Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. The revamped novels and new manga would be out in English:)
Chapter 26 – Finding Some Peace
-0O0-
"So, what does Naru usually do on his birthday?" Mai asked. "Lock himself in his office for even longer than usual?"
"Essentially," Martin acknowledged. "His first year back in England, Noll went into work at dawn and didn't come home until after midnight. And while there, he refused to leave his office or see anyone. He wouldn't even open the door for me."
"I was on a case that day," Madoka remembered, sliding to the other side of the booth so that she could face Mai and Yasuhara. "Otherwise, I'd have just broken in."
Mai smiled half-heartedly, guilt eating at her insides. She had worked for SPR Japan for a year; she might have been there on September nineteenth. And she'd had no idea. Naru's birthday had come and gone, without anyone knowing save Lin.
But then again, that was probably how he wanted it, Mai thought sadly.
Madoka noticed Mai's forlorn expression, and squeezed the young ghost hunter's hand before continuing. "Last year, Noll managed to be on a case for his birthday. He would only take Lin with him; apparently, he was worried that I would try to do something birthday-related."
"Which you would have," Yasuhara alleged. Madoka winked at him.
"So the goal is to get Naru home for at least part of the day?" Mai summed up.
"Actually, that part's already done," Martin revealed. "I read Noll the riot act last night. It's a sad day for the entire family, and Noll's penchant for fleeing the situation only makes it worse."
Mai nodded slowly, unused to such emotional utterances from the professor.
"Luella's thinking that we should go out to dinner that night," Madoka informed the table. "That way it won't be a 'celebration,' per se... but we wouldn't be ignoring it, either. And Noll behaves marginally better in public, so there's a better chance of keeping him at the table. Besides, since we used to do birthdays at home before Gene's..." Madoka studied the table design for a moment. "Luella thinks that being out will be easier for everyone."
Unsure of what to say, Mai just nodded again. Then she thought of another worrisome issue. "What about birthday presents? I mean, Naru doesn't strike me a present-person, but..." She shrugged helplessly.
Martin made an amused noise. "You're right about that, Taniyama. Noll was never very concerned with presents, even before... the accident." Thankfully, a positive memory came to mind. "For example," Martin started, a genuine smile forming on his lips, "Every Christmas morning, Gene would be downstairs before sunup, rattling boxes and separating everything into piles – while Noll sat at his desk near the tree, drinking tea and reading with a blanket around his shoulders." Looking up, Professor Davis found himself surprised by the level of captivation his reminiscences seemed to engender in Mai. How... interesting. Martin's mind turned over as he continued. "Luella or Gene would practically have to put the presents in Noll's hands before he would bother opening them. So no, he doesn't much care for the practice. However, it's important to his mother, so Noll generally acquiesces. Luella and I are giving him several new books, as well as clothes."
"Lin and I got him new video software," Madoka whispered (as if Naru could somehow hear her from the bathroom). "It's more sensitive than the stuff we use now; with shutter-speed style play-back and better color grading."
Mai bit her lip. How was she going to compete with that? Come to think of it, what else would Naru actually like? Books and equipment would have been her go-to ideas...
Having noticed her distress, Yasuhara nudged his best friend. "Don't worry, Mai-chan, we'll think of something. I was going to suggest books, but apparently the professor's got that covered... oh, wait, I know! What about some new varieties of tea? That stuff that you and Ayako brought back from the monks is pretty delish. We can have her air-mail us some of it!"
Mai barely heard his last sentence. Her mind had stopped on 'monks.' She actually did have something she could give Naru... something she'd always meant to give him. "I... have a present already," she said slowly, eyes far away. "I can't believe I forgot about it."
"What is it?" everyone at the table asked simultaneously.
The sudden chorus of voices snapped Mai out of her daze. Three Investigative Stares were trained unblinkingly on her. "Um... well, Ayako has this really famous friend – he's been a patient of hers for years. He's an ascetic monk, a very old one. And he's a recluse. He gets kind of twitchy around people... I remember thinking that he and Naru were kinda alike." Mai giggled. "Anyway, I met with him, back when I was having a few control problems. Ayako asked him to look me over to make sure my qi was okay."
'Control problems,' she thought to herself. That was a bit of an understatement. Mai had just undergone the transfer, and her powers were all over the place. The very week Ayako dragged her to see Tominaga-sama, Mai had two visions about past tenants of her apartment building, caused three glasses and a picture frame to explode, and experienced The Nightmare every single night. Bou-san and Ayako had been practically frantic... and Mai hadn't exactly known what to tell them.
"Wait," Yasuhara cut into her thoughts. "Are you going to give Big Boss your sutra?"
"No," Mai denied quickly. Then she looked down at the table and tried hard not to blush. "I'm giving him his sutra."
-0O0-
Mai woke up very early the morning of September nineteenth. Unfortunately, she was also screaming, choking, and running for the toilet to throw up water that wasn't really there.
After a few awful minutes, Mai collapsed against the bathroom wall, feeling the grainy wallpaper at her back and soaking up the chill from the tiled floor. Even though the cold made Mai's shivering worse, the tile felt reassuringly solid beneath her.
It wasn't the expected time for a recurrence... but she shouldn't be surprised that she'd dreamt of Gene's death on his birthday. She wondered sadly if Naru was having the same problem.
At this thought, Mai's fingers curled and locked into the grooves between the tiles. She didn't have to be in front of a mirror to know a look of determination was settling across her face. She was going to help Naru get through his birthday today...
No matter how exhausted she was. For the second time ever, the vision of Gene's death had come multiple times in one night.
Footsteps sounded in the living room, and Mai sighed in frustration. Yasuhara had woken up this time, despite how quiet she'd tried to be. She'd even managed to keep the after-waking screams to a minimum.
The first thing Yasuhara noticed upon easing open the bathroom door was the smell. And not the sick smell of vomit, although that was certainly present. But underneath that smell was the distinct smell of cleaning fluid; Mai always sanitized the bathroom after she threw up. And since she had only just finished retching... that bleach-y smell implied she was on round two. "Mai-chan?" Yasuhara asked evenly. "This isn't the first time you've been in here tonight, is it?"
Mai was too tired to deny it. Ugh, now Yasu was probably going to call Bou-san after he helped her back to her room...
And he did. She fell back to sleep trying to listen to Yasu's side of a hushed, frantic telephone conversation.
-0O0-
Afternoon sunlight streamed into her room, turning the insides of Mai's closed eyelids orange and forcing her to wakefulness. She groaned and fumbled for the fizzy drink she saw on the nightstand. Lifting the bottle to dry lips, Mai welcomed the cool slide of liquid on her parched throat. As the trauma of the previous night assaulted her memory, Mai decided to make some tea as soon as humanly possible. "Yes, tea," she promised herself.
"Mai-chan?" Madoka's voice came from the other room. The surprise visitor roused Mai enough to lever herself out of bed and stumble to the door. Sure enough, there was Madoka, sitting on the couch with Yasu and watching TV.
"What's going on?" Mai rasped. Stupid throwing up. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Hi, Madoka-san. What are you doing here?"
"Checking up on you, obviously." Madoka raised an eyebrow. "Bou-san and Ayako were very concerned."
The teen's still-sleepy mind wondered where Naru was. He was usually the first responder to her psychic issues.
As if reading her mind, Yasuhara said, "We decided it would be best to keep Naru out of the loop for today."
Mai nodded tiredly, collapsing next to Madoka on the couch. "Good. He doesn't need any more reminders of why this day sucks. Dealing with my death-vision issues would probably make it worse."
"That reminds me," Yasuhara said suddenly, "I meant to ask you, Mai-chan – how did Naru find out that your Nightmare is about Gene? Did you tell him during your fight?"
"No, he already knew," Mai murmured. "He figured it out ages ago. Naru sort of tricked me into telling him that the vision ended in drowning." She rolled her eyes, remembering how he'd used her 'weakness for his face' to trap her.
Then Madoka froze beside her, and Mai suddenly regretted her casual mien. Madoka had been close to Gene, too. But she only said, "Oh, Mai-chan."
"I'm sorry to have been so blunt, Madoka-san," Mai apologized sincerely.
"I spend my time with a lot of blunt people, Mai-chan," Madoka replied with a small smile, "Myself included."
"I know, but..."
"Why didn't you tell the rest of us it was Gene, if Noll already knew?" Madoka interjected curiously. "For that matter, why didn't Noll tell anyone?"
Mai sighed heavily. She couldn't be sure of Naru's motives, although she guessed that they were along the same lines as hers. "Because the Professor or Luella could have found out," she replied softly.
Madoka nodded understandingly... and then pulled Mai into an unexpected hug. The teen psychic was rather shocked to see tears in Madoka's eyes. But then again, it was Gene's birthday.
"No matter what we do," Mai said into Madoka's shoulder, "Today isn't going to be fun for anyone."
Wanting to give them some space, Yasuhara ran off to make tea.
Madoka released Mai, but kept an arm around her. "No, it's not. But spending the day together might make it a little less awful. And honestly, it's about time that Noll realizes having people around can be a help rather than a hindrance." The master ghost hunter sat back, and gave Mai a piercing look. "Which brings me to an important point."
Mai just waited, eyes uncomprehending.
"If Noll is going to talk it out with anyone, it's going to be you," Madoka declared.
"What?" Mai asked incredulously. "Naru hardly tells me anything!" She had worked for the man for a year without knowing his real identity, for crying out loud!
"Hmm. I was under the impression that he's actually rather forthcoming with you," Madoka argued, a smile creeping into her voice.
Mai shook her head vehemently. "I don't think so," she insisted.
"But he totally is, Mai-chan," Yasuhara contradicted from the kitchen area. He handed Mai and Madoka cups of tea before returning with his own. "Think about it. When everyone was wondering what the divers were looking for in the lake, Naru told you – and only you – about his lost brother. You're the one he explains ghost hunting stuff to all the time. And you're the one he used PK in front of – three times – before revealing it to the rest of us."
"He used it because we fell down the well!" Mai argued, inexplicably frantic to prove Yasuhara wrong. "He'd have done it to save any of us!"
"True," Madoka admitted. "But Noll did tell you about Gene before anyone else – and that's a big deal. And Yasu is right about the explanations – when we were on the Urado case, I noticed that Noll usually answered your questions. He pretty much ignored everyone else's."
Mai's mouth flopped like a landed fish. They were right about Gene, but couldn't that have been because she asked about it before anyone else?
"And he used his life-threatening PK to do 'magic' for you in the well, right?" Yasuhara asked, grinning slyly. He'd been saving that tidbit for a good moment. And his patience paid off – Mai burned brilliantly red.
"Lin says that Noll bent a spoon in front of you," Madoka added, smiling as she prepared to throw down her pièce de résistance. "And he asked you to keep it a secret from everyone."
Mai studiously avoided the twin Cheshire Cat grins aimed her way. "Whatever," she conceded. She wasn't going to win this one.
"Glad you see it our way, Mai-chan," Madoka said brightly. Then quite suddenly, her smile dropped off and the master ghost hunter became quite serious. "With that in mind, I have a favor to ask of you. Noll is probably going to behave today for Luella's sake, but he's bound to be feeling awful. We thought maybe you could get him to talk."
"Whaaat?" Mai asked, eyes wide. "Even if – and I mean if – Naru tends to talk to me more than other people, what makes you think he'd welcome me prying into his thoughts on what must be a very difficult day for him?"
"I didn't say it would be easy, Mai-chan," Madoka noted earnestly. "But even if you can't get him to open up about Gene, you've definitely got the best chance of making him talk about something. Just drag Noll off someplace and talk. About Japan, Todai, TTMPI, anything." Madoka was pretty sure that just being alone with Mai would make Noll feel better - even if neither of them understood their effect on the other.
Mai gulped in trepidation, but remembered the promise she'd made in the dark of the bathroom – that she would help Naru through this day. She also remembered what Naru had done for her on Obon. "Okay," Mai replied, steeling her spine. "I'll do it."
"Excellent," Madoka said, smiling in satisfaction. "Now, go get dressed. We need to leave for dinner in an hour." She pushed Mai in the direction of the bathroom.
"Eep!" Mai grabbed her bathrobe and ran for the shower.
-0O0-
As Madoka had anticipated, dinner was an uneasy affair. Naru was unquestionably present... but even more distant than usual. And everyone resolutely avoided the elephant (or spirit) in the room. Mai was sitting next to Luella, and the teen psychic did her best to keep Mrs. Davis talking; by dessert, Mai knew more about English gardens than she imagined most people did.
Conspicuously, there was no cake. Naru had given Martin a rather savage glare when it was time to place dessert orders – and Professor Davis got the message loud and clear. Luella seemed upset, but she didn't argue.
It was only worse when they got back to the house. Like any other day, everyone settled around the television... but unlike any other day, they actually watched it. Mai felt pressured to talk, but simply didn't know what to say. Even Yasu and Madoka looked a bit lost. And Mai wasn't sure what they were going to do about the presents. Naru was staring forbiddingly at the television, and he pointedly ignored anyone who spoke to him. Mai fingered her key necklace nervously.
Eventually, Naru just up and left the sitting room. His steps sounded heavy on the front stairs. After ten minutes and a couple of significant glances from Madoka, Mai followed his lead. Before heading into battle, though, Mai made sure to brew a pot of Earl Grey.
When it was ready, Mai stretched out with her senses and found Naru's aura upstairs. She snuck into the front entryway, retrieved her thankfully small present, and padded carefully up the carpeted steps. Mai wandered slowly down the hallway, locked onto Naru's presence. She passed the always-closed door that led to Gene's bedroom (thank goodness he wasn't in there), and wound up in the study. The French doors were open, and Mai could see Naru out on the balcony, his black clothes blending with the night.
She dropped her wrapped present on the table for later – she didn't want to start this off with a birthday-reminder. Shoring up her courage and gripping the tea cups tightly, Mai stepped out onto the balcony.
Naru barely turned his head at her approach, and Mai wondered if he'd heard her coming. Wordlessly, she handed him his favorite beverage and turned to face the night. Naru didn't talk at all, but he didn't walk away, either. They stood quietly for a moment, before Mai sucked it up and broke the silence.
"Why is tea the go-to in our countries?" she asked, eyes on the gently waving plants by the lake.
Naru shifted beside her. "It's the result of a series of parallel societal developments. Japan uses tea in most of its traditional ceremonies; as a highly ritualistic country, that places tea at the center-stage of culture."
"And here? Luella says England solves everything with tea."
Naru huffed with what might have been a chuckle. "It's a conditioned response." At Mai's raised eyebrow, he continued. "Some people deal with problems over tea from a young age; eventually, our bodies and minds are conditioned to expect it. Perhaps even crave it in times of crisis." He took another sip.
Mai had to laugh at his scientific explanation. "Gotta make it sound like a treatise, don't you, Naru?"
"You asked."
"I did," she agreed, smiling out at the dark yard.
Unbeknownst to Mai, Naru's face softened as he surreptitiously studied her profile. Mai's hair blew gently in the wind, and a sense of peace stole over him as he gazed at its ebb and flow. Normally such a reaction would concern him, but Naru wasn't in the mood to question his emotions. Her voice sounds better now, he thought idly. Not so raspy. Mai had sounded a bit hoarse when she'd arrived at the house before dinner.
Naru also been surprised that Mai and Yasu had arrived in Madoka's car. According to Lin, Madoka had supposedly been out shopping. This had struck him as moderately suspicious. And then at dinner, he'd watched Madoka, Lin, and Yasuhara all take turns observing Mai. Yasuhara had eventually suggested (in a voice so low that Naru had to strain to hear) that Mai drink a lot of water to re-hydrate herself.
So something had happened. Madoka must have been dispatched to check on Mai, which inferred that the something was paranormal in nature. And naturally, the idiots decided not to involve Naru, as it was his birthday.
Even thinking the word left a sour taste in his mouth. Naru hadn't been fond of this day when Gene was alive; now it was thoroughly dreaded. He would much rather have handled Mai's drama than stew in his office or go out to dinner. Mai's issue would have been a welcome distraction from thinking about Gene. Naru studied the sleeve of his black shirt. Though Gene's memory was never far from his mind or his wardrobe, on this day the grief closed in on Naru like a vise. Feeling his throat tighten, Naru took another sip of tea – and smiled ironically at the 'conditioned' sense of relief it brought him.
As Mai sipped at her own tea, Naru considered the evidence – Mai's raspy throat and talk of re-hydration. Both of these factors were associated with vomiting... and the only time Naru had ever known Mai to vomit was in response to her recurring death-vision.
So she'd dreamt about Gene last night. That would make sense... after all, Naru himself had woken up in a cold sweat this morning, having seen the lights of the car in his dreams and feeling the remembered pain of the car's second impact across his ribs. Naru bit the inside of his cheek. Mai's primary physical reaction was always about Gene's actual death, about the end of the vision. Gene had drowned as he'd held onto life by a thread – and Mai woke up gagging on the lake water that had choked him.
But for Naru, it would always be about the car, the fear... the woman who'd hit his twin twice and thrown his body away. It was entirely possible that Mai didn't know Gene's thoughts, as Naru did. In fact, Naru hoped she didn't. The emotions Gene felt as he saw the car coming were burned into Naru's consciousness forever. The fear of the car, the terror that no one could help him, the horror that he would never see his family again, never know his next birthday...
Yes, Naru hated their birthday now. He felt guilty and awful that Gene was not here. Sad when he remembered Gene's annoying excitement about cake and presents. Ached when he remembered Gene's yammering on about the new things they could do at whatever age they were.
Then he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Mai. Naru could feel the heat from her palm warming the skin beneath his thin shirt. Her presence shielded him from the light wind... and from his heavy thoughts. Mai's eyes were large and soft, filled with emotion. Naru looked steadily back at her for a moment before looking away.
"When my mother died," Mai began softly.
Naru's eyes flew back to her face. She was looking out at the yard again.
"I didn't know what to do, or how to cope." Mai bit her lip. "We had gotten through my father's death together – although I'm sure it was worse for my mother, since I don't actually remember him very clearly. But we were definitely each other's support system."
Naru understood that very well. He and Gene had been each other's 'support system.' Orphaned together in the world as children, isolated together as telepathic and psychic teenagers.
"I just felt alone, lost, a leaf in the wind." Mai had never told any of her friends this. She knew they wouldn't really understand, and she didn't want to be seen as pitiful. "At the funeral, I remember looking at my mother's picture for grounding. I looked at it and knew where I was, what I was doing. But afterwards... I had no relatives anymore, no one to guide me... I didn't know what to do."
"Didn't your teacher take you in right away?" Naru asked quietly.
"I only lived in our family's apartment until the end of the month," Mai affirmed. "And I spent the last week of that month moving things to my teacher's place. At least that gave me something to do, some kind of purpose. But... a lot of stuff went into storage. That was hard. I hated boxing up so many of my things, not knowing when I would see them again. But I didn't want to clutter up my teacher's apartment." She foundered for a moment, before thinking of something else to say. "Storing my things made me start thinking, though. That living on my own would be okay."
"How so?"
Mai internally rejoiced that Naru was still talking, still listening. "Well, I figured if I ever wanted to see my stuff again, or do things my own way again, I would have to live on my own. And somehow... that made it seem less scary."
This statement wreaked a sort of havoc inside Naru. Mai had a habit of accidentally pushing buttons she didn't know were there...
While in Japan, Naru had been (more or less) living on his own. Lin had been with him, but Naru had mostly operated as his own separate entity. He had run SPR, chosen who to hire, when to eat, when to sleep, what to buy, etc.
And like Mai had said, that new independence was a powerful motivator. It had successfully distracted Naru from constant grief, as Mai implied happened with her. Although Naru was still caught up in the desperate desire to find Gene's body, he had several new day-to-day activities into which he could retreat.
More importantly, living on his own had made Naru realize that he could 'break the mold,' so to speak. Since birth, Naru's only constant had been his twin, and so he had molded his life around his relationship with Gene. Gene's untimely death had left him alone - really alone - for the first time ever. Naru felt lost, left behind... but life in Japan showed him that it could be different. Naru didn't have to stay isolated in a box that no longer functioned. He could break out of it, and follow a new track. But... Naru had returned to England, and the inspiration vanished.
Unbidden, the idea of going back to Japan snuck into his thoughts.
Naru's first move to Japan had revolved around his already-existing life and goals – but relocating a second time would be different. If Naru moved back to Japan, he'd be blazing a new path. He'd be moving forward.
Moving forward – a concept that Naru had left largely unexplored. Upon his arrival in England, it had been back to business as usual... only without Gene. He had his grieving parents to think about, and he had the work he'd abandoned for Japan. Naru wasn't exactly unhappy; he'd missed his adopted parents, and he'd wanted to finish writing that treatise. But Naru couldn't help but feel like he was stepping right back into the broken box.
Before most of SPR Japan burst back into his life, Naru had been growing noticeably disenchanted with his situation. He felt like he was just treading water, running around in circles he'd already run. Even the most interesting cases his father found didn't catch Naru's attention the way they had in the past. Naru could chalk some of that up to missing Gene... but it was also because Naru had gotten a taste of running the show in Japan. Being the lead investigator had been really satisfying, and returning to a subordinate position really rankled.
And if Naru were really honest with himself – as he seemed to be, tonight – ghost hunting simply wasn't as interesting without his Japanese SPR team. Their various abilities and convoluted personalities added a certain something to cases. It was why Naru had continued to employ them all, despite their tendency to irritate him.
And Mai... was different still. Mai wasn't irritating so much as confounding. Naru had hired her first, and he'd... missed her most. (He could barely admit it, even in his own mind.)
Maybe it was her tea. (He had much less of a problem admitting he missed that.) Maybe it was because Mai had been around constantly, rather than only on cases. And of course, her psychic abilities were certainly enough to interest any researcher. Then there was her attitude – Mai's fiery and contradictory personality was both interesting and entertaining... and always amusing to poke at. Twenty years old he may be, but Naru undeniably enjoyed messing with her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mai shift tiredly in place, barely awake. If she had dreamt of Gene's death, she'd probably had a very long day. Without further ado, Naru took Mai by the arm, towed her half-asleep form back into the study... and stopped. Now what?
He didn't want to go back downstairs, where a crowd of overly concerned 'celebrators' lay in wait. Naru felt he'd done his filial duty, and dealt with his birthday appropriately. But it wouldn't be fair to send Mai down there alone, especially after she'd tried her hardest to make him feel better (and hadn't been entirely unsuccessful). So Naru deposited Mai on the study's couch... where she immediately started to shiver. He sighed resignedly, and headed for the corner cupboard. Luella kept a quilt handy for when one of the house's workaholic scientists fell asleep while reading. Naru covered Mai with it before relocating their empty tea cups to a table.
Upon which sat a small, wrapped box. A birthday present. Naru's eyes flashed to Mai. She shifted slightly, her fingers closing around the blanket. "How'd I get here?" she murmured.
Naru refused to admit he'd done it. Instead, he picked up the present from the table. It was surprisingly light – what could be inside? A gasp sounded beside him. Mai was suddenly wide awake, her eyes fixed on the gift box.
Ugh, she'd forgotten she brought that up with her! "Ah... yeah, so that's your present," Mai said stupidly. "I, um, didn't want to push it on you or anything... but I didn't want you to think I didn't have one, either." Naru didn't respond; he just turned the box over in his hands and nimbly ripped through the wrapping. Mai felt a momentary surge of jealousy that Naru could be graceful even when tearing shiny paper. She held her breath as he gazed inside.
Naru immediately understood why the box had been so light. Inside was a single sheet of heavy rice paper, glued to a bamboo scroll. Most of the sheet was covered with beautifully scripted kanji characters. Of course, it had to be a language he couldn't read... Naru wondered for a moment if Mai were trying to tease him somehow. But the soft, nervous look on her face eliminated that possibility. Mai noticed his scrutiny and blushed.
"It – it's a sutra," she told him, her voice shaky. She looked like she wanted to say more, but was too nervous. When that happened with a client, Naru usually fixed the problem by looking elsewhere. So he focused on the sutra, tracing his fingers along the thick paper.
"One of Ayako's patients is a really famous Mahayana ascetic monk," Mai said finally. Naru's fingers paused on the scroll, but he didn't speak. "His name is Tominaga Sakihiko-sama." At this, Naru had to look up. He knew of this monk; Lin admired his views on vegetarianism and spirituality. Was Mai implying that this sutra was written by Tominaga?
"He's kind of a hermit... even in the monastery," Mai continued. "Ayako and I had to wait for the other monks to retrieve him from wherever he was hiding."
"You traveled to Fukui?"
Mai laughed. "Of course you've heard of Tominaga-sama. Yes, Ayako goes to him – but she likes it that way. She says the trees at Eiheiji Temple are really great to talk to. And I went with her once. When the Nightmare first started, Ayako was really concerned about me..." Mai trailed off, internally kicking herself. Why oh why did she go there tonight?
"Bou-san said that the vision came very often, at first," Naru noted softly.
Mai looked up, shocked at the unexpected assist. "Yes, it did. It really freaked everybody out. I was also, um, having some PK issues... Ayako thought the new powers might have upset my qi somehow, and that was why the vision kept coming. So when she went to Fukui for Tominaga-sama's annual physical, she asked him to look me over as a favor. He agreed, and we talked for a while."
Naru finally glanced up at Mai. She was staring into the distance, eyes glazed over in memory. "Tominaga-sama checked out my aura, and then we meditated together. I was really nervous at first... but eventually, I felt calmer than I had since the first PK-MT incident."
And here Naru had to bite his tongue – he definitely wanted to know more about Mai's 'first PK-MT incident.' They hadn't really talked about it yet; Naru's focus had been on Gene. Now that the truth was out, Naru had a plethora of topics he very much wanted to discuss with Mai.
"We had a long talk about my psychic issues and the state of my qi. Tominaga-sama said..." Mai cut herself off, eyes wide – as if she'd almost said something she shouldn't. Naru's eyes narrowed.
"Anyway," she segued badly, "He said that my qi would be okay after a while, but in the meantime..." Mai smiled at the sutra in the box. "He wrote me a personalized sutra."
Naru's mental processes, which had been busily analyzing what Mai was trying not to say, suddenly screeched to a halt. His eyes snapped up to meet Mai's. "You are giving me your personalized sutra?" he asked incredulously.
Mai smiled. "No, no – mine's in my room at the apartment," she said. "This one was written for... well, it was written for you." A bright blush suffused Mai's face, and she ducked her head in embarrassment.
Naru was momentarily caught between responding and watching the blush spread downward along the column of Mai's neck. Shaking himself internally, he asked, "Written for me?" His voice came out rougher than he intended, and Naru didn't blame Mai for the surprised look she gave him.
Mai took a moment to gather her wits. She knew she was blushing, knew her gift was rather personal... and though she couldn't tell what Naru was thinking, he certainly sounded more emotional than usual. The thought only made her blush hotter, and Mai hurried to speak. "Um, yes. I had... mentioned you to Tominaga-sama," she admitted. "You're the only other person I know who has PK. And I'd said that you had trouble with yours, too... and that because of your... loss, your qi was probably screwed up, too."
Now Mai felt really stupid. She had come to make Naru feel better, and here she was bringing Gene up when everyone else had abstained. She hung her head. "I'm sorry, I can't believe I said that, I..."
"I don't mind," Naru interrupted. He stared hard at a bookshelf. "I'd actually rather not spend Gene's birthday pretending he never existed."
Mai's mouth dropped open at his unexpected admission. She'd thought Madoka was nuts... but here Naru was, opening up to her. She really, really wanted to reach out and grab his hand – Mai was a physical comforter. But this was Naru, and Mai couldn't imagine he'd enjoy that. So she had to say something.
"I... I understand that," she told him softly. "Every year, I used to have a sleepover on my mother's death anniversary with Keiko and Michiru. They didn't want me to be alone." Mai shifted on the couch, not wanting Naru to see her teary eyes. She didn't see his fingers tighten on the gift box.
"We would play games, eat take-out, and stay up watching scary movies." Mai gave the silent Naru a quick smile. "I knew that they were trying to distract me – and I appreciated it." Mai looked down at her lap again. "But by the end of the night, we always wound up talking about my mom. The whole day was really about her, even if we tried to act otherwise. And honestly, it made me feel better to talk about her."
Naru heard the invitation in Mai's voice. He studied the sutra in his lap, and spoke slowly. "Gene was always excited about our birthday," he said tonelessly. "He always seemed to think we got new privileges with every age. When we were this old, we could have bigger beds. When we were this old, we could go on the Underground by ourselves." Naru rolled his eyes. "He'd go around talking about these things for weeks... and eventually Martin and Luella would just go with it."
Against her will, Mai giggled. Naru didn't seem to mind, though.
"So for our tenth birthday, we got new beds. And on our thirteenth birthday, Gene 'celebrated' by dragging me around London by train. We rode the Tube for at least three hours... and we didn't really go anywhere. Gene thought he'd tricked Luella into decreeing we were old enough – but I think she just wanted him to shut up about it."
"Wait... you guys could go ghost hunting, but you couldn't take the train by yourselves?" Mai asked incredulously.
Naru smirked. "We were usually chaperoned on cases. And I think the danger of our occupation made Luella more circumspect with our free time activities. Besides, Gene had a terrible habit of disappearing when left to his own devices." The moment the words left his mouth, Naru froze, the irony of his casual statement hitting hard.
It wasn't lost on Mai, either – she promptly overrode her reservations against physical contact, and placed her hand on Naru's white-knuckled one. A muscle in his cheek twitched, but he didn't fling her off.
"By age fifteen, Gene had decided that he was going to start learning to drive," Naru continued. "He didn't publicize that one, though. He did it behind everyone's backs, at night, with some of his equally idiotic friends." Mai's snort of amusement relaxed Naru enough for an eye roll. "How he thought he could conceal this illegal activity from his telepathically-linked twin is anyone's guess."
"Well, you can usually tell what I'm thinking without a telepathic link, so I can't imagine Gene stood a chance," Mai interjected. She was exceedingly grateful that the transfer had not linked her telepathically to Naru. That would have been terrifying.
Not to mention mortifying, as Mai's one-sided love would probably have been telegraphed to Naru the second she stepped off the plane at Heathrow.
"Whatever you're thinking is written all over your face," Naru deliberately reiterated his words from years ago, when they were stuck in the well. But then he felt compelled to correct himself. "Sometimes." Mai had developed a measure of caginess, which Naru both respected and hated. He blamed the combined influence of Gene and Yasuhara.
"Well, I had to learn some self-preservation tricks," Mai argued. "I was a lead investigator at TTMPI, under constant scrutiny from clients. I'm also friends with Yasu, who could... how did Madoka-san say it? Oh, yeah – could pry blood from a stone if you gave him an hour."
Naru's lips twitched upwards briefly.
"Besides, once I knew we were heading to London, I figured I better brush up on my game face." Mai threw Naru a smirk, only to be rewarded with a sudden glare.
"Of course you did," Naru said bitterly, "You needed to be able to lie convincingly about Gene." The familiar twisting in his gut made an appearance.
Unexpectedly, Mai met his gaze squarely. Her eyes were fierce.
"Yes, I did," she said firmly. "He thought it was very important."
Any retort was stymied by Naru's surprise at Mai's bluntness, and swallowed by his grudging admiration for her bravery. He was also rather glad to witness the return of her openness. "He was wrong," Naru finally said. "I know, and nothing's changed."
Mai sighed. You DON'T know, and things WILL change. "But you want something to change," she said aloud.
"Something has to change," Naru corrected. "Gene has to move on."
"He will," Mai assured him.
"But not at twenty," Naru said, almost to himself. "Nothing new for our twentieth birthday." Then he smirked deprecatingly. "I suppose there wouldn't be, though. Gene only made it to sixteen."
He felt Mai's hand tighten over his, her fingers curling around his palm.
"But you're twenty," she whispered. "And that's how he'd want you to see it."
Naru said nothing; they both knew she was right. Instead, he traced the lines of the sutra with his free hand. "I'd heard that Tominaga-sama was known for calligraphy," he offered. "Not that I can read it."
Mai giggled. She wasn't sure if she should let go of Naru's hand... so she recklessly kept holding it. She reckoned that her secret-protecting gloves were quite a hindrance right now; Mai could feel the heat of Naru's hand through the small holes in the fabric, but it wasn't the same as actually touching him.
"Well, I can tell you what it says," she offered. "It's a sutra to help you find peace in life and spirit. And to help balance your qi. The sutra is very similar to mine." Here Mai blushed again, remembering what Tominaga-sama had said about the similarity. "It's a beautiful sutra – but it might be better for Lin or Bou-san to teach it to you properly. I... can't interpret the lines like a master could." She bit her lip.
"Mai," Naru said curiously. "Why did Tominaga-sama write this for me?"
Mai blushed horribly. "Um, he did it because I asked him to."
For the umpteenth time since Mai had come to London, Naru felt thrown. What? Why would she have...? "Why?" he managed, looking her straight in the eye.
"Honestly? Because I felt like I should," Mai answered slowly, a clarity to her gaze that Naru usually associated with Mai's psychic abilities.
"You mean to say that your intuition was involved?" he asked shrewdly.
Mai nodded. "The question was out of my mouth before I'd even really thought about it," she affirmed. "So maybe you need it... just like I did."
Naru wondered if his meddling twin had anything to do with this particular psychic suggestion. Then again... given Mai's need to help the people she cared about, himself included, maybe that gut feeling was all her. She did have an uncanny way of knowing just what to say to him – this whole evening being an excellent example.
He regarded the sutra under his fingers. It was really a valuable gift – both objectively and personally. "Thank you," Naru told Mai. He had to say it; she'd certainly gone above and beyond, tonight. Hopefully, she'd freak out enough that he wouldn't have to tell her so.
Mai's grip on his hand fell slack, and Naru looked up to see her gaping at him. He smirked widely, greatly amused by Mai's shocked face and staring eyes. His brief show of outright gratefulness had rendered her speechless – just as he'd expected.
Naru took advantage of her shock, abruptly rising from the couch and making a break for the desk. That was about as much emotion as he could deal with. Mai remained silent as he examined the nearest bookshelf. He'd have to do something quick if he wanted to keep her quiet.
So he pulled two volumes of historical paranormal studies from their places, and walked one over to the still-astonished Mai. She took it with all the speed of an arthritic ancient. Naru smirked again – and broke his own spell. Mai glared daggers into him.
But then she just snuggled furiously into the blanket, and cracked open the book (with righteous indignation). Possibility of yelling averted. Naru smirked more widely, and settled down at the desk. From the way Mai was positioned – lying down, head on the pillow, under a warm blanket... Naru calculated that she'd last about twenty minutes before falling asleep. He would have guessed ten minutes, if Mai hadn't been enraged by his own smugness.
Sure enough, he looked up at the end of the first chapter to see Mai's eyes drooping, book closed on her chest. Naru rolled his eyes and settled back into his father's favorite chair, intent on reading the rest of his birthday away...
And Oliver Davis felt a sudden pang in his chest. He'd just thought of today as 'his' birthday, rather than as 'their' birthday, his and Gene's. And he'd probably done so earlier, as well. Not sure whether this was progress or loss, Naru's gaze swept the room for something to distract him – and fixated on Mai's now completely unconscious form. Her arm was drooping over the side of the couch, the book was on the floor, and her mouth was hanging open. For reasons Naru refused to contemplate, this undeniably endearing image gave him the equanimity to return to his book.
-0O0-
Well over an hour later, Luella slipped into the study. It was the only room upstairs with lights on, so it had to be where Noll and Mai were hiding out. She immediately located her son at the desk, reading. Maybe it was hope talking, but Luella thought that he seemed more... serene than he had earlier.
After a moment, Noll's eyes met hers – and Luella was almost shocked to see the glow of something in his gaze. It wasn't just hope talking – that was a healthier expression than Noll had worn on any of his recent birthdays.
And to Luella, a mother and a trained psychologist, it seemed like there was something more buried in Oliver's steady regard. Like there was something moving in Noll – a slow and subtle shift, obviously... but its very presence almost made Luella weep with relief.
Naturally, her eyes then searched for the person she imagined to be the catalyst for this tidal change. Noll noticed her efforts and gestured minutely to the couch. Luella followed his motion and found Mai fast asleep on the sofa, looking adorable. She wondered if her son thought the same.
Naru misinterpreted his mother's questioning look and said, "She just fell asleep there."
As if he'd had nothing to do with it. "Of course," Luella replied obligingly. And Mai covered herself with a blanket from the cupboard she doesn't know is there. And she sat there with herself and drank two cups of tea. And then she opened your present for you. Luella fought very hard not to smile. She didn't want Noll to get annoyed and spitefully ruin whatever progress toward social normality he'd made.
Honestly, just Noll's sitting in a room containing a sleeping person was significant. Noll had always stayed up late with his books, and for whatever reason, reading in the same room as a sleeping Gene bugged him. When they went on family vacations and the twins shared a room, Noll would invariably leave and seek a solitary place to study the night away. But here Noll sat, facing an unconscious Mai... and even flicking brief glances at her every so often.
Like he wanted her here with him. Luella's throat grew tight with emotion. She bent to retrieve the tea cups in an effort to hide her teary eyes.
Naru looked up at the clanking sound, feeling the strange need to chide Luella for making noise so close to Mai. But the hour of quiet reading had brought Naru back to his functional normal, and he pushed the thought away. "Mother," he said instead. "I want to read two more chapters." So stop distracting me, was the unspoken message.
"Which I'm sure you'll want to read tomorrow," Luella replied firmly. "It's late, and I need to get Mai to her room."
Naru lifted a brow. "You mean to her apartment."
"No, Madoka took Yasu home already. Mai is going to stay in her room here."
The raised brow descended into a frown. "They left her here?" Naru found himself rather annoyed with Madoka and Yasuhara for abandoning a physically and psychically stressed Mai to her own devices. Weren't they supposed to be watching over her?
Luella grinned inwardly at her son's piqued tone. "Well, apparently Mai had two troubling psychic episodes in a row last night, so Madoka, Martin and Lin have all decided that she should stay here so she can be cared for by parapsychologists."
Naru heard the hint of sarcasm lining his mother's voice. "They want to observe her," he deduced.
"I am putting her to bed myself to keep from hooking her up that machine," Luella stated firmly, glaring at Naru as if he'd been the one who'd suggested attaching electrodes to Mai's temples. She handed her son the empty tea cups. "You take those downstairs, and I'll tuck Mai away."
Naru was happy to follow his mother's order – that way he could question the others about what had happened. Had Mai had two different death nightmares? Did Martin now know that Mai's normal dream was about Gene? Were they actually planning to hook her up to the EEG?
Personally, he didn't think they should run tests at the moment. Naru felt... churlish about running tests on an unconscious Mai after she'd done her best to help him tonight...
Meanwhile, Luella had a brilliant idea. "Ah! I should put Mai in one of my nighties, so that Martin and Lin will feel uncomfortable going near her!" Ha, her son looked rather uncomfortable already.
Naru froze upon hearing his mother's completely ridiculous suggestion - he wouldn't (normally) be bothered by such a thing. But then again... Martin and Lin were rather prim like that. They could probably take one on the chin for science, though.
And then Naru had a vision of his father and Lin sneaking into Mai's room, sliming up her forehead with gel, and pushing aside a slippery nightdress to get at her chest with the cardiac monitor.
Luella grinned widely as Noll swept out of the room without another word. Satisfied that he was on her side, Mrs. Davis nudged Mai awake and led her to her usual guest bedroom. As Luella helped Mai change for bed, she imagined the look on Martin's face when Noll argued against running tests on Mai tonight.
She tried to smother her giggles so as not to fully wake Mai. Then she pulled the blankets up and smoothed Mai's hair back from her face. "Thank you, darling," she whispered. "You did a wonderful job."
-0O0-
AN: Oh my goodness, this chapter took forever. And it was mostly written already! But it was so long - I actually cut a lot back. Despite the apparent never-endingness, lol, this was one of my favorite chapters. I was so excited to finally get here:)
Oh, and thank you to the many people who've written about Gene learning how to drive in secret. I hear it's in the short stories, but I can't seem to find any translations online. So my knowledge of any of that stuff comes from fanfiction, lol.
And thank you again, everybody, for all the well-wishes! I am fully recovered now, and so glad that's done!