Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. There would be ghost hunter babies aplenty.
Chapter 25 – Social Discords
-0O0-
"I must say, Taniyama, these scans are impressive," Martin enthused. "Especially the portions illustrating the 'return' from your astral projection." He spread the EEG scans across his desk in chronological order to establish a more complete picture.
"Had you backed me instead of Madoka, you would have seen the results sooner," Naru muttered.
"True, Noll," his adopted father admitted. "But your mother is absolutely delighted that you managed four whole hours at a public beach." Martin grinned. "And when your mother is delighted, we get bakery cake for dessert."
"So a net benefit, then," Madoka summed up with a smile.
Naru scoffed. "Father, I will not accept cake as recompense for this waste of a day."
"Oh, come on, Naru," Mai encouraged. "The whole day wasn't a waste, even by your standards. I exorcised a ghost today. And we closed a case!"
"Which reminds me, Taniyama – excellent work!" Martin congratulated. "Madoka tells me that you almost single-handedly conducted the exorcism, and identified the ghost's main problem."
"Um, yes... but I also totally misread the case at first," Mai hedged, squirming.
"You didn't 'totally misread' anything, Mai-chan," Madoka noted wearily. "And if you say that one more time, I may smack you."
Mai gave Madoka a flat-eyed stare. "I said there were two ghosts. There was only one."
"Yes, one ghost... with two almost entirely separate personalities," Madoka reminded her.
"Georgie Reed almost was two ghosts," Naru said judiciously. "Which I believe to be the reason Mai had such a problem identifying him – he couldn't unify his two sides enough to manifest properly." He threw Mai a flat-eyed stare of his own. "Do not confuse misreading with lacking information."
"Then I shouldn't have called it so early," Mai argued.
"No, you shouldn't have," Naru agreed readily.
"So your lesson for this case, Mai-chan," Madoka interrupted loudly, "Is to avoid making premature verdicts."
"And to avoid venturing up obviously haunted staircases by yourself!" Yasuhara called from the outer office.
"Yeah, yeah," Mai groused, bending her newly re-gloved finger. Almost totally healed. She also reached her hands up toward the ceiling, feeling for discomfort in her ribs. They still hurt, but Mai could attribute some of that to being pounded by waves all afternoon.
Martin leafed through the case notes. "The next time you conduct an exorcism, Taniyama, I want you hooked up to the EEG. We might get something interesting out of it."
"We might," Mai granted. "I did have a vision flash during the exorcism. Plus, my senses were going nuts with all the emotions Georgie was throwing around."
"You had a vision... flash?" Naru repeated curiously, both unaware of this occurrence and unsure of what Mai meant by 'flash.'
"Yeah," she answered. "I had a flash of Georgie's dead hand dragging along the hallway floor. I could hear the dragging, too."
"Do you reckon the ghost supplied this vision?" Martin asked clinically. He settled back into his chair and pulled out a notebook.
Mai considered. "No," she said slowly. "At least not on purpose. I was thinking about our team's supposition - that Georgie had been dragged into the garden and buried there... and I think my powers responded to my need to know whether we were right. It happens that way sometimes."
"Instinctual ability at work again," Naru surmised. Another topic for his paper. "How exactly would you define a vision 'flash,' Mai?" She'd used that term before, when explaining the 'warning' lapses into the vision of Gene's death.
"Oh, that just means I had a brief vision – while still awake," Mai clarified.
Naru nodded, mentally outlining this new section of his paper. He'd have to interview Mai properly on the subject... perhaps as early as tomorrow. He wanted to complete the interactive research before Mai started at Cambridge. Given her admitted lack of multitasking ability, Naru figured that the stress of attending a prestigious university, living in a foreign country, working for SPR, training her powers, and consulting on a paper might overwhelm her. So in the meantime, Naru wanted Mai to focus on the study.
A sudden image of Mai freaking out over an essay flashed across Naru's inner eye. She had already expressed worry over her ability to write in Cambridge-level English... but then again, Mai would have near-constant access to extra help in the form of Martin, Madoka, or himself. Naru felt an odd rush of pleasure at the thought of Mai requesting his help on an assignment.
As Yasuhara strolled into Martin's office, he noticed that Naru was wearing a smug smirk. Obviously, it was about time to bother him. "Hey, Big Boss, your amazingly clear and uniformly pallid skin is looking a little... off."
Naru favored the researcher with an unimpressed glare.
"Curious, are you?" Yasuhara grinned. "It seems that you've got a sunburn. Your nose and cheeks are quite a becoming shade of pink right now."
Madoka giggled. Noll was looking decidedly less pale than was normal. She had elected not to mention it, as Noll obviously held her responsible for his beach-torture.
"There wasn't a sun cream strong enough to block the intense rays coming off of your smile, Yasuhara," Naru drawled derisively.
Mai snorted. "Good one, Naru!" She was rewarded with a withering look. "Right, well, I've got lotion in my beach bag – if your sunburn hurts."
"I'll be fine," Naru replied shortly.
"It's for the best, Mai-chan – you shouldn't deprive Luella of the rare chance to nurse her baby back to health!" Madoka joked. "Not to mention, she'll be positively overjoyed to see physical evidence of Oliver's time outdoors!" She smiled brilliantly.
"So overjoyed that we get fancy cake," Yasuhara chimed in, also smiling brilliantly.
Someone really needs to do something about the two of them, Naru noted. "Four hours of wasted time for cake," he reiterated through his teeth.
Sensing it was time to get going, Professor Davis stood quickly. "Look at the time! If we don't want to miss the dinner bell, we'd better get a move on." He ushered his temperamental employees out of the office – making sure to push Noll out first.
As they walked to the elevators, Martin drew alongside his son. "By the way, Oliver," he whispered. "It's chocolate-peppermint cake." He watched as Naru's face softened slightly at the mention of his favorite dessert.
"I suppose if Mai isn't too tired to make tea, it might not be an entirely unfortunate evening," Naru conceded.
Martin snapped the EEG scans triumphantly. "That's the spirit, Noll."
-0O0-
Mai gaped at the unprecedented visual assaulting her brain. Directly across the table sat Naru, calmly drinking his tea... over an empty cake plate. And not mostly empty, not empty save for a bunch of crumbs... empty like he'd licked the crumbs off the plate when she wasn't watching. Never in her memory had Naru ever finished dessert. Mai had always been under the impression that the accompanying tea was what kept him at the table.
Her future professor (and current boss) interrupted Mai's shocked ruminations. "So, back to the EEG scans..." Martin began excitedly.
"Martin, I'm sure they're highly interesting and worthy of hours of heated discussion," Luella deadpanned. "But isn't that what the workday is for? I would rather hear about the beach." She glanced at her son's unusually colorful complexion and smiled beatifically. "Noll, did you swim?"
An incredulous and slightly disgusted look was all the answer Luella received.
Mai suddenly wanted longer legs that could kick Naru under the table. Then again, the punishment for such an action would probably outweigh the initial rush of satisfaction...
While waiting for a verbal response, Luella noticed that her son's plate was empty. This was not unexpected – chocolate-peppermint cake was one of the only desserts Noll actually enjoyed...
When he'd first come to England, Luella noticed that he never touched his dessert - and so the newly-minted adopted mother sought to find a cake that Noll would eat. One night (following yet another failure), Luella collapsed into Martin's chair in the study and reached into the nearby bowl of peppermints... only to come up empty. A short search revealed a wastebasket full of plastic wrappers. But Martin hadn't been home all week - in those days, he attended the ghost hunts with SPR. The only other person who spent regular amounts of time in the study was... Noll. A grin had broken out over Luella's face, and the next morning, she called a nearby bakery and asked for a cake flavored with peppermint. And to her very great joy, Noll had eaten every last bit.
After that night, Luella ordered chocolate-peppermint cake for all of Noll's special occasions - his entrance into Cambridge, his first case solve with SPR, his paper publications, his degree announcements, etc. Luella also made sure to keep the study stocked with peppermints. The memories made Mrs. Davis' eyes mist over as she waved James over. "Another piece, darling?" she asked Oliver, not really waiting for an answer before signaling for second helpings to be doled out.
Naru raised an eyebrow at his rather emotional-looking adopted mother before tucking into his second slice of cake. A moment later, he noticed Mai's open-mouthed gawking. Naru confronted her stare with a look of fake curiosity, as if he had no idea what she could find so strange.
The effect was almost immediate – Mai's cheeks turned red and her eyes darted away. Naru hid a smirk behind his fork.
And Madoka decided to pick up the lost thread of conversation. "No, Noll didn't swim, Luella," she offered with a dangerous-looking glint in her eyes. "But he almost performed a daring rescue-at-sea!"
Lin sighed almost inaudibly. Would Madoka never learn?
"What?" Luella asked, shocked eyes darting between the grinning Madoka and the glaring Noll.
"Yes, Noll noticed that a poor young lady was underwater too long," Madoka began, painting the scene with hand gestures.
What exactly did 'leave it alone' mean to his girlfriend, anyway? Lin wondered. Well, at least his own name was being left out of this tale of foolishness. After all, he'd thought Mai was drowning, too...
"And up he leapt – nobly ripping his shirt in twain – and prepared to vault into the surf to save the drowning girl..." Madoka continued, eyes far away in Fairyland.
"I wasn't drowning!" Mai denied. Not that watching Madoka torment Naru wasn't fun, but hadn't they pushed him far enough today? His aura was roiling with tension.
Luella's eyebrows flew up. She'd assumed that Madoka was exaggerating; Noll would, of course, inform a life guard if he noticed a bather in trouble – but he was hardly the type to dash into the waves himself. But for Mai... well, that might be a different story. And Noll was noticeably not denying it... Luella fixed her eyes on the very embarrassed Mai. "You weren't drowning?" she prompted.
"No!" Mai shook her head violently. "I used the waves as cover to sneak up on Yasu. He dunked me, so I was trying to get back at him."
"To be fair, I only dunked you because you were wiggling around so much," Yasuhara protested. "Besides, you were trying to get away – so really, I only helped you."
"I was 'trying to get away' from the giant wave coming at us," Mai corrected archly. "I didn't want to end up smack in the middle of the crash zone!"
Yasuhara shrugged. "You wound up safely under water when the giant wave hit. And you dunked me back. And you managed to cause Lin and Big Boss to panic unnecessarily. I call that a win."
Madoka winked at a wide-eyed Luella. "So do I!"
"It sounds like everyone had a good time," Martin said calmingly, trying to smooth everything over. That cake was almost gone, and he was only giving it another minute until Noll either started in or stormed away from the table.
Yasuhara knew it was time to quit, too, and immediately brought the conversation back around to neutral territory. "Soooo... Bou-san sent me a text, Mai-chan. He wants you to call him first thing in the morning Tokyo-time - so right around bedtime for you."
"Did he say why?" Mai asked curiously. TTMPI had made their first trip out to the supposedly haunted school today.
"Well, Bou-san says he has a case question, but I think he actually wants you to mediate his latest fight with Ayako. Apparently, one of the teary-eyed high school girls called Ayako a haughty old lady... and instead of defending her, Bou-san fell over laughing."
"Great," Mai groaned. "It's not like I was looking forward to sleeping, or anything."
"Aw, I'm sure it'll only take a few hours to calm Ayako down," Yasuhara teased.
"Uggggh," Mai closed her eyes in dismay. "Can't I just do it tomorrow? She'll still be mad tomorrow."
"Even if you don't call, Bou-san will probably just call you," Yasuhara pointed out. "At least we're off-duty tomorrow, so you can sleep in after."
"But I'm tired now," the teen psychic whined. "I can talk Ayako off the ledge when I get up. Besides, I was going to call Masako-chan when I woke up tomorrow, so I can get both calls done in one morning..."
"You figure Hara-san will give you a better rundown of TTMPI's case?" Madoka asked, laughing.
"Probably," Mai agreed. "But I wasn't going to ask her about that. The stuff I read this morning looked pretty easy to handle – I'm sure Bou-san just couldn't resist the teary-eyed girls. I noticed Masako-chan sounded twitchy about that dinner with her parents. I meant to call her about it last night, but I got all caught up in... um, the case." It wasn't technically a lie – Mai had been thinking about the case... but her confrontation with Naru and The Nightmare were really what she'd been 'caught up in.'
But since they'd all agreed that Martin and Luella should not be burdened with Gene's situation unless absolutely necessary, Mai was not going there.
"'Twitchy' about her parents?" Luella-the-psychologist probed gently.
"Yeah. Masako-chan's parents are kinda... lacking in familial warmth," Mai replied. Luella raised an eyebrow, and Mai hurried to qualify her statement. "I mean, it's not like they don't love her," she stammered, "But she feels like they forget she's a teenage girl. Masako-chan's dad is a big deal in the industry, as I'm sure you guys know, and they get so caught up in Masako's career that... well, I probably shouldn't be telling her business to everyone." Mai blushed. "When she comes for a visit, don't let her know I said anything, okay?"
Luella rested a hand on Mai's gloved one. "Of course not, dear," she assured her.
"Like I said, Mai – you've got a big mouth," Naru noted lightly.
"What was that, Narcissist?"
Naru met Mai glare for glare. His slowly calming bad mood had returned full force at the possibility of Masako Hara coming for a visit. He still hadn't quite forgiven her for the stunt she'd pulled in Japan. Or for the dates.
"Speaking of other people's business," Yasuhara said loudly. "Mai-chan, you need to get the info on Masako-chan's dates." Out of the corner of his eye, Yasu saw Naru freeze. Genuinely surprised at the reaction, the researcher asked, "You okay over there, Big Boss? I thought you'd be rather elated that Masako-chan moved on."
Down the table, Madoka tried very hard not to make eye contact with either of Noll's suddenly very interested parents, both of whom were angling for her attention. Luella's expression clearly asked, 'How did I not know about this?' and Martin's wondered, 'How did Noll deal with that landmine?' If they'd just be patient, she'd tell them later... but she'd leave out the blackmail.
"I was merely wondering whether you'd read my mind, Yasuhara," Naru replied acerbically. "I was just recalling how annoying I found certain aspects of SPR Japan."
"Naru!"
"Noll!"
Naru raised a thoroughly unconcerned eyebrow at the scandalized faces of Mai and Luella. His mother's chastisement was expected, but... "If I remember correctly, Mai, you found Hara-san just as galling as I did."
His former assistant blushed. "Well... maybe. But we get along much better now!"
Of course they do, Naru thought. Now that they weren't fighting over him... or who Mai thought was him. Naru's stomach lurched unpleasantly, and he eyed the empty cake plate in front of him. He shouldn't have eaten that second piece.
Astonishingly, it was Lin who asked the inevitable question. "Hara-san is dating someone?"
Naru smirked at the relief in his former guardian's tone. After all, the difficulties associated with Masako's blackmail hadn't only affected Naru. Part of Lin's job was to act as a smoke screen between Oliver Davis and the press, and Masako's veiled threats had thrown a huge wrench in the works.
Not to mention, Naru was always extra crabby upon returning from a forced date... and that couldn't have been fun for Lin.
"Yes, she is," Yasuhara answered earnestly. "But she won't tell us anything about him! It's really frustrating."
"You mean she won't tell you anything about him," Mai mocked.
"Mai-chaaan!" Yasu wailed. "You've known the identity of Masako-chan's secret boyfriend this whole time?"
Mai grinned impishly. "Uh-huh."
"You suck!" he groaned. "I can't believe you haven't said anything! Just think of all the taunting I've missed out on!"
"Which is exactly why I didn't say anything," Mai replied severely. "Dating is difficult enough for a celebrity like Masako-chan. She didn't need you poking fun at her."
"Masako-chan is tougher than you think she is, Mai-chan," Yasuhara informed her. "And besides – she picks on me all the time!"
"Well, that's true," Mai allowed. "But you usually deserve it."
"Maybe," Yasu grinned. Then he just stared expectantly at Mai.
"I'm still not telling you," his (supposed) best friend said into her tea cup.
"Come on, Mai-chan!"
"No."
"Pleeeeease?"
"No."
"Maybe I'll tell Madoka-san about That Person," he threatened.
"You do what you gotta do," Mai replied evenly. "I am not telling you." She deliberately ignored the curious glances everyone was shooting around the table.
Stymied, Yasuhara decided to change tactics. "It must be someone I know," he guessed, "If you're this determined not to tell me."
Mai shrugged indifferently.
Ah, he was right! "Is it John-kun?" Yasu asked excitedly. "That would be salacious and hilarious!"
Mai cut him a look. "John-kun is a priest," she reminded him.
"Right, that's where the salaciousness would come in."
His best friend rolled her eyes. "It's not John-kun."
"Is it... someone from the show? Ooh! Is it that pervy stagehand?"
"Which pervy stagehand?" Mai asked. "The one who hits on Masako-chan, or the one who hits on me?"
Naru choked on his tea. Madoka reached over and thumped him on the back.
"The one who hits on Masako-chan, obviously. The one who hits on you wants you." Yasuhara grinned evilly as Big Boss glared out the window.
"Whatever," Mai waved a dismissive hand. "It isn't either of them."
"Hmmm... oh, I know!" Yasuhara's eyes glittered. "It was that guy you both kept staring at in the restaurant during our farewell dinner." He'd been wondering about that, as Mai was thoroughly devoted to the Narcissist staring lasers into the window glass.
Mai pursed her lips. "Maybe we were just staring at him because he was hot." He was hot... and secretly dating Masako. Mai had actually met Shuuhei-san that night. Masako had dragged her off to the 'bathroom,' and sent Shuuhei-san a text requesting that he sneak to the restaurant's back balcony. Masako had then very formally introduced Mai as her close friend, blushing adorably the whole time. Shuuhei-san was very nice, and quietly (but noticeably) enamored with Masako. Mai bit back a grin at the memory.
Which Yasu pounced on immediately. "So it is him. Did they exchange numbers at the restaurant? Is that where you guys disappeared to for half the second course? Hmm, how unexpectedly bold of Masako-chan." He waggled his eyebrows.
Mai tried to maintain a stony face, but the combined stares of Yasu, Naru, Madoka, and Luella did her in. "Ugh, fine! Yes, it's him," she capitulated. "And they were already dating when we saw him at the restaurant."
"So then what were you guys doing for all that time? Wait, did Masako's boyfriend have a hot friend for you to meet?" Yasuhara smilingly avoided Naru's glare of doom.
"No, you jerk! Masako-chan took me outside to meet her man!"
"Aw, shame."
"Shut it."
Yasuhara just winked, and gestured subtly to Naru.
Mai followed his gaze... and threw Yasu a confused look. Of course Naru looked pissed – he hated 'useless' social discussions. She shook her head. "I'll take care of Bou-san and Ayako tomorrow, and I'll call Masako-chan before bed. I figure I should warn her that you know about Shuuhei-san as soon as possible."
"It'll be too late," Yasuhara said with mock sadness. "I am going to text her as soon as we get home. Only reason I'm not doing it right now is because my phone's dead."
"Yasu..." Mai groused. "If you don't leave her alone, I'll..." She struggled to come up with something bad enough.
"You'll what?" Yasu sang.
Then it came to her. Mai gave her head researcher a nasty smirk (shockingly similar to the one Naru used on especially irritating clients). "You gave me the napkin with Beach Girl's phone number on it, remember? You didn't have any pockets."
Yasuhara's smile dropped off, and he eyed Mai warily. "Yes, I remember – and her name is Liz, by the way."
"Well, if you bug Masako-chan... I'll pretend to be you and text interesting things to Liz-the-Beach-Girl. Like special numbers, for example. Or I could tell her about that time you got really drunk, and thought a girl had -"
"You wouldn't," Yasu denied quickly. "You're too nice."
"Hmm, you might be right," Mai admitted – though her malice-infused voice suggested differently. "So I'll just give Beach Girl's contact info to Masako-chan, and let her handle it." Mai's mean smile widened.
Yasuhara stared Mai down over his glasses. She batted her eyelashes and sipped her tea. A trick she'd learned from the aforementioned Masako. "Okay, I cave," he relented. "I really want to go out with Liz... and I have to respect your improved threat-style."
"I learn from the best," Mai replied gaily.
"Why, thank you," Yasuhara and Madoka said simultaneously.
"Father, hand me those scans, will you?" Naru asked darkly. "I can't take this nonsense anymore."
-0O0-
It turned out that Mai's first call of the night would not be with Masako Hara. As she dozed in her favorite cozy chair in the Davis' sitting room, a bouncy J-Pop tune broke the companionable silence. She slipped her cell phone from her pants pocket and blearily examined the screen... and a surprised look came over her face.
"Who is it, Mai-chan?" Yasuhara asked.
"Keiko-chan," Mai replied, sounding mystified. "But isn't it still really early in Japan?" She whipped the phone to her ear. "Keiko-chan? Is that you?" she asked in Japanese. She was silent for a moment, obviously listening to someone. "What do you mean, you're at the hospital?! Are you alright? Is Ikuto-kun alright?"
Everyone exchanged nervous glances as Mai listened intently to the response. "Well, that's good – but then why do you need to be at the hospital?" Another pause. "Oh... did you have food poisoning? That makes you throw up a lot."
"Ah-ha," Madoka and Luella figured it out simultaneously.
Mai threw them a confused look – and missed Keiko's response. "I'm sorry, Keiko-chan, what was that?" A moment later, Mai's eyes went wide and a huge grin split her face. "REALLY?" She jumped up from the chair. "Ai! Keiko-chan, that's wonderful! Oh, I'm so happy for you both!" She turned to Yasuhara. "Keiko-chan is pregnant!" she exclaimed in English, bouncing in place.
"Hmm, that was pretty fast," Yasuhara joked. "Aren't she and Ikuto-kun still newlyweds?"
Mai giggled. "They can hear you, Yasu – I'm apparently on speakerphone. Ikuto-kun says that he is officially more of a man than you are."
"By whose standards?" Yasuhara called loudly in Japanese. "At any rate, congratulations!"
Luella looked a bit wistful. "That's just lovely," she noted - before shooting Naru a rather dark look.
Her adopted son read the look as, 'At least somebody gets grandchildren.' He rolled his eyes.
Mai disappeared into another room to finish her phone call. Naru smiled slightly as the rise and fall of Mai's excited Japanese came through the wall. She was positively effervescent with excitement by the time she returned to the group.
"So that was a friend of yours, Mai dear?" Luella asked.
"Yes," Mai nodded happily. "I've known Keiko-chan since high school – Naru's met her, actually." She glanced at her former boss. "She was one of the girls telling ghost stories with me that day, remember?"
"Ghost stories?" Martin asked, grinning.
"Yeah," Mai laughed. "My school friends and I loved telling ghost stories after classes. We used to do it all the time. One day, we were telling one about the school itself when a strange and suspicious boy snuck in and scared the crap out of us." She glared at Naru – before becoming entranced by the open amusement in his eyes.
"Naturally, I wanted to hear that story," he replied, smirking. "Hearsay can be important on ghost hunts, and you were talking about the legends associated with a school I was hired to investigate."
"Strange and suspicious boy?" Madoka reiterated with a giggle.
"Well, yeah," Mai blushed. "Random guy we've never met, who's wandering around the school after hours – and tells us how old he is instead of what grade he's in, like a normal person would."
"You were the only one who thought there was anything amiss," Naru remembered. It had made him notice her. "Your friends didn't seem to care."
"That was because you actually had your Naru-charm flipped on," Mai retorted.
"Naru-charm?" Yasuhara snorted.
"Yeah, you know – when Naru pretends to have manners and smiles all disarmingly?"
Even Martin and Lin chuckled at that one.
"And yet you weren't 'disarmed,'" Naru noted. He had always wondered why.
"Your eyes weren't smiling," Mai answered his unasked question. "I knew you were faking it."
The great Oliver Davis' eyes widened slightly. Somehow, Mai consistently managed to surprise him. She giggled at the emotion on his face... but oddly, Naru couldn't find the wherewithal to glare into her dancing eyes.
"Your intuition at work, perhaps, Taniyama," Martin proposed. He threw a glance at his amusingly shocked-looking son. "Maybe too personal an anecdote for your paper, Noll?"
Naru gave his father a dirty look before returning to his case file.
"So this Keiko was recently married?" Luella surmised, imagining Noll as a groom in her head. That look he'd just given Mai was promising. And Luella would forbid an all-black ensemble. And NO black boutonnieres.
"Yes!" Mai answered happily. "I was in the wedding party."
"Oh, really?" Luella asked interestedly. "So Ayako's wedding won't be your first as an attendant?"
"Nope!" Mai answered. "But I've never been a maid of honor before, so I'm really excited!"
"Hmm. So your compatriots have already started marrying, huh?" Madoka had that dangerous light in her eyes again.
Martin heard that tone in his former student's voice... and decided to retreat into research immediately.
"Just Keiko-chan," Mai shrugged, oblivious to Madoka's deeper game. "She and Ikuto-kun dated for most of high school – they were planning their wedding before we even graduated."
"Well, that's lovely," Madoka said brightly. "But what about you?"
Lin, who was not oblivious, sighed at Madoka's thinly-veiled scheme.
Mai only raised a puzzled eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"What have you been up to?"
Mai's other eyebrow joined the first. "You mean other than finishing high school, going to college, testing, and going on cases?" Mai personally felt that was quite enough to be up to.
"No, no, Mai-chan. I mean socially." Madoka threw her prey a winning smile.
Oh. Madoka was asking about her dating life. Mai shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you know most of my friends," she hedged. "And I still hang out with a couple of people from high school. Keiko-chan's the only one who's married, like I said."
"And what a lovely wedding it was," Yasuhara added dreamily. "Lots of lovely ladies all dressed up and excited for romance." Misinterpreting Mai's derisive snort, he quickly added, "None of which looked as pretty as my date did in her sexy red bridesmaid's dress, of course." Yasuhara winked suggestively at his best friend.
"Yasu!" Mai blushed and lobbed a throw pillow at his head.
"So you were Mai's date?" Madoka asked curiously. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Noll's gaze zero in on the male transfer student.
"Yup," Yasuhara replied proudly. He flashed his mentor a covert grin. Mai had forbidden him from telling Madoka about That Person, but if they managed to get Mai to talk about it herself, he was off the hook. Affecting a casual tone, Yasu continued. "I stepped in as a replacement."
Madoka picked up the line. "Replacement?"
"Yeah," Mai replied unthinkingly. "I broke up with someone the week before Keiko-chan's wedding." Then she froze, unintentionally mirroring Naru's posture across the table.
Luella glanced at her son under her eyelashes. She was gratified to see that Noll was visibly affected by this unexpected information. Even when Martin handed him a case write-up sheet, Noll just stared like it was an untranslatable alien message.
"Really?" Madoka asked, voice all aflutter. "I didn't know you dated anyone recently!"
At the corner desk, Naru's thought processes started rolling again. Mai couldn't be talking about Gene. Yasuhara said he'd been her date to that wedding because she'd broken up with 'That Person' – and Gene had no body with which to attend a wedding. He couldn't even have 'attended' as a spirit; he was incapable of appearing in the real world. Therefore, Mai must have had a living boyfriend in Japan. That did not gel with his theory about Mai and Gene... Mai's suddenly hard tone interrupted Naru's thoughts.
"Yes, I dated someone, and no, we are not discussing That Person." Mai's warning glance to Yasuhara was answered by conciliatory hand-waving.
But it was too late. Madoka fired off questions like the professional investigator she was. "How long did you date this guy? Why do you call him 'That Person' instead of by name?" She had a sudden brainwave. "Is it because we know him or something?"
The beleaguered teen sighed in defeat. The sooner she answered, the sooner it would be over. Madoka was like a dog on point right now; there was no evading her. "We dated for two months," Mai said resignedly, rolling her eyes. "I call him 'That Person' because Bou-san started saying that, and it just stuck. And I honestly don't know if you know him; he is in the business."
"In the business? You mean... ghost hunting?" Madoka looked surprised.
In spite of himself, Naru was all ears. Mai had dated another ghost hunter? His mind unconsciously highlighted the fact that he'd used the word 'another' in comparison with himself... but Naru shook the foolish thought away and listened for Mai's response.
"Well, he's a psychic, but he doesn't consider himself a ghost hunter," Mai replied. "He does do jourei exorcisms, though. He's a medium, like Masako-chan."
"Does he work for anybody I'd know?" Madoka wondered aloud. She was at least casually acquainted with most of the serious ghost hunting outfits in Japan.
"Um, he's more of a solo act," Mai replied evasively. "He was traveling in Japan when we met. He came to Todai to talk with one of my religion professors about exorcism theory."
Despite a renewed attempt to start writing up the case report, Naru's curiosity won out. Why did Mai always have to be so cagy nowadays? It wasn't like she was talking about her (suspected) out-of-body relationship with Gene. After all, his ghostly brother couldn't have gone to talk to Mai's professor.
Naru couldn't help but wonder what Gene thought of Mai having had another boyfriend.
"Hmm..." Madoka relinquished the point. She sensed that Mai was going to clam up soon, and wanted to hit the most important topic. "So why did you break up?"
Having expected this question, Mai sighed heavily. "He... cheated on me."
"Ugh, what a scumbag!" Madoka cried immediately, sounding positively indignant. Mai snorted. Madoka sneaked a glance at Noll, who was trying (and failing) to look like he wasn't paying attention.
"It's alright," Mai said placatingly. "It was a while ago. But can we please talk about something else now?"
The master ghost hunter pouted... before noticing that Martin was glaring in her direction. He was obviously annoyed with her for upsetting his ever-more-fascinating student. Ugh, if Martin was interfering, she should probably let it go. She could always try again at a later date. And now that the cat was out of the bag, maybe Yasu would be more cooperative.
But... there was one more thing Madoka wanted to know. "Have you had any other boyfriends?" she asked, watching Oliver out of the corner of her eye. He completely abandoned his pretense of writing to hear Mai's answer.
"Ah, no," the embarrassed girl said slowly, head down.
Naru mentally sorted through the several emotions he could hear in Mai's voice. Underneath the forced lightness of her tone, there was an edge of loneliness and disappointment. Naru's chest felt tight.
After a long moment, Lin cleared his throat. He felt rather duty-bound to save Mai from the not-so-tender questioning of his girlfriend. "Taniyama-san." Mai threw him a grateful look. "I regret that I won't be able to train you on Wednesday. I am leaving for China tomorrow morning, and I'll be there for a week."
"Really, Lin-san? Is everything alright?"
He gave her a tiny smile. "Yes, thank you, Taniyama-san. My parents are hosting a party in honor of the wedding anniversary of my paternal grandparents. I am expected to attend."
"Oh, I see." Mai's eyes slid to the suddenly sullen Madoka. Shouldn't Lin's girlfriend be going with him? They seemed pretty serious to Mai...
"Madoka darling, would you help me in the kitchen for a moment?" Luella asked, smoothing her skirt as she stood. The two women vanished in a flash. Mai was wondering if she should follow them when Lin spoke again.
"My paternal grandparents are also the cornerstone of my family's... stance toward the Japanese," the onmyouji said haltingly. "I do not believe this particular celebration is appropriate for introducing Madoka."
The sound of angry yelling came from the kitchen.
"I don't think she agrees with you," Yasuhara observed.
"When does she ever?" Lin muttered under his breath.
Mai was trying to find something useful to say when Madoka suddenly breezed back into the room. She bypassed her seat and yanked Mai up by the arm. "Madoka-san, what's –"
"We're going out for coffee, Mai-chan," Madoka announced. "Right now. Luella's really thirsty."
"Um," Mai tried to speak as she was yanked toward the front hall, but the (calmly) following Luella shook her head in warning.
"O-kay, so see you at the apartment, Mai-chan!" Yasuhara called jauntily. "I won't wait up!"
"Madoka wants to walk, so I'll take a cab home, Martin," Luella informed her husband. "Good night, darling. Oliver, I'm sure you'll be awake when I get home." Good night, Lin; good night, Yasu."
Lin opened his mouth to speak, but Madoka cut him off. "Goodnight, Lin-san. Fax those case notes to my office before you leave tomorrow morning."
And then the girls were out the door.
The four men left behind stared after them for a moment.
Eventually, Martin reached for the case notes Madoka had left behind. "This is why I prefer parapsychological discussion," he said to no one in particular.
-0O0-
Madoka's mood didn't break until Wednesday, when a viewing Mai's of regularly scheduled testing managed to distract her from Lin Drama.
Lin Drama. Mai giggled unwillingly, drawing odd looks from other SPR employees in the diner booth. It was just so weird to think of Lin as the subject of drama. Especially relationship drama.
It was also weird to get a glimpse of the less confident side of Madoka Mori. It had taken two hours and four cups of (thankfully decaf) coffee to calm Madoka into calling it a night. She had ignored at least ten calls from Lin, and the group had relocated twice in case he somehow found them (Madoka was convinced that Lin's shiki were following them, even though Mai repeatedly told her she couldn't see any).
Thank goodness for Luella, Mai reminisced as she stretched her legs under the table. By the end of the night, Mrs. Davis had convinced Madoka to sleep at her own apartment (instead of hiding out at Mai's), and to call Lin in the morning. (This phone call had reportedly gone okay, although Madoka was still noticeably unhappy.)
The whole experience had made Mai feel... more like a friend to Madoka and Luella. The transfer student still saw Luella as a mother figure, and Madoka was still the lead investigator in charge of their SPR team... but the teen felt even more comfortable around them now. Mai remembered Michiru talking about something similar – as Michiru got older, she saw her mother as a parent and a fellow adult. Kind of like Mai's relationship with Ayako.
Mai smiled happily – her family was expanding. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the contacts. There was Madoka's cell number, Lin's, Luella's, Martin's... and Naru's. She grinned giddily, tracing the numbers with tender eyes.
Speaking of numbers... Mai noticed that it was almost eight o'clock. No wonder she was so hungry. She hoped the waiter would bring their food out soon.
Wanting a distraction, Mai glanced down the table. At the far end of the booth, Martin looked strangely anxious. Madoka sat across from the professor, and was (worryingly) deep in whispered conversation with Yasu. They had been talking about training options, but Mai sincerely doubted that was still the topic of discussion. Naru apparently doubted it too, as he kept shooting them dark glances.
Mai caught his eye and gestured to the Troublesome Twosome, rolling her eyes. Naru's lips twitched, and Mai grinned back. Then rather suddenly, Naru eased out of the booth and made for the back of the diner. Maybe he wanted to hit the bathroom before the entrees came?
The moment Naru was presumably out of earshot, Martin sprang to life. "Alright, he's gone. Let's talk strategy."
"Huh?" Mai asked dumbly. What was going on?
"Noll's birthday is next week," Madoka explained quickly. "And he's unswervingly un-celebratory about it."
"Well," Mai hedged, glancing at the professor. "Isn't that to be expected? I mean, Naru doesn't really do celebrations anyway, but... his birthday isn't just his birthday. It's also..." She couldn't bring herself to say Gene's name in front of Martin. She had never discussed Gene with his and Naru's adopted parents – not since the day she'd met them in Japan, anyway. She felt like she would be intruding somehow.
"Quite right, Taniyama," Martin interjected, saving Mai the trouble of finishing her sentence. His voice sounded much tighter than usual. "But honestly, I'm not sure that Noll's chosen method of ignoring the issue completely is the healthiest way to go."
"It certainly isn't healthy for Luella," Madoka added. "Noll ignoring his birthday – and by proxy, ignoring Luella on his birthday – causes hours of crying every year."
"Indeed," Martin nodded heavily. "And that is not happening this time."
Mai pursed her lips. As much as she loved Luella and completely understood her depression concerning September nineteenth... it was still Naru's birthday. If Naru wanted to ignore it and spare himself pain, then shouldn't his wishes be respected over everyone else's? "But Naru –" she began.
"Has had his way these last three years, and it has not done a bit of good," Martin interrupted uncompromisingly. "For himself or for anyone else."
Suddenly, Madoka's hand was on Mai's. "Mai-chan, I know what you're thinking. And you're right – Noll is always going to be hurt over this, and Gene's death hurts him in ways that the rest of us cannot comprehend."
Mai blinked away the tears in her eyes.
"But," Madoka continued. "Noll also still wears black every day, hates his birthday, hardly ever discusses his feelings, and is extremely socially cut off."
"Naru hardly ever discusses anything, and he likes being cut off," Mai argued, sniffling.
"Don't undermine the point, Mai-chan," Madoka chastised. "You know what I'm getting at."
"But do you really think forcing him to celebrate his birthday is going to help with any of that?" Mai asked, slightly incredulous. If anything, Mai imagined that such a move would only make Naru worse.
"Maybe not right away," Martin admitted. "But it's an important step toward moving on."
Moving on, Mai reiterated in her head. Naru was very worried because Gene wasn't moving on. But now that she thought about it... Gene wasn't the only one who was stuck.
"Okay," Mai said slowly. "I understand. So... what exactly do you guys want to do?"
-0O0-
AN: Okay, so surgery over, and I'm in the process of healing! After four days of being stuck in bed, I am practically stir crazy - but this chapter's finished!:) I know it's not the most action-packed one, but they just finished a case, lol. And besides, Yasuhara was itching for some more lines;)