A/N~ The next chapter is a go and it is spicy. Also, I feel the need to point out that I do not have a beta. I've never utilized someone for assistance with all of this, so if mistakes are made, I apologize in advance. I can't remember if I ever mentioned that? I also find it funny that in nearly every A/N I do, there happens to be at least one typo. I leave them now. Because it's funny. Hopefully. Enjoy!
Rocco greeted her in base with tail wagging and Mai gave him ample amounts of attention before she detoured in her tasks to make sure he was fed for the evening. She would need his nose later that night, she was certain, and was satisfied as he wolfed down his food happily. He ate a lot of food, given the fact that he was the size of a horse, and the size of his doggie bag was ridiculous. She would be extremely pleased if the one bag would last him for the rest of their trip so she wouldn't have a haul a second one back home.
Mai pushed herself to her feet and brushed her hands off on her jeans before turning to scan the room for her boss. As expected, she thought, he could be found in his natural habitat: the bank of monitors. She swore his eyes were going to burn out of his skull one day. Maybe she could get him a pair of blue light glasses on his birthday.
"Two things," Mai stated once she had joined Naru sitting at the bank of monitors and leaned her elbows on the table with crossed arms. She would have taken a seat on the nearby chair but she was too keyed up to do so and so tapped her toes as she leaned over and ignored the pointed look Naru sent towards the seat. She often took pleasure in ignoring some of his more subtle demands.
"I'm listening," he stated blandly, brow quirked and eyes cold.
"We need to interview Charles again and we need to investigate the cellar," she stated quietly so as not to garner too much attention. While it was not something to be kept secret from the rest of the team she didn't want to disturb anyone with her findings either. Everyone was busy with their own tasks at the moment and she didn't want to sway anyone's opinions of the case until there was more information gathered. "But not in that order because the two are connected and I don't want to offend Charles by inquiring about the cellar and then investigating regardless of what he says," she amended quickly.
Naru let out a breath through his nose which, over years of working with him, Mai had realized was his version of a laugh. One day she hoped to get a real laugh out of him but she had a feeling it would be at her expense and was still weighing the worth.
"And what are we looking for?" Naru implored dryly as he leaned back in his own chair. Mai had glanced about the room in search of Madoka and Yasuhara, wondering where they had disappeared to, but noticed Lin was also missing. She could only assume they had stolen the man away so that he could take a break and probably went to investigate the kitchens for dinner that night. Regardless, she was a bit distracted, and missed the way in which Naru's eyes trailed over her figure during her lack of attentiveness. The action was so subtle than a casual observer would have thought nothing of the way he lowered his eyes with that calm expression of his that conveniently blocked out any other emotion he may have expressed otherwise.
"I spoke with a boy today who said his friend sneaked in during the day and was caught by Charles," she continued once her attention was returned to Naru, "He said that he had found a room full of starved animals in the cellar."
Naru's brows furrowed and a slight frown pulled at his lips before he spun in his chair to reach for his notebook. He flipped through several printed pages, drowned under his own written notes, before he stopped and lifted a hand to his chin in thought.
"Such a thing had been reported in the past, finding starved animals, but it was never detailed to what extent. I did not think it relevant given the properties size. It would be easy for an animal to wander in and get lost to only die of dehydration or starvation . . ." he muttered quietly and pulled the sheet of paper out to set it at the top of the pile.
"I thought the same, but to come across a room full? It wouldn't make sense," Mai murmured in return.
"Perhaps Charles has some darker hobbies," Naru theorized dully, ever the devil's advocate.
"No," Mai dismissed, "Charles has a koi pond out back filled with old fat fish the size of my leg. The pond is heated and everything. He wouldn't do such a thing."
Naru hummed thoughtfully and scribbled a few notes onto the sheet before he snapped the notebook shut and set it aside. "We'll look into it tonight once John and Masako have returned from their rounds," he said lightly.
Mai nodded curtly, face serious, before she smiled and straightened, "In the meantime, I'll make some tea."
Naru's face took on a particularly blank expression that Mai now understood to be his relieved look. She giggled as she departed from him, once again pleased with the fact that he preferred her tea above all others, and glanced down as Rocco trotted to her side and followed her back up to the suite.
Luella pounced on her as soon as she passed through the doors with a sparkle in her eye. The woman scared her half to death and she wondered how Luella could have made it this far married to Martin for as long as she had been, and still didn't know better than to jump out at someone during a paranormal investigation. Mai had never punched a ghost, but had Luella been one, she had certainly been ready to try. Mai groaned as her heart slowed and she rubbed a hand across her face.
Luella laughed and patted her on the shoulder until Mai's frown melted away and she chuckled.
"I heard from a little birdie that you found yourself a dress today," Luella whispered excitedly.
"I did," Mai admitted just as quietly with a blush and a grin, "Do you want to see it?"
"You know I do," Luella teased and waited while Mai set a kettle of water on the smaller burner in the kitchenette before she led her back into the women's room cheerily. Rocco padded along behind them with tongue lulling.
"It's the fanciest thing I think I've ever owned and I feel a little guilty for splurging on it considering I'll probably never wear it again but . . ." she rambled as she opened the closet and walked in to pull the gown off the rack. She draped it over one arm to show the older woman who oohed and ahhed appropriately while running a hand over the silken material.
"This is beautiful, Mai, and I know you will look absolutely stunning in it," Luella gushed and stepped back to admire the dress while Mai held it over herself. The younger woman was blushing and a grin a mile wide was plastered across her face. "Let me take a picture of just the color real quick and I'll make sure Noll has a dress shirt to match," Luella instructed her, taking on a teasingly prim air, and pulled her phone out from her skirt pocket. She held the phone up close to the dress under the closet light so that the camera captured nothing but a small square of grey silk.
"Madoka thought the same thing, she even called him to ask what color he was going to wear in the middle of the store, and it was so embarrassing," Mai complained and pouted when Luella laughed. "We're not even officially dating . . . I don't think, anyways . . . and I feel like matching outfits to a gala is a very big statement . . ." she mumbled anxiously, refusing to meet Luella's eyes as she did.
"Nonsense!" Luella exclaimed, eyes wide, and patted Mai's cheek endearingly. "Noll has never taken interest in anyone outside of Eugene until he met you. He doesn't know any better, dear," she assured her quietly and took the dress from her arms to hang it back up with the others. "And while that absolutely does not excuse him from openly communicating with you, mind you, it does mean that what he has for you is genuine," she added as they stepped out of the closet and shut the doors behind them. "You'll just have to train him," she added with a wink.
Mai laughed, a hand to her mouth, scandalized by the statement. Training Naru? What an endeavor that would be. It would be like training a mule. And then her mind turned towards a darker thought. She wondered if Naru would have taken as much of a liking to her if she hadn't been connected to Gene. She struggled to understand what he saw in her even now. They were complete opposites! Unless she had managed to lure him to her side with her tea making abilities alone . . .
"He's an intelligent boy, he'll figure out what's best for him," Luella called across the room as Mai ran back over to the screaming kettle to finish preparing tea.
Rocco stood at Luella's side with ears perked.
"I don't feel anything differently other than a general restlessness that has grown since last night," Masako admitted while drinking a cup of tea. She had claimed a seat on one of the couches and single-handedly kicked the camera crew out of the vicinity. It would seem her prim and proper air sent the scruffier and unfamiliar team members running. Mai could relate.
Mai hummed thoughtfully from where she sat across from the medium and swirled her tea about distractedly. John was seated next to her but he had leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. It was late in the evening and she had no doubt his sleep schedule had been completely thrown off by the trip over all. His own cup of tea rest precariously on his leg, ready to take the long dive, and she eyed it warily as they spoke.
"So we have several spirits present, though indistinguishable, and one story to align them with," Mai pondered aloud.
"Wish we could just cleanse them and move on with our lives," Ayako could be heard grumbling from across the room. She was filing her nails while sitting on the chase lounge. Poor Avery had retreated to the corner table with the rest of the camera crew.
Naru made no comment on this and continued to look over his notes.
Ayako scoffed at his silence and returned to filing her nails.
"Takigawa," Naru called a few moments later as he snapped his notebook shut and pushed himself to his feet.
Monk had been sat at the large table with his head down but he popped up upon hearing his name. Judging by the half lidded and relaxed expression he wore he had just been napping. Mai was quite impressed with his ability but would refrain from crowning him the napping champion when he managed to fall asleep while standing as she had.
"You called?" he grunted while rubbing at his eyes and smoothing his hair back into a more settled ponytail.
"We're taking a trip down to the cellars," Naru stated, "grab a flashlight."
Mai jumped to her feet with her own flashlight tucked safely away in her jean pocket. She watched bemusedly as Monk struggled to process the words but rose to his feet regardless and did as instructed. It was Avery and Todd, a gentleman Mai had not yet spoken to, who rose with a camera ready between them.
"Three of us going?" Monk questioned tiredly as he followed Naru towards the door.
"Given that the spirits have become more active and we are branching out to explore the cellar during the night for the first time, yes," Naru shot back over his shoulder as the group shuffled out of base and down the hall towards the kitchens.
Monk grunted and heaved a heavy sigh, studiously ignoring Mai and her giggle, and flicked his flashlight on. Rocco chose that moment to dart ahead of the group, flashing through Monk's beam of light for a moment before disappearing back into the darkness of the windowless hallway, causing the Monk to jump and curse.
Naru looked back at Bou-san with a quirked brow but made no further comment on the matter. It seemed his chiding look was enough to shame the monk into silence.
They turned down a new hallway with Todd and a handy tablet with the blueprints pulled up leading the way. They passed several more hallways and the air grew more and more stagnant as they trekked on. It was obvious that they were entering one of the less frequented areas of the palace. They had left the marble flooring behind and their footsteps were now muffled by threadbare carpeting that once might have been a deep blue but now looked to be one shade away from grey.
"It smells damp down here," Mai commented as they came upon an open stairwell leading down into darkness.
"That's because there's a staircase leading to hell right in front of us," Monk commented dryly and shone his flashlight down. It was a spiral staircase that looked to be carved from stone. The curving wall prevented them from viewing further than a few feet down. Monk looked back at Mai with a sly grin, "And probably tons of secret rooms for you."
Mai scowled and smacked him across the shoulder while Naru ignored them and stepped down into the void. Rocco sniffed at the drop tentatively before he followed at a careful pace, paws clicking against stone as he went. Mai stuck up her nose at Monk and joined the descending group as gracefully as she could manage on the uneven steps.
"I need a coffee," were Bou-san's last words before he led the rest of the group onwards.
It took them a minute to reach the bottom of the steps and Mai estimated they were at least twenty feet underground. She could almost feel the weight of the earth and palace overhead pressing down on her and she swallowed nervously while shuffling after Naru. She clicked on her flashlight to examine her immediate surroundings and sighed mournfully. It seemed like the cellar nearly ran the length of the palace such was its size. She was unable to make out the other side of the long hallway before her but she could tell that there were several separate rooms along the way. Furniture was stacked against walls and rotting in the cool dampness of the cellar for the mice and rats to take.
"Well this is terrifying," May grumbled and hurried to catch up to Naru who was already peeking into a doorway with his own light. Rocco had decided to stick close to Mai this time around and she was thankful for it. Though there was a stagnant pressure that hinted at years of disuse hanging about the cellar, she could still hear distant scurrying and shuffling of small critters (she hoped) and the dripping of water.
"You may have picked the wrong profession," Naru murmured absently as he swept his flashlight in an arc across the small room. It was filled with mirrors that threw the light back in their faces harshly. Some were cracked and broken while others were covered with sheets.
"I didn't exactly have a choice," Mai mused aloud as she peered over Naru's shoulder.
Naru turned back to look at her with furrowed brows to meet her eyes, he paused for a moment and then looked away as if he had just comprehended her statement, and dropped his light to the floor thoughtfully. Her statement had obviously stumped him and upon realizing this, Monk let out a bark of laughter.
Naru turned to face her fully, "Mai, if you truly do not wish to continue paranormal research, I would never force you."
Mai stared up at him and blinked before she snorted and pushed about to urge him towards the next doorway, "Stop joking around, I knew I could quit at any time, I'm just saying you didn't exactly give me a choice when we started."
"I knew that school house wasn't haunted, obviously, so I knew nothing too dangerous would happen," Naru continued but moved on as she had wordlessly requested.
Mai scoffed, "Masako went to the hospital!"
"Her fault for leaning against an exterior wall of an obviously rotting building," Naru muttered, "I can't always account for stupidity. Statistically speaking, it's just not possible."
Monk laughed again while Todd coughed in an effort to cover up his own snickering. Avery was beginning to wonder if Oliver was intentionally trying to lighten the mood for Mai's sake. The man had specifically stated he didn't want his team joking around while on camera but he seemed to be encouraging the behavior. Avery himself was sorely appreciating it in that moment though as he was still shaken by the previous night's events.
Mai bit her lip and peered into an adjacent doorway and discovered a room filled with musty rugs and tapestries. She stepped forward to prod a stack of them carefully and grimaced when the top most one refused to separate from the one beneath it.
"I'd rather put my abilities to good use, anyways," she continued as she stepped back out of the room and wiped her hands on her jean the best she could. Who knew what those rugs and absorbed over the years. She shivered in disgust.
"You could always-."
Naru was cut off as the sound of a distinctively larger body than a rat scuffling through the darkness sounded far ahead of them and was quickly followed by one of the doors slamming shut.
Everyone froze. The heavy darkness suddenly seemed all the more sinister and ominous. There was a wordless argument as Naru moved to step forward but Monk gripped his shoulder to keep him in place. It was his instinct to lead the way, as he was the only one in the group capable of dispelling spirits, but Naru leveled him with a sharp glare. Now was not the time. They were looking to document the existence of ghosts, not send them packing as soon as they showed themselves. Monk lifted his hand, an apologetic look on his face, and the younger man quietly padded down the stone hallway with the rest of the group following in his wake.
The doors were all left slightly ajar so it was easy enough to locate the one that was shut. They had traveled several yards to reach it but, despite the distance, they were all tense. Naru gripped the knob of the door, mentally noting the warmth it still held, and turned it gently in his grasp. The door creaked open ominously under his hand and he shone his flashlight in stoically.
Nothing moved as Mai peered around the door frame and she was able to make out several chests and crates stacked atop each other before Naru stepped in to get a closer look and the door promptly slammed shut in her face.
"Naru!" she cried out urgently and jimmied the doorknob frantically.
"Oi, Naru-bou!" Monk called over Mai's shoulder before he moved her out of the way to pull at the doorknob himself. It was stuck fast and he cursed and pounded on the door to no avail. There was no sound from the other side of the door that Monk could make out and he took several steps back and rolled his shoulders agitatedly. "Get away from the door!" he shouted before he lunged forward to bare down on the rotting wood with full force.
Mai jumped out of the way, pushing Todd back along with her, and cried out as the door practically shattered under Monk's strength. It split and half of it fell from its hinges but Naru could not be seen on the other side. Nothing could be seen. There was nothing but wall behind the door.
"What the fuck?" Monk spat out. He gripped the rest of the door and pulled it from the wall in a clatter of metal and wood, throwing the remainder off to the side, and smacked a hand against the stone. The surface was solid and cool beneath his touch as if it had always been there. There was even mildew growing between the stones.
"Naru!" Mai called through the wall and pressed her ear up against it. The stone was chilling cold against her cheek but she ignored the discomfort in an effort to focus.
Nothing but the silence of a seashell greeted her.
Mai stepped back from the wall, heart pounding, and glanced at the adjacent door before she ran to push it open and threw herself into the room. It was filled with an assortment of rotting furniture just like every other room but she desperately ran her hands along the wall that would have separated the two rooms.
"I don't understand," she exclaimed as Todd joined her to search for some sort of passageway or hidden door. "How can it just block up an entire doorway?" she muttered frantically, eyes wide in the darkness.
"Did it block a doorway or create one?" Todd questioned grimly as he shoved aside a wooden chest to feel along the floor, "And don't you find it odd that all the other doors were open? Like it wanted us to go into the rooms?"
"Does it matter?" Mai shot back desperately and stood to give the whole wall a once over. There was nothing. No seams or doors to speak of.
"It might," Todd answered darkly, "He was either locked into a room or the room was just an illusion."
Mai blanched, vaguely comprehending what Todd was trying to say as kindly as possible. Naru could have just as easily been encased in stone, or dropped into a pit, or spat out into the night if whatever they were dealing with was strong enough to rearrange the house itself. She spun on the spot and ran back out into the hall to meet Monk at the other door but the man only shook his head grimly. He was sweating and covered in grime, panting from exertion, but was fighting the growing dread the best he could/
Mai sunk to the floor with a hand clasped to her mouth as the beginnings of tears sprang forth unbidden. It seemed so impossible to think of but could Naru actually . . .? Her eyes were wide and unseeing as the half thoughts cycled through her mind sluggishly. Could he actually be . . .gone? Just like that? No drama or fanfare. Just one second a part of the living world and the next not? Mai had no doubt that she would one day get herself killed during a case. She was passionate and stubborn and acted on her emotions barely sparing a moment's thought for her own safety but Naru? Everything was a game of chess to him. He thought each move out carefully, logically, before he moved a piece. But who'd have thought that he would forget to think of the most important piece of all; the player.
There was no SPR without Naru.
Distantly, she heard Monk lift his radio to his mouth and press the button followed by a grim, "Lin."
The radio crackled and the ever stoic man responded with a tight, "What happened?"
"Naru's missing . . ."
Mai tuned the rest of the conversation out and leaned against the cold wall. She pulled her knees up and buried her face between them while the men continued to theorize and search about the immediate vicinity for the missing professor.
Huh, Mai thought quietly, she had forgotten that Naru had been a professor. She had always just seen him as Naru, president of SPR and a royal thorn in her side. Even when she had met his parents and become such good friends with Luella, she had never quite known him as Dr. Oliver Davis. He was just narcissistic Naru.
Distantly, she heard hurried footsteps, followed by Lin's much closer voice. Ayako's strained questions filtered through her mind while a calm John attempted to steer the group in a useful direction. Search all the rooms, she heard him say, stay put and see if he finds his way back, and so on. Well, Mai knew of one way she could be of service. She closed her eyes against the damp darkness of the cellars and slowed her breathing.
"Leave her be," Lin's cold command cut through her concentration momentarily. She heard someone shuffle away from her and she was thankful for the omniyoji's foresight to let her work in peace. If anyone could walk through walls, it would be Mai while she was astral projecting.
Rocco took a seat at her side.
She evened out her breathing. Pulling in deep lungfuls and letting them out slowly. She felt her heart rate slow while the rising panic slowly ebbed away as the familiar cool shores of the spiritual plane threatened to pull her away. But that was not where she needed to go. Those shores were distant and empty without Gene and in order to find Gene, she would first need to find his brother. Everything became muffled and the cold damp smell of the cellar lead her to the astral plane within a few minutes. Distantly, she was aware of her body slumping over onto Rocco, but when she next opened her eyes she was in another room completely.
"Where did you go?" she murmured to herself as she glanced about the vaguely familiar room. It was empty of anything living, of that much she was certain, but if she allowed her senses to reach out and feel about the stone walls she could feel a distant flicker of warmth. She clambered over a pile of crates and landed on the dusty ground with a soft thud on the other side. There was a small door set into the wall. It was wooden and only about two feet in height but it pulled open under her pale and glowing hand easily enough. She was flying blind without a flashlight but the astral plane was always a bit lighter than reality. As she crouched down and crawled forward on her hands and knees she could see that the small tunnel led to a narrow staircase. She silently cursed Monk and his secret rooms before she shuffled forward and stood, a bit stooped as the stairway was not built for regular use, and climbed up.
"Naru?" she called gently into the darkness.
There was no immediate answer but she continued climbing until she caught the tail end of a gentle light spilling forth over the last step. As quietly as she could, she ducked through the small archway and stepped into a dimly lit room.
It was a study of some sort. There was a desk as well as a small window above it but only stars twinkled back through it. A small bookshelf lined one wall and on the other a wooden door stood resolutely having not been opened in decades. A layer of dust covered everything. It must have been a study of some sort.
And standing in front of the desk, in the center of the room, was Naru.
The soft light she had seen emanated from his flashlight as he examined something in his hand.
"Naru?" she called again but he did not respond to her. Of course, she realized belatedly, Masako had only answered her during the Urado Case because she was a medium and could actually see spirits. But, Mai recalled with relief, that did not mean she could not affect the physical realm in her spirit form. She glanced at the door hopefully and stepped over the jiggle the handle.
Naru lifted his light to the door curiously; face free of fear, and sighed. "Mai," he stated simply.
"You got it," she drawled, pleased, but thankful he couldn't hear her. His ego was big enough as it was.
Naru stepped over to the door and managed to pull it open with a grunt and a jerk on his part. He paused in the doorway, shinning the flashlight down the length of dark hallway before him, and then lifted the object in his hand. It glinted in the dim light, a chain attached to a locket, and Mai bit her lip upon recognizing the picture that stared up at her.
It was Florence and Irene.
"I suspect you knew of this," Naru murmured to empty air, "I happened to watch the recording from the other night and I noticed that you said a name while Avery was distracted." He gathered the chain into one hand before pocketing the necklace and pulled out a familiar square of paper, "You also happened to drop this."
Mai blanched and dropped her eyes to the floor, unable to meet his gaze even though he couldn't see her. How could he have gotten that paper? It had been tucked away in her bra! A cold chill ran down her spine was panic spiked through her chest. Immediately, she felt disgusting for keeping anything from him.
"I don't know if you've noticed," Naru continued lightly, too lightly, "But this spirit happened to leave me a message." He shone the flashlight onto the other side of the door where two words had been carved in English.
"Where's Gene?"
Mai gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, and stood frozen as Naru stepped into the hall. She had known Gene was missing from her but the fact that other spirits were aware of his strange absence told another story all together. Whatever was haunting the palace knew.
"Wait for me in the office," Naru added, "We'll discuss this when I get back."
Mai returned to her body with a gasp. She jolted forward and struggled to comprehend the several questions being thrown in her direction while she attempted to regain her breath. It was Lin who finally crouched down in front of her and gripped her shoulder wearing an urgent expression. It was so rare to see the man shaken and the sight gave her pause while she calmed herself as best she could.
"Second floor, directly above," she gasped and then coughed as the dusty and damp air filled her lungs. "He's okay," she added hurriedly.
She felt shaky and weak as she watched Lin dart down the hallway with Monk hot on his heels. She recalled feeling the same after she had found Masako during the Urado Case but she had not had time to pay it much mind due to the following adrenaline rush as they all hurried to escape the monstrosity he had become. She had only felt it as they lay sprawled in the grass panting for breath and begging for the sun to rise just to remind them that there was still light and goodness in the world. Now though, she would be left with nothing to wait for but the coming discussion between her and Naru.
She felt like she was walking to her doom.
It was John who stayed behind to help her up. Honestly, his gentle kindness was just what she needed in that moment but she was all too aware that she didn't deserve it. She had gone behind Naru's back and neglected to inform him of his twin's strange absence since they had arrived on the property. She was well in order for a lecture and possible removal from the case if she had been a normal investigator.
"Thanks, John," she mumbled tiredly as they climbed the spiraling staircase back above ground.
"Any time, Mai-san," John assured her with a gentle smile.
Ugh, Mai mentally bemoaned, she wished he wouldn't be so nice to her.
The trip back to the main suite took far less time than Mai would have wished for and worse, she had glimpsed Naru back at base as they passed in the foyer, and she had grimaced as he met her eyes. He was pissed. He had fallen back into the frigid mask he had worn when they first met and it stung.
"I'll leave you here," John stated gently as he deposited her on the office sofa.
Mai could only nod wordlessly. She debated on making tea if only to quell Naru's rage. Setting a small cup of herbal tea before a fuming ice dragon would do little good, she decided moments later, and flopped back on the sofa with a sigh. When had she even dropped the paper? She wondered idly. She had stuffed it in her bra! That was practically the same as shoving it in a locked safe. She was certain if she had larger breasts it wouldn't have ever happened. Unless it had something to do with the same reason why all the doors were open . . . Her mind spiraled but she quickly shook her head, now was not the time.
She desperately searched for some sort of righteous anger, the kind she usually would have fallen back on to defend herself, but she had nothing. Mai wanting to spare Naru his own feelings would hardly justify her actions before the cold man himself.
She turned her eyes towards the windows and stared out at the twinkling stars in the distance. She wished she could touch them in that moment and forget the mess she had gotten herself into. Spurred by the thought, she stood and moved around the desk to sit on the cushioned sill and pushed the windows open to let the cool night air in. She breathed deep, allowing it to clear any lingering smells of mildew and mold from her nose. Distantly, she heard the sound of an owl hooting among the orchestra of crickets.
Maybe she'd own a big house one day with a fancy window sill like the one she sat on. She would fill it with plush pillows and books and curl up with a cup of tea when it rained. She chuckled when she recalled that she had a nice loft apartment back in Japan. Well, she corrected, for the moment. Who knew what Naru was going to do with her. Again, she found herself wondering if Gene had left her, would his brother still want her at his side.
As if her thoughts had summoned him, the door swung open and the devil himself stepped in before gently shutting it behind him.
Despite her instincts informing her she should shy away and tremble under his gaze, she turned her eyes to his and waited.
Naru threw his dust covered jacket over the back of the sofa before he pulled the paper and locket from his pockets and set them on the desk before her. Once his hands were once more free he lifted them and undid the first two buttons of his shirt and worked to roll his sleeves up.
Mai's face paled. He was certainly getting ready to give her an ear full. Honestly, if the anger wasn't directed at her, she may have been entranced. It was so rare that his feathers were ruffled.
She laced her fingers together over one knee and turned her face back towards the opened window while Naru sat down in the desk chair and steepled his fingers together, elbows resting on the armrests of the chair.
Silence reigned between them.
Eventually, Naru reached forward and grabbed the folded sheet of paper and opened it. The crinkling of the paper caused Mai to hunch her shoulders and she listened intently for any further noise while he silently read over the printed headlines. There was a small immature part of her that blushed at the realization that he was holding what had been tucked up against her breast not too long ago. Anxiety prevented her mind from spiraling to far down that path.
"I believe I stated at the very beginning that any additional investigation would have to be approved by myself," he finally said after he had dropped the paper back onto the desk.
"Yes," Mai admitted curtly. She shifted in her seat but made no attempt to meet his eyes.
"This is a research project," Naru continued after a moments pause, "I did not bring you here to save any suffering souls. I brought you here because I value your input and abilities and felt they would benefit this project."
"You neglected to specify that," she muttered.
"I did," he admitted coldly, "But that mistake was rectified before any of this came to light."
"Why did you not bring this information to me immediately?" he questioned clinically.
"You know why," she said quietly and reached up with a shaking hand to scratch at her cheek thoughtlessly.
"Enlighten me," he demanded aloofly.
Mai sighed and lifted her other leg onto the sill and dropped her eyes to her hands now clasped in her lap. "It hit too close to home," she admitted haltingly, "I wanted to confirm if it even had anything to do with the case before I brought it to your attention."
"Why?" he shot back with ease.
"I didn't want it to upset you."
"That's not your decision to make," he deflected casually and lifted the locket for further inspection.
Mai scowled and lifted her eyes to his, "You withhold information from me all the time to save me heartache!"
"Again, I stated any additional investigation must be approved by me. Try again," he shot back, rapid fire, and waited for her response.
"That's not fair!" she exclaimed. He was flat out interrogating her! He had this whole discussion mapped out in his head, knew every move she would make, and was essentially watching her flounder for satisfaction. He so enjoyed always being three steps ahead of her, even in an argument, and it rubbed her the wrong way. She had been prepared to receive a lecture. She had been prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions. It was to be expected. But to be treated like a child when all she had wanted to do was protect him from suffering the torment of his twin's death further was unnecessary. She had hardly made any headway in her discovery and had planned on bringing it to his attention when she was certain whether or not it played a part in the case. This was all just his bruised ego talking and they both knew it.
But then again, she realized with a sigh, he was more likely worried about his brother but choosing the easier topic and avoiding his emotions.
Naru lifted his brows in mock surprise, "As someone of your background I assumed fairness would not be a concept you relied upon."
Did he just . . .? Her brain glitched, the blue screen of death glowed in her mind while she rebooted in an effort to process the words that had just come out of his mouth.
Pure shock flitted across her face. Her eyes burned, her heart clenched, and her blood boiled all at once. Someone of her background, huh? She stood with hands clenched into fists, trembling with the warring emotions within her, and struggled to formulate a response not fueled by the hurt and anger bubbling in her chest.
But she failed.
"Sorry no one thought I was good enough to adopt!" she spat.
The door slammed behind her as she stormed out of the office in the same moment that the windows shattered from a rather volatile lash of PK. The combined sound was loud enough to alert even those downstairs in base.
"Mai!"
She spun on her heel as the door to the office flew open and Naru stood in his anger. He held the door open with one hand, either refusing to move out of stubbornness or using the door as a method to ground himself, Mai found she didn't exactly care.
"Where's Gene?" he growled.
"How would I know?" she snapped back, "I had one dream since we got here and he wasn't there to help me. I'm not Gene's keeper, Oliver, you talk to him more than I do. Maybe you should be asking yourself that question!"
Through Mai's rage, she watched as Naru's face fell blank. He stilled for a moment and then his shoulders fell and he lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. The fight had left him so suddenly that she was left utterly speechless. He was not one to back down and nothing she said would have caused him to fall back, if anything, she expected it to rile him further. Emotions, Mai knew, he rarely indulged in, but when he got going, he might as well have been a train that lost its tracks.
But then she heard the doors of the suite click shut behind her and she turned to see Luella standing just a few feet behind her with wide eyes and a stricken expression. "What are you two talking about?" she asked in a whisper.
Mai felt her own tears finally fall as her mind blanked and she struggled to formulate a response while her heart pounded against her rib cage. It was funny. She could stand up in the face of grotesque demons and not falter. She had reached up into the very heavens to do what she felt was just. And yet, staring at the heartbroken woman before her, she was unable to stand.
"I'm sorry," she finally forced out through a tight throat, chest seizing with barely repressed sobs, and brushed past Luella and out into the hall. The door shut behind her and she struggled to compose herself before she gave up the fight and ran down the hall. She couldn't handle anymore for the night. She needed to get away and the only place that came to mind was the peaceful koi pond located in the center of the gardens out back. She didn't want to go through the base to get there, however, so she hurried past the open doors and down the hall towards the kitchens. There was no fear for her safety as she went, her emotions blinded her to all else, and she didn't even notice when she had finally made it back to the stone bench and dropped onto it heavily.
She would probably have to return the dress. She doubted Naru wanted anything to do with her any longer and she really couldn't blame him. He was from a whole different world. She had thought that maybe, if she tried hard enough, she could climb her way up. Everyone had encouraged her, made her feel welcomed, and supported her but in the end, it was for nothing. He was a famous professor, adopted into a well off family, and wholly dedicated to a field in which he was highly renowned. And Mai was just Mai. A poor orphan who had only made it as far as she had thanks to the kindness of others. She probably wouldn't even be able to afford university if she did change her mind and decide to try for it. She was immature and temperamental, stupidly naive, and her value only went as far as her dreams would take her. Without Gene to guide her, it seemed, she was virtually useless. It wasn't as if she had years of experience to fall back on like the rest of the team. Gene himself had used her as an opportunity to reach out and assist his brother. Maybe that was her true gift, just to provide a bridge for everyone to utilize.
They had met by chance and she had followed along like an aimless child in hopes of glimpsing something great. Her life was dreary and desolate and she had been looking at a future as a cashier who might one day become store manager. She had no assets, no value, that would assist her in forging a path for herself. Maybe, she thought absently, she would have been able to save enough money to open a tea shop.
A tea shop would be nice.
Her mother would say she was wallowing in self-pity and some part of her was disgusted with herself, knowing that her mother would be right but, dammit, didn't she deserve to every once in a while? She wiped at her tears angrily and lifted her eyes to the pond. She could see the koi fish lazily swimming about still. Their movements were soothing and hypnotic. They floated in the star speckled water like graceful beings of another world, unhindered by humanly sorrows.
She wanted to go home.
Not to the home Luella had offered her but her apartment. The place that she had made her own, paid for through her own hard work, and could retreat to when the world seemed like too much. That's where she belonged.
She turned on the bench as she heard grass rustling and watched dully as Rocco trotted through the gardens to sit at her side. Dazedly, she turned her eyes to the kitchen doorway and saw Ayako standing there with a saddened frown pulling at her red lips. It was obvious the priestess was worried and Mai was certain the others were as well. Their argument had been far from quiet and it wouldn't surprise her if they had all heard everything.
"Ayako," Mai called mournfully as fresh tears rose to her eyes.
Ayako stepped out of the doorway and hurried across the gardens. She dropped to the bench next to Mai and swept her up into a tight embrace. No words were spoken and for that Mai was grateful. She couldn't handle revisiting any part of the last two hours. She sobbed into the miko's shoulder, comforted by the familiar presence of the one person she viewed as a motherly figure, and shut her eyes against the dark skies.
If Mai was thankful for anything, it was the few people she had met along the way who had quickly become her family.
Monk shuffled outside to check on the girls some time later and approached with a tight frown. Emotions weren't his strong point so he had left the comforting to Ayako but he had not expected to find Mai asleep with her head resting in the woman's lap. Ayako sat, staring listlessly into the pond, while her figures ran through Mai's hair soothingly. Her eyes were vacant and it was obvious she was deep in thought.
"How is she?" Monk murmured quietly as he approached.
Ayako pulled her eyes away from the pond and dropped them to the girl in her lap slowly, "She's hurt. She didn't tell me what they fought about but I'm certain he said something he shouldn't have. She would have bounced back by now if it was just a simple disagreement."
"Dammit," Monk hissed under his breath and slid his hands into his pocket, gaze trained upon the grass beneath his shoes. "I knew this would happen," he muttered grimly.
Ayako snapped her eyes to him with furrowed brows, "What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Ayako, Mai's the tiger and Naru-bou the dragon. They are opposites and when they're in balance nothing can stop them, but that also means that when they butt heads it's volatile," Monk whispered waspishly and crossed his arms in mounting frustration.
Ayako heaved and sigh and looked back down at the sleeping Mai sadly. "Maybe things will be better tomorrow," she mumbled hopefully, "But we should get her to bed."
Monk nodded and bent down to scoop Mai up into his arms. She barely even reacted, dead to the world, and he wondered just how exhausted she had been before finally succumbing to sleep. Ayako stood and followed closely at his side as he carried her back inside and shuffled back down the halls and up the stairs to the main suite. As Ayako opened the door and Monk side stepped through they caught site of the office doors sitting open. Lin stood in the center and looked back at them and Monk was unable to face the man who remained at Oliver Davis's shoulder at all times. He frowned and turned his face away, missing the frustration that flitted across the omniyoji's face, while Ayako breezed past him to open the door into the women's room.
In the office, Luella sat in the desk chair and Naru stood before her on the other side, arms crossed and eyes cast down.
Everything had blown up in all of their faces and no one knew quite how to patch the situation up. They were all affected. Everyone loved Mai and everyone felt for Luella and they were all concerned for Naru, who had so few people who truly knew him and were willing to stand by his side. No one was truly in the wrong. There was no one to point fingers at. It was a small misstep that had sent the precarious balance of their lives tumbling down around them.
Ayako shut the door behind them and helped Monk settle Mai into her bed. They removed her socks and shoes and ushered Rocco up so that she had someone nearby whom she could rely upon. They sat on the bed silently, quietly wondering how best to proceed, before Monk eventually excused himself and wandered back down to base. He wouldn't be able to sleep that night. He couldn't guarantee how he would react when Naru decided to show his face, acting like nothing had happened, and he wasn't ready to deal with Lin's logic. Mai was the closest thing he had to a little sister, maybe even a daughter, and he was far too emotional to be in the vicinity of any Davis in that moment.
War was brewing. That was the best way Yasuhara could describe it. The team had been split and allegiances had never been more obvious. Lin, Madoka, and Luella sat clustered around Naru that morning, though the man obviously wished to be left alone. John had retreated into the folds of the camera crew who sat huddled at the back table quietly discussing the previous days events. Even in war, John was a pacifist, Yasuhara bemoaned mentally. Surprisingly, Masako had pledged her devotion to Mai and had offered to walk the property with her to collect temperatures while Monk and Ayako sat together on one of the sofas and quietly whispered to each other.
Yasuhara took a sip from his coffee, casting his eyes about the room, and met Madoka's saddened gaze with a quirked brow. Why was she looking at him so imploringly? That traitor. He pointedly turned his eyes to John and the camera crew then back to her and lifted his brows as if to ask "Why aren't you at least with the neutrals?"
Madoka heaved a sigh and her eyes traveled to him where he stood next to Monk and Ayako, then to John and the camera crew, then to Naru and back to Yasuhara. She lifted her hands helplessly and Yasu scowled. So what if everyone was against Naru? He probably deserved it.
Madoka leveled him with a dry disappointed look and Yasu lifted his hands, one still clutching his coffee, in surrender. She was right, this wasn't some high school break up. They still had to remain professional and Naru was practically her family.
"Well!" Yasuhara exclaimed loudly so that all could hear, "I guess I'll go see about getting breakfast started since everyone seems to be so distracted." He felt Ayako's stare drilling holes into the back of his head and noted that Naru did not even bother to react to his loud proclamation.
"That sounds like a great idea, Yasu, I'll go with you," Madoka exclaimed.
Curiously, Lin stood.
"Lin," Naru called without further explanation.
Lin paused as he moved to step around the table and follow after Madoka, he stared down at Naru, debating, and then said, "Noll."
The room fell silent and Monk stared with wide eyes as the tall assistant continued out of base. Had Lin just refused Naru? The world had ended as they knew it last night and the apocalypse had officially begun. It was every man for themselves now. Monk watched as Naru's jaw tensed and his cheek twitched while he gritted his teeth but refused to look up from the monitors.
"What happened, Yasuhara? I know you know," Madoka wheedled as the three slowly made their way down the hall towards the kitchen.
Yasuhara sighed and took a sip of his coffee while he gathered his thoughts. Based off of the information he had collected last night after the fight, and what Mai had told him that morning, he was uncertain if divulging everything was a good idea. It would most likely cause further infighting, and while Yasu was all for a little fun and drama, things had far surpassed what he was comfortable with.
Lin seemed to loom over him from behind and Yasuhara swallowed his coffee roughly, causing him to cough, and ran a hand through his hair nervously.
"Mai found out that Florence had a twin who died," Yasuhara muttered remorsefully and swirled his coffee about as they entered the kitchen. "She planned on sharing the information with Naru once she had figured out if the knowledge was actually pertinent to the case."
"She didn't want to upset Noll," Lin murmured thoughtfully and took a seat at the kitchen island with a frown.
Yasuhara nodded and pointed to Lin, "Exactly. She wanted to gather all the facts before hand. Which isn't bad except for the fact that Naru stated no additional investigation would be done without his say so."
"Naturally," Lin agreed quietly.
Madoka was peering into the fridge while the two men spoke.
"Of course, Naru found out and was pissed," Yasuhara continued tiredly, "He may have said some things that he shouldn't have . . ."
"Like?" Lin prodded with a quirked brow.
Yasu grimaced and set his coffee down on the island, "I believe Mai made the statement that the way he was attacking her wasn't fair and he said something along the lines of 'I assumed someone of your background wouldn't rely on the concept of fair'."
The fridge slammed shut and Madoka turned wide eyes onto Yasuhara then to Lin, as if hoping she had heard wrong.
"God dammit," Lin cursed and lifted a hand to rub at his eyes irritably.
"Mai isn't upset that he was angry with her, she was fully ready to accept the consequences of her actions, but she was very hurt by that statement . . ." Yasuhara explained quietly and dropped onto the bar stool beneath him with another sigh. "And Mai, being Mai, let her emotions get the better of her and blew up."
And apparently, Lin added mentally, Gene was missing and Naru continued to argue with her, and Luella happened to walk in at that moment.
What a mess.
"Mai didn't stop to consider that Naru has a similar background," Lin muttered.
"Well, I think she saw it differently," Yasuhara reasoned, "She felt that she had never been good enough to be adopted. She's always felt that she wasn't good enough for Naru, not that she complained about it often, but we did use to hang out at cafes a year back and she mentioned it to me once. I imagine she felt very insecure after he said that."
"Obviously, Noll didn't mean it as in insult, he was trying to tell her she was being childish," Lin groaned, "He just sucks at communicating."
"Not all are as fluent in Naru as you, Lin," Yasuhara countered while eyeing the bottom of his now empty coffee cup.
"This is horrible," Madoka moaned quietly and wiped at her eyes. She pulled lunch meats out of the fridge and tossed them on the counter while she mentally panicked. "And Mai is good enough! She's more than good enough! Someone needs to tell her!" she exclaimed after a few moments of shuffling stuff about on the island.
"She thinks he wants nothing to do with her now," Yasu muttered and ran a finger across the marble counter top, "She even said she was going to return the dress she bought."
Madoka gasped, "She did not!"
"She did," Yasu assured her with a frown.
"She was so happy about it," Madoka whispered pitifully and turned back to the fridge but did not open it immediately.
"He still loves her," Lin stated and cast the two an exasperated look, "He just doesn't know how to fix things and is choosing to turn his attentions to what he can do; work."
"If only Gene were here," Madoka said quietly, "He would smack him upside the head and tell him he was being an idiot."
"I could do that," Yasuhara offered lamely, causing the older adults to roll their eyes.
"I'm assuming Naru will attempt to hold a séance tonight to contact Gene, maybe he'll do just that," Lin attempted to reassure the two, but reassuring wasn't exactly his forte, and the two only sighed and turned their attentions elsewhere. He had spent the past fifteen years of his life learning how to communicate with a pair of twins, especially Naru, who struggled with expressing themselves and now it appeared as if he had fallen behind himself.
Lin's sigh soon followed.