"I don't need to. I'm sure you can figure it out for yourself. Plus, you have five days to talk to him about it, so…"

"Woah, who said I'm going to talk to him about it?" she accused, looking up at him straight in the eye. "It went so well the last time."

"You'll regret it if you don't. That's why I lied when I told you the Davises had already bought your ticket when you told me you didn't want to go."

"You lied to me?! Yasu!" she fumed. "How cou—!" He covered her mouth playfully with his free hand to silence her, a devious grin forming on his own. She continued to bellow into his hand. He ignored her.

"Oh please, are you really mad at me?"

She went quiet, thinking for a moment. She was going on a free vacation with her best friends… And she was going to see Naru again… He was just doing what he thought was best, despite how deceitful it was. She couldn't stay mad at him. She finally shook her head. He removed his hand.

"Good," he chuckled a bit, "because I am 98% positive you are going to thank me later."

"Yasu…" she began. "Thank you."

"I didn't mean now—"

"No," she interrupted. "I mean, thank you for talking to me about this. Asking how I am… I appreciate it a lot."

"Of course!" he exclaimed as he sat up straight. "We shall continue the game?" he suggested in choppy English with a warm smile.

"Yes, please," she answered with a laugh, feeling her nerves slowly diminish.

December 21st, 7:34 PM, London

Nearly 14 hours later (after making their way through England's customs, immigration, and hailing two taxis to make sure everyone fit), Mai, Ayako, John, Yasu, and Bou-san found themselves finally standing at the massive front door leading into the Davises' residence. The door was carefully crafted from dark wood with fancy gold embellishments. They all stood in awe as a light snow dusted the tops of their heads.

"Well shit," Bou-san said, rubbing the back of his neck. "No wonder they said we can all stay here." He was right; the house—no, the mansion—was absolutely huge. It was a beautiful, elegant Victorian-style mansion with well-trimmed hedges, a sizeable wing on either side of the main hall, and two floors. It managed to look pomp but classy at the same time.

"I can't believe Naru lives here," Ayako mused. She was clearly jealous. "Do you supposed they would adopt me, too?"

"Ayako, that's a bit distasteful don't you think?" John reprimanded in his sweet priestly way. The group laughed quietly, but mostly because of nerves.

"Well… Shall we?" Bou-san offered, gently pushing his way to the front of the group. Everyone nodded. Mai's heart pounded rapidly. Naru… What would happen when he saw her? He was probably capable of acting like an adult, but was she? As Bou-san thumped on the door with the gold knocker, Mai instinctively grabbed onto Yasu's hand for comfort; he was the closest to her, both in proximity and as a friend.

After a few moments, the door opened slowly and light flooded the threshold.

December 21st, 7:34 PM, London

Oliver laid on his bed, eyes closed (though still wide awake) and breathing slowly. An open book titled Psychoanalysis and the Paranormal: The Inherent Nature of Psychic Phenonmena laid on his chest. The content was nothing new to him, but it was something to keep him busy for an hour or two. Ever since he graduated at the beginning of the month and presented his completed thesis to his advisory board, he found himself with too much free time. What was a luxury to others was an enormous nuisance to him.

Ever since his return, he continually found ways to preoccupy his time and keep to himself. Focusing on academics prevented him from acknowledging the knot in his chest that still refused to go away. However, the last two weeks plagued him with gaping holes in his schedule that he involuntarily filled with battling internal conflict. He was not an emotionally expressive person by nature (his volatile psychokinesis had made sure of that) so what was going on in his mind was always a mystery to those around him, meaning that he suffered—for lack of a better word—alone. He supposed it was better that way. There was nothing anyone could do to change his circumstances and he certainly wasn't looking for pity, so logically there would be no point in sharing his feelings.

His mother had been very nosy the last few months, insisting there was something wrong and that she had good reason to be worried about him. He knew she meant well, but she was getting on his nerves (which he acknowledged were noticeably shorter than they used to be). He did not need a lecture on the "abnormality" of his behavior. And what would she say if she found out part of his torment—not his torment, his situation, he corrected himself—was due in part to a female he hadn't even spoken to for months?

If she and everyone else would just let it go, it would make his life infinitely easier.

This would pass.

It had to, he affirmed to himself.

A loud series of knocks on the front door pulled him out of his relaxation—if you could call it that. He opened his eyes and sat up, carefully closing his book and setting it on his bedside table.

"Noll, would you get that please?" Luella called from downstairs. "My hands are full!"

"Okay," he yelled in response. He stood up and brushed the imaginary lint and wrinkles from his black clothes and smoothed the hair his pillow had disheveled. He passed by his desk as he exited the room, looking it over briefly. The top was neat and organized, but he knew beneath the tidiness in the first drawer sat several unopened letters from Mai. A twinge of guilt pierced his stomach. 'How unsettling,' he noted. He couldn't bring himself to open them. Even if he did, he wouldn't know what to say. So then he would be left with more feelings he couldn't control and he will have relapsed instead of moving on like he needed to. He knew that ignoring her letters while contacting the majority of his other Japanese colleagues was impolite (and his reasoning for doing so was incredibly selfish), but he really just couldn't be bothered with that.

Not if he wanted to move ahead.

He made his way down the large maple staircase to the granite foyer, which was filled with the smell of a lavish dinner his mother was cooking for that evening. He could not figure out why, seeing as Lin was the only guest invited that night. And he had already arrived.

As he gracefully strode towards the door, he failed to notice Lin, Martin, and Luella (who was smiling suspiciously) emerging from the kitchen door behind him. Luella anxiously waited for him to see his surprise; she was extremely proud of herself and very confident this would cheer him up.

He opened the door slowly.

"Yes?" He greeted the mystery visitors.

Oliver froze in shock, mouth agape.

"Naru!" shouted Bou-san happily in Japanese, opening his arms like he was about to hug him. "Look who's here!" He stepped off to the side, revealing Ayako, Yasuhara, John, and…Mai. Oliver's stomach twisted and his chest knot constricted, making it difficult to breathe.

A strange mixture of nostalgia and anger simmered inside him. He took a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled slowly from his mouth, masking his conflicted fury in an eerie calmness.

"Hello," he greeted formally without any hint of emotion, unsure of what else he was expected to say. He turned his head to glance behind him. Just as he suspected: Luella, Lin, and Martin. "Mother, care to explain?" She giggled, not catching onto his unease.

"Happy Christmas, Noll!" She exclaimed, moving to embrace him. She wrapped her arms around him for a moment and squeezed. He did not reciprocate. She pulled back, hands gently cupping his elbows. "We invited your friends from Japan to stay with us for the holidays! We wanted to thank them for their service to you, and we thought you would enjoy the company!" She moved one hand to place it on her hip, glowing with pride, clearly expecting a 'thank you' or even a smile.

"I see," he replied flatly. He looked at Lin. "And you knew about this, I assume?" Lin simply nodded. "I see." He turned back to his friends and examined them. His eyes were instantly magnetized to Mai. He held her gaze for a moment. Her face was already red from the cold, but he was sure she was also blushing. His eyes then fell to her hand, which was nestled in another: Yasuhara's. Oliver clenched a fist, heart now inexplicably aching. He was so…emotional he could just throw up.

Without another word, he brushed his mother's hands away in one swift motion, turned around, and calmly but briskly walked back up the stairs. Everyone's eyes followed him silently, puzzled. He disappeared around a corner and after a brief tick of awkward silence, a door slammed unnecessarily loudly. Luella winced.

Bou-san coughed uncomfortably, and in his best English offered:

"Ehh… Soo-prize?"