Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. Volume 12 would be out in English.
Chapter 29 – Nervous Issues
-0O0-
The sound of shrill screams snapped Mai out of unconsciousness. "Whaaatisit?" she slurred alarmedly, propelling herself up from the pillows... only to slam into what felt like an invisible brick wall.
Waves of pain hammered Mai's skull, and the world spun sickeningly as an obscene amount of light stabbed into her eyes. It took every ounce of her strength not to lean over the bed and throw up. "Uggggh, did I get possessed again?" Mai moaned, falling back to the mattress. No, it couldn't be possession; they weren't on a case...
Mai had completely forgotten about the screaming by the time it started up again. This time, though, she was awake enough to realize that the noise was actually her cell phone ringing. Ayako's ring tone featured the stylings of one of her favorite traditional Japanese singers... Mai reckoned she could feel the high notes reverberating around in her achy brain. Wanting it to stop immediately, Mai yanked her phone off the dresser.
"Hello?" she asked throatily in Japanese. Mai wasn't sure she could manage proper English this morning.
"Sounds like you had a rough night," Ayako observed. "Wait, are you on a case, Mai? I thought you guys were going to take it easy at SPR, now that school is starting..."
Mai was sooo not in the mood to be reprimanded. "No, no case," she grumbled, covering her eyes with her free hand. That sunlight was so bright... just like those strobe lights in the club... oh, right, that's what happened. "I went out with Yasu and Madoka last night."
"Out?" Ayako repeated interestedly. "You mean like out clubbing?"
"Yes," Mai murmured, dragging a quilt over her head. Stupid sunlight.
"Wooow." Ayako sounded amazed. "So you've gotten over your aversion to the night scene, huh?"
"Ugh," Mai grunted. "Will everyone stop saying that? It's not like I sealed myself into my room after Avery and I broke up!"
"And you're referring to That Person as Avery again," Ayako noted shrewdly. "Something must have changed... maybe something to do with Naru?" She sounded hopeful – and prying.
Mai continued as if Ayako hadn't spoken. "We invented Drunk Wednesdays after the Avery fiasco, remember? So I've obviously been out clubbing since the break-up!"
"Ahh, that's right. Yesterday was Wednesday," her almost-adopted mother realized. "So it was a twitchy Wednesday?"
"Super-twitchy," Mai confirmed, relieved that Ayako had stopped asking about Naru. Mai figured she'd done enough talking about Naru in the last twenty-four hours; memories of tearfully telling Madoka about the botched love confession were coming back in flashes. Mai took in a deep breath, gathering her wits into working order. She needed to force a subject change. "I didn't have training with Lin-san yesterday, so my balance was off. Plus, all the Lin Drama is stressing me out." There, that should catch her attention...
"So did Naru go to the club with you?" Ayako pressed, not taking the bait.
Mai bit down on her cheek, determined to push this conversation in another direction. "Lin-san's father is visiting from China, so everybody's been walking on eggshells. And Madoka is beyond frustrated."
"I heard that you gave him Tominaga-sama's sutra as a birthday present." The shrine maiden was apparently just as determined.
But Mai just kept talking. "There's not much that Madoka can do about the whole mess... it's really Lin-san who has to handle it."
Ayako groaned resignedly. "Fine, Mai," she conceded. "Keep your secrets... I can just get them out of Yasu later."
"Like you haven't already?" Mai asked disdainfully. She hadn't told Ayako she'd even brought the sutra with her from Tokyo.
"Well, you're definitely sounding more like Naru," Ayako rejoined. "Maybe it's true what they say, that couples mimic some of each other's behaviors..."
"Come on, Ayako," Mai begged, her patience gone. "Bad enough I have a hangover; I don't need reminding that Naru and I are definitely not a couple."
"Yet," Ayako qualified.
Mai scowled at the phone. "Have you forgotten about the incredibly stupid confession I made?" she asked incredulously. "And his rejection of that confession?"
"No," Ayako replied slowly. There was a long pause, like the shrine maiden-slash-doctor was thinking hard about something. When she spoke again, her tone was hesitant. "But it's been two years, Mai. And I think that –"
"I am so not going there, Ayako," Mai interrupted harshly. "I am not ruining things. Again."
Her almost-adopted mother heaved a heavy sigh. "New topic?" she suggested finally.
"Yes, please."
"Alright... then tell me about Lin's father," Ayako gushed.
Mai grinned. "Finally, some proper excitement for the Gossip of the Week."
"I kind of can't believe he has a father," her almost-adopted mother muttered.
"Believe it."
"Is he as scary as Lin?"
"Scarier," Mai insisted. "And even quieter."
"That's not possible," Ayako replied unequivocally. "No one can be silent like Lin Koujo."
"It's a family trait, I assure you," Mai laughed. "And SPR has been Drama Central since Lin Senior showed up. He's making a big issue out of Madoka's being Japanese, and Lin Junior is doing absolutely nothing about it. Madoka is pretty disgusted with both of them."
"No more 'Madoka-san?'" Ayako noticed.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she asked me to drop the formalities last night..." Mai frowned; her head was spinning again. "It's a bit hazy."
"You do have a pretty low tolerance for alcohol," Ayako mused teasingly.
Mai huffed in annoyance. "Shut up."
Ayako laughed openly. "You know, you sound better than I thought you would," she said solicitously.
"You sure about that?" Mai groaned, burrowing deeper into the bedclothes. "My head really hurts."
"No, no, I meant that you sound calmer than I expected," Ayako clarified. "Cambridge term starts in four days, so I thought you might be unnecessarily freaking out."
"The Lin Drama has been distracting me," Mai joked... and then she fully processed Ayako's words. "You're right, though... only four days."
And suddenly, Mai's hangover headache was accompanied by sweaty palms and rapid breathing.
"Oh, no. Mai, I didn't mean to –"
"No!" Mai denied quickly. "I'm fine!" Only four more days.
"Mai, don't –"
"Um, Ayako, I've got to go... my head hurts, and I, um, need some food." Mai wasn't ready yet. She still had two more books to read, scores of prep notes to look over, and so many questions for Martin.
"Wait a minute!"
"Tell Bou-san I miss him, okay?" Mai's voice became thready as she tried not to hyperventilate into the phone. "And tell him I'm still waiting for the report on that high school case!"
"Mai!"
"Bye, Ayako!" Mai hung up and launched herself out of bed, heedless of the percussion practice taking place in her skull. She needed to take a walk. And she really needed to start one of those books. Maybe she could walk to that fountain in that park – a nice place to read, with all that water to calm her down... Yes, that's what I'll do today, Mai thought as she walked over to the closet.
But apparently, her digestive tract had other ideas - a horrible lurching feeling stopped Mai mid-stride. She held very still, hoping her stomach would turn back over...
Nope.
As Mai ran for the bathroom, she saw Yasuhara's head pop up over the back of the couch.
"Hangover 101, Mai-chan!" he called after her. "No sudden movements!"
-0O0-
"Morning, Koujo," said a very familiar voice.
Lin looked up in surprise. Madoka hadn't spoken one word to him since their disastrous phone call fight. And now here she was, leaning against his office door like everything was fine.
Maybe it was a trap. Lin wouldn't put it past her... "Good morning," he replied neutrally.
"Oh, stop it," his girlfriend chided, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I'm not going to eat you – in fact, I have something important to tell you."
"Is it that you think the Japanese college student from the club is more attractive than I am?" Lin asked, eyes on his computer. "You already told me that via text."
Madoka tried very hard not to grin at the acid in her boyfriend's tone. She knew that would work. "I believe I said he was cuter than you. And come on, Koujo, almost everyone is cuter than you!"
Lin wasn't quite sure how to feel about that argument.
The master ghost hunter let him swing for a minute. "Because you're not cute – you're handsome," she clarified. "And impressively able to call the spirits of the dead," Madoka added, regarding him thoughtfully. "And you're taller."
Because apparently that mattered. "But I'm only Chinese," Lin drawled, repeating the specific wording of her text.
Madoka threw him a cold glare. "I don't really think that way," she snapped. "I was only trying to sound like you."
"You're the one that scoured the club for an explicitly Japanese suitor," Lin hissed.
"I don't have to scour," Madoka replied loftily, secretly loving how jealous he sounded. "They come to me."
"Of course they do," Lin said unthinkingly. "You stand out anywhere."
Madoka gasped, and Lin wanted to eat his words. They were so... vulnerable-sounding.
Then again, as Madoka visibly struggled to keep from throwing herself at him, Lin concluded that showing emotional vulnerability wasn't so bad...
Across the room, Madoka gripped the doorway like it was a life raft. She would not jump Koujo right now – he hadn't apologized, nor had he fixed anything with his father.
She would not jump him.
She would not jump him!
"So," the master ghost hunter said bracingly, "About what I actually came in here for – Mai-chan finally told me what happened with Noll the night before we left Japan."
Lin raised an eyebrow. "Did she?" They'd always wondered what had been said that night, but no one wanted to ask directly. That conversation had been the last between Noll and Mai for almost two years, and dredging old drama into the midst of their ever-improving relationship seemed counterproductive.
"Yeah." Madoka grinned. "Turns out the magic ingredient is alcohol – who knew? Anyway, apparently Mai-chan confessed to Noll." Lin just stared, but Madoka knew he was waiting for her to continue. "To which Noll responded by informing her that she might be confessing to the wrong Davis twin," she finished emphatically.
The staunchly reserved Lin could not keep his eyes from widening in disbelief. "He didn't."
"He did," Madoka assured her boyfriend grimly. "From what Mai-chan sobbed out, Noll decided she must have been in love with the nicer, helpful-in-dreams Gene. She isn't, obviously... but Mai-chan also never corrected him. That's why Noll hasn't twigged that he's in love with her. He's cut that off as a possibility."
The onmyouji didn't speak for a full minute. How could Oliver think such a thing? The direction of Mai's affection was so obvious.
But then again... Noll had always assumed that the admiration he inspired in women was superficial, that his terse and unemotional deportment would quickly drive them off. (Which it sometimes did.) This belief was only encouraged by Gene's more lasting popularity with his own admirers - a popularity which Noll correctly attributed to his twin's much pleasanter manners. So of course Noll would think that the sensitive, caring Mai would prefer the gentler Gene.
Not to mention, Lin reasoned, they were all leaving Japan at the time of Mai's confession. Noll wouldn't have been able to pursue a relationship, so perhaps he was subconsciously trying to protect himself. Considering that Noll had just watched the body of his murdered twin be pulled from a lake, an emotionally protective response wasn't impossible. In fact, for the logical Noll, it was almost probable...
"So," Madoka's voice broke the silence. "What are we going to do about it?"
Lin's eyes narrowed in consternation. "We're not going to do anything."
"Koujo, we have to do something!" Madoka argued. "Noll needs a push!"
"I disagree," Lin replied stonily.
"Ugh, of course you do!"
"Noll would resent our getting too involved," Lin pointed out. "We might wind up making things worse."
"For the short term, maybe," Madoka admitted. "But if we give Noll the necessary information..."
"He has the necessary information," Lin insisted. "He just needs to figure out what it means. And Noll is uncommonly good at figuring things out."
"But I want to help!" Madoka whined. "Even if I wind up losing myself the bet!"
"Considering that this is someone else's relationship drama, you need to be more patient." Then Lin frowned. "What bet?"
"'Relationship drama,'" Madoka quoted, ignoring her boyfriend's question. She had a sneaking suspicion that Lin wouldn't appreciate her silly wager with Yasu. "Do you know that Mai-chan has named our little kerfuffle the 'Lin Drama?'"
The primary Lin of the Lin Drama made an annoyed noise.
"Even Noll is calling it that," Madoka continued, grinning.
The onmyouji rolled his eyes heavenward.
"Speaking of which," his girlfriend soldiered on, "I'm tired of ignoring this problem." She gestured between the two of them. "But... it's not for me to fix." Madoka fixed Lin with a meaningful glare.
He recognized the opening, and took it. "Madoka," Lin began haltingly, looking resolutely out the window. "I'm... sorry for my father's behavior." A snort brought his eyes back to his girlfriend.
"For your father?" Madoka asked incredulously. "Your father's behavior isn't your fault. That's not what's you need to apologize for."
"It is," Lin contended. "Because I used to think like he did... at times, I still do."
Madoka was silent, thinking over what Mai and Luella insisted she should tell Lin. It was something Madoka had wanted to say for a long time... "None of what happened to China during the war was my fault," she said finally.
Lin looked surprised for a moment. Then he shook his head slowly. "No, it wasn't."
This admission freed something within Madoka, and the long-buried words just came spilling out. "I wasn't even born then. Neither were you."
Her boyfriend sighed. "That's true."
"I'm not saying you should forget, Koujo," Madoka qualified. "We know what they say about those who forget their history. But you can't let it color your judgment the way you do... and you can't hold me even a little responsible for a war I had nothing to do with. By the way, that goes for all Japanese people of your particular acquaintance."
Lin sighed again before turning to face his girlfriend. "It's... difficult to let go of something I've held on to for so long," he said soberly. "But you're right, Madoka... and you're certainly worth the trouble of explaining that to my family."
The master ghost hunter pressed her lips together to keep from tearing up like a wuss.
And Lin wasn't even done. "So let's you and I explain it to my father," he finished, a ring of conviction in his voice. "Tonight."
Madoka's heart swelled up like a balloon. They would take on Lin Senior together, like a couple should. But... "Not tonight," she said firmly.
"Not tonight?" Lin was lost. He figured that his tenacious girlfriend would want to resolve the issue immediately.
Madoka grinned at the onmyouji's confusion... before sauntering over and grabbing Lin by his tie. "Not tonight," she repeated. "We'll tell him tomorrow."
In case he somehow missed her meaning, she added provocatively, "We'll be busy tonight."
-0O0-
The first Tuesday of October found Naru, Luella, Madoka, Lin, and Yasuhara eating breakfast together at the Davis house... and staring at the empty back staircase.
Eventually, Yasu lost his patience. "Come on, Mai-chan, stop being such a chicken!" he called up the stairs.
Silence.
"You can't hide up there forever!"
Silence.
"We're going to be late!" Yasuhara yelled. "Late, for our first day at Cambridge!"
"I can't find... something!" Mai's disembodied voice yelled back.
"Can't find what? Your nerve?" Yasuhara joked. "Seriously, Mai-chan – you have no problem going up against scary-ass spirits that could kill you, but you can't deal with school?"
There was a pause, and Mai's feet appeared at the top of the stairs. "It's a different kind of scary!" she hissed loudly.
"Yeah, if you mean less scary!" No answer this time. "Come on, Mai-chan! Remember how hard we worked on that paper for our transfer application? We spent weeks on it! And now you're going to give up the first day? Before the first day?"
"No..." A terrified-looking Mai drifted down the stairs, gripping the bannister with white-knuckled hands.
Pressing his advantage, Yasuhara continued. "You're just nervous that you won't measure up to the other students, right?" Mai glared. "That's what I thought." Yasu gave the rest of the table a wink. "I sincerely doubt you'll have any problems there, Mai-chan. I mean, think about it – Big Boss had to have been the scariest student ever to darken the classroom door."
Lin, Luella, and Madoka all choked on various comestibles. Naru stared into his cup.
"And since you can handle Dr. Oliver Davis at his snottiest..." Yasu trailed off with a grin. The bespectacled boy could practically hear Naru's teeth grinding. He could definitely hear Madoka's snorts of laughter. "Dealing with anyone else should be a breeze!"
Yasuhara's gambit worked – Mai detached herself from the wall, and rushed to her chair in a whirl of academic robes and a slightly hysterical giggle. "I never thought of it that way before," she admitted. None of her new classmates would be as scary as Naru (who was glaring pretty scarily as Yasu right now).
But they could be almost as scary as Naru... Mai quailed inwardly. Her determination to stall their departure renewed, the teen psychic grabbed a Danish and a cup of tea.
"You better be taking that to go," Yasu said severely, recognizing her game. "We have to leave, like, now."
Mai leisurely stirred her tea and pretended she couldn't hear him.
"Mai-chan," Yasuhara warned.
Mai ripped off a piece of Danish. "The professor isn't even downstairs yet," she noted primly.
"The professor is already at Cambridge, as you well know," Yasuhara replied. "He had to be there early for the first day. And while we'll be driving in with him for the rest of term, today we're taking the train. Which comes very soon."
"Does it?" Mai asked innocently.
"And here I thought you'd grown more responsible," Naru said idly.
Mai's eyes snapped up to meet Naru's. "I have."
"All evidence to the contrary," he retorted smugly.
"All evidence?" Mai fumed. "You are such a –"
Yasuhara threw his hands in the air. Naru was helpfully trying to push Mai into going, but they didn't have time for a lengthy lovers' spat right now. "If you don't get up off your butt in three seconds, Mai-chan," Yasu threatened, "I'm going to tell everybody about what happened with the Third Client."
Mai froze mid-rant. "You wouldn't."
Yasuhara raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Have you just met me?"
"Third Client?" Luella asked leadingly.
Mai and Yasuhara stared one another down, each daring the other to blink. Then Yasuhara smiled broadly.
"Right, so our Third Client took a real shine to Mai-chan... not only did he decide to stay for the case, he also followed her around like a puppy." Yasuhara paused, but Mai showed no signs of moving. Yasu made a show of turning to address Naru directly. "Eventually, Mai-chan got fed up with the guy's constant creepy staring, and decided to fill the stalk-alicious silence by explaining the effects of possession. You know, how it sometimes makes people –"
Mai banged her knee against the kitchen table as she flew up from her chair. She grabbed her Danish with one hand and Yasuhara's arm with the other. "No time for stories, let's go!"
"Ah, success," Yasu reveled as he was pulled from the room.
Madoka watched as the transfer students grabbed their bags and ran for the front door. "Have a great first day!" she yelled. Then she turned back to the table, grinning evilly. "So what say we comb through Mai's backup case files for mention of this 'Third Client?'"
-0O0-
Mai took a deep breath... and stepped across the threshold of the classroom. Beside her, Yasuhara let out a low whistle.
The classroom itself wasn't very different from lecture spaces at Todai – stadium seating, blackboards all across the front of the room, projectors, whiteboards, and a whole bunch of parapsychology tomes scattered on shelves. The robes didn't really throw her, either; Mai had worn school uniforms for years. Though the robes were more voluminous than she was comfortable with - thank goodness Martin only required them for the first day of class (he thought they lent a 'lovely sense of occasion').
It was the buzz of English murmured all around the lecture hall that reminded Mai she was at Cambridge. Physically far from Tokyo, academically closer to Naru than Mai ever thought she could be...
And speaking of academics, there were lots and lots of super-smart parapsychology students milling about. All of whom looked happy and confident as they returned for their second year in the program... Mai's stomach flipped, and she gripped her cardboard teacup tightly as she shuffled toward the seats. Thank goodness there was a cafeteria that served decent tea. "Go for the middle-back," Mai whispered to Yasuhara.
"Naturally, Mai-chan," he whispered back. "Wouldn't want to look like teacher's pets, now would we?"
She poked him hard in the back. Eventually, they reached an area unencumbered with books, purses, or jackets, and Mai sank gratefully into a seat. Feeling instantly less visible, Mai positioned her notebooks and pens on the table in an exacting array.
Yasuhara rolled his eyes at Mai's plethora of carefully-arranged supplies, and pulled out his laptop. "One-stop shopping, Mai-chan." Yasu wondered if Mai realized that her insistence on hand-writing notes came from her experiences with Naru. She had a habit of unconsciously mimicking his work-study practices.
"Hmph," Mai scoffed, pulling a small bag of candy from her bag. "Your laptop can't supply you with snacks, Yasu. We both know you'll be sneaking some of mine within an hour."
"True," Yasu admitted. "I wonder what we'll be doing today..."
"As it's the first day back, I'd imagine Professor Davis will be doing a review lecture," said a voice from behind them.
Mai and Yasuhara turned as one to face the interloper. A brown-haired, tanned young man was standing in the aisle, regarding them rather condescendingly.
"But first, he'll probably introduce the two of you," the young man continued. "You are the transfer students from Japan, correct?"
Mai's tongue felt thick in her mouth. This guy's attitude was not helping her nerves.
"Yes," Yasuhara replied (without a trace of his Japanese accent). "And we are so happy to make your acquaintance!" He smiled blindingly and grasped the haughty boy's hand. "Osamu Yasuhara, at your service. And this is Mai Taniyama."
Despite her anxiety, Mai had to grin at the guy's discomfited reaction to Yasu's calculated over-friendliness. She ducked her head in greeting, a compromise between bowing and the still-strange hand-shaking. "Pleased to meet you," Mai said in her most careful English.
"I'm Roger Todd," the guy announced, finally managing to extract his hand from Yasuhara's. "Second year in the program, obviously. Graduated Eton, on track for an internship at SPR."
"We're from Todai – er, Tokyo University," Mai replied, unsure of what she should say about their future 'track.' She and Yasu already worked for SPR... but Martin had asked them to keep that quiet. Apparently, his students were very competitive, and Professor Davis didn't want Mai or Yasu to suffer undue resentment.
"We've heard," another voice said. A few rows ahead of them, a sandy-haired guy had swiveled around in his seat to smile at the two new students. "That's an excellent school – best in Japan, I've heard. Do they offer parapsychology as a major?"
"Nope," Mai answered, happy that this guy was friendlier. "That's why we're here!"
There was a smattering of laughter (Roger Todd sniffed).
A blonde girl in the next row offered a hand for Mai to shake. "Andrea Woodhouse," she stated. "I plan to work in the field as a spiritual investigator."
Mai grinned and shook hands. "Me, too." Strictly speaking, Mai planned to continue working in the field... but the other students didn't need to know about TTMPI. Mai didn't want to deal with any special attention while she was trying to get her bearings as a student. She was also planning to keep quiet about her psychic abilities.
"Hm, ghost hunting," someone else drawled. "A soft choice for those who can't hack it in academia."
Mai's back went up at once, and she glared at a red-headed girl sitting next to Friendly Sandy-Haired Guy. "Really?" Mai asked icily. "The ghost hunters who work for SPR risk their lives to help people, and provide research based on real-life experiences. You really think that's the easy path?"
Red-Haired Girl glared back, but didn't respond. Sandy-Hair gave Mai a thumbs up.
"Well, as far as I know, Professor Davis' favorite student ever was Madoka Mori – and she leads the ghost hunting division of SPR," Andrea Woodhouse pointed out. "She's my hero," she said quietly to Mai, who grinned in return.
"And his best student ever was his son, Oliver Davis," Yasuhara chimed in. "Not that we should ever tell him we think that," he whispered in Japanese. As Mai giggled, Yasu drove his point home. "And what does he do for a living?"
"Writes books and does loads of scientific research," Red-Haired Girl answered brusquely.
"And works under Madoka Mori on ghost hunting cases," Sandy-Hair interjected.
"Well, of course Dr. Oliver Davis can do both jobs at once!" a shrill female voice simpered from the very front. A blonde, wearing fake nails and a pair of large gemstone earrings. Mai couldn't help but think that those nails would get in the way on a ghost hunt. Ayako had certainly lost enough of hers over the years...
"Maybe he can also do the job of locating your brain, Judith," a brunette next to Andrea suggested. This comment sparked another round of laughter.
"I have top marks, Charlotte!" Judith retorted. "So we'll just see who catches Oliver Davis' eye the next time he visits!"
Mai resisted an eye-roll – Judith wasn't about to catch Naru's eye, top marks or no. She was too slaveringly fan-girlish for Naru's tastes. Naru was a narcissist, but he was uncomfortable with such open displays of romantic interest.
Like confessions of love... Mai shook her head to clear it.
"Ah," came Martin's voice, booming across the classroom. "Glad to see everyone's met our new transfer students. This will be their first foray into an official parapsychology program, but given their excellent research work at Tokyo University, I'm sure they'll catch on quickly. And I trust you'll make them feel welcome!"
Murmurs erupted all over the classroom, and several covert glances were shot their way. Mai fought the urge to duck underneath the table, while Yasuhara merely smiled benignly.
Then Martin cleared his throat and pulled out a PowerPoint controller. Everyone faced front, and Roger Todd moved quickly to a seat in the front row (of course he sat there). Mai breathed a quiet sigh of relief; Introduction Time was over.
At the head of the class, Martin favored Mai with a (hopefully unnoticed) wink. "Now, let's review a bit, shall we?"
-0O0-
The lecture classes were pretty standard – listen and learn. Their first seminar, however, was much more interactive. Mai was extremely thankful for the many hours she'd spent debating parapsychology with the SPR gang; there was a sense of preparedness mixed into Mai's anxiety.
"So," Martin said, pacing in front of his lectern, "I postulate that residual hauntings are among the most dangerous of paranormal occurrences." In an effort to make his transfer students feel more comfortable at Cambridge, Martin had decided to play to their strengths and start the term off with residual spirits. He knew that a great debater was hiding inside Taniyama; after all, she had no trouble taking on Noll or Madoka. She just needed to calm down. "Using the notes we've taken, as well your own knowledge of the subject... defend my statement."
Unsurprisingly, there were several volunteers. Roger Todd's face was all smiles as he all but waved his hand in Professor Davis' face. Yasuhara snorted quietly in his place beside Mai. She elbowed him as Martin gestured for Roger to speak.
But when Roger cleared his throat importantly, Mai couldn't resist a snort of her own. She briefly deliberated texting Naru an apology for considering him the most stuck-up academic she'd ever met. Roger Todd clearly took that prize.
And for whatever reason, Todd seemed to have it in for Mai and Yasuhara... maybe he'd noticed Martin's secret wink in her direction. In any case, he'd been sneering at the Japanese students since minute one of term.
"I believe the danger of residual spirits lies in the probability of violence resulting from their 'unfinished business,'" Todd stated. "Residual spirits are typically fueled by powerful negative emotions stemming from untimely death and regret. Such emotions are highly likely to produce viciousness towards the living."
Martin nodded slowly. "Evidence does suggest that residual spirits are more prone to violence than other types of spirits. It has also been accepted that this violence is usually caused by specific negative emotions."
Professor Davis' praise was met with a smarmy smile from Roger Todd. Mai found she preferred Naru's smirks, much as they got her back up.
"However," Martin cautioned, "You began your defense incorrectly, Mr. Todd."
Mai couldn't help grinning meanly as Todd's face fell.
The professor wasn't quite done, either. "There is also more to say concerning the understanding of residual spirit violence. Spiritualists don't simply abandon a haunting once they discover the presence of a residual ghost. Our research is possible because in many cases, the risks can be assessed and minimized. So, how can one accommodate for the danger?"
Roger Todd froze, mouth half-open. Apparently, he hadn't any real-life ghost hunting experience to draw from. Mai smirked.
Martin moved to address the room. "With regard to these proposed revisions, can anyone retool Mr. Todd's statement?"
"Should we go for it, Mai-chan?" Yasuhara whispered into her ear. "We can prove ourselves to the class right quick."
"Maybe you can, Yasu," Mai corrected. "How exactly do you 'retool' a statement?" This was another thing Mai was nervous about – getting lost in an academic to-and-fro conducted in her second language. A minor lack of comprehension while arguing with her friends was one thing; the thought of embarrassing herself in class made Mai's hands shake.
"Professor Davis wants the class to adjust Todd's definition – in this case, he wants someone to add to the definition and correct for something. How about I provide the additional information, and you tell the class what Todd got wrong?"
"But I don't know what he got wrong," Mai hissed, panicking as Yasuhara raised his hand.
"Yes, you do," Yasuhara whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "Todd said that he believed that residual spirits were dangerous because blah, blah, blah. The mistake is right there in the beginning. Think like Naru for a second."
Mai bit her lip. What was wrong with believing that residual spirits were dangerous? They were dangerous! If anything, Naru would agree with Todd's statement. After all, so many facts supported - oh!
"Go ahead, Mr. Yasuhara," Martin called, smiling genially.
"To build upon my esteemed colleague's response," Yasu began with a gleaming smile, "The danger involved in a residual haunting can often be minimized with a thorough analysis of attack patterns. Violent residual spirits usually stick to a specific attack method – like drowning, hair yanking, or using objects as projectiles. Residual ghosts also tend to have a distinct pattern of victim selection. For example, a female ghost murdered by a male lover will often only target men – and in some cases, her target will be a man who looks or behaves like the one who ended her life."
Martin smiled brilliantly. "Just what I was looking for, Mr. Yasuhara!" Seeing that Yasu looked like he had more to say, the professor prompted, "Anything else?"
"Thank you, sir. While Mr. Todd correctly stated that negative emotions fuel violence in residual hauntings, it should be noted that these negative emotions are usually built up over time. Dangerous hauntings don't usually happen without warning; it takes time for the ghost to go from 'sad and regretful' to 'twisted and vengeful.'"
"Also an excellent addition to our definition," Martin enthused, writing keywords on the board behind him. The class scribbled notes obediently.
"Professor?" Mai asked in a smaller voice than she'd wanted. "May I add something else?"
"Of course, Miss Taniyama." Martin nodded encouragingly.
"Violence by residual spirits may not always con-constitute a deliberate attack." Ugh, no stuttering! Mai drew a breath and willed her voice to sound more natural. She imagined herself talking to a client... much better. "Using Yasuhara's example of the woman murdered by a lover," Mai continued steadily, "Let's say the spirit died of strangulation. If the spirit tries to strangle a living person, it could be because the spirit wants others to suffer her fate. But it could also be that the spirit is trying to tell someone her story. As Yasu said, the longer the spirit stays in the real world, the more twisted that spirit's emotions become. It may attack because that's the only way it gets attention."
"I agree, Taniyama," Sandy-Hair threw in. "In his latest research paper, Oliver Davis argued that spirits often possess people to call for help, rather than to attack."
Mai smiled at the assist. "Exactly. This is especially true when a ghost possesses a medium. I recently read a great book about the motives behind ghostly possession. It was written by a Chinese medium who provided lots of first-hand accounts, and backed himself up with research done by Professor Davis' own SPR."
Then Mai zeroed in on Roger Todd and looked him straight in the eye. "Speaking of research, the only mistake you made with your definition was that you started it with 'I believe.' Parapsychology is trying to move away from guesses and unsub..." she trailed off. Mai knew what she wanted to say, but it was a tough word.
"Unsubstantiated," Andrea Woodhouse supplied, smiling warmly.
"Yes, thank you." Mai smiled back, happy at the ready acceptance from (most of) her peers. She was glad that Yasu decided they were improving this definition. "Parapsychology can no longer depend on rumors and unsubstantiated beliefs. It's not enough that we personally believe it - if we're to be taken as serious scientists, we have to present our research as fact and use as much evidence as possible to back our claims."
"Excellently put, Taniyama!" Martin noted crisply. "And exactly what I was looking for." He knew she'd be good at this. It's going to be an exciting term, Martin thought as his gaze swept the room. "With that in mind, there will be an essay on residual spirits due next class - and I do not want to see the word 'believe' unless you are transcribing a witness account."
As Professor Davis handed out an assignment sheet, Yasuhara nudged Mai. "I seem to remember reading a line like that somewhere... I think it went, 'In order to be considered serious scientists, we must dispassionately present the facts and use objective research to back our claims.' Hmm, doesn't that sound suspiciously similar to your argument?" Yasu pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'm telling Naru that you quoted from his book in class."
"I didn't say exactly those words!" Mai muttered.
"Okay, I'll tell Naru you paraphrased his thesis in class."
"Yasu!" she hissed.
"Mai-chan!" he hissed back. "Don't you want Naru to know how well you understand his life's work? One more step towards getting you two together."
"What?" Mai gasped loudly.
Several people turned to face them, and the professor stopped talking. Mai's face burned and she shrank in her seat.
"Sorry, everyone, Mai-chan needed a word translated. All okay up here!" Yasuhara assured brightly.
It took a full minute for Mai to find the strength to pull her hands away from her face. "Yasu, what are you talking about? Naru doesn't like me like that!"
Her best friend's expression became unusually serious. "Are you sure about that?"
Mai rolled her eyes. "Are you and Ayako joining forces behind my back?" she asked acidly. "I am not going there. Now shut it, Yasu – we've made a good impression, let's not lose it five minutes later." Mai stared hard at her notes.
Yasuhara studied his fellow transfer student, attempting to sift through the complicated emotions on her face. Madoka might win that bet after all, he mused. Mai was more determined to misunderstand Naru's feelings than Naru himself seemed to be.
-0O0-
Mai could feel her skin dampening as she performed her taolu. It wasn't the physical stress of Testing Day making her sweat, but rather the unnerving stare of Lin Senior boring into the side of her face.
The teen psychic considered the series of events which led to this unenviable situation. The Lin Drama was mostly over – Madoka and Lin Junior had apparently faced Lin Senior as a united front, informing him that they would continue to date... and that relying on an old prejudice to evaluate Madoka's worthiness was unfair.
Madoka had privately told Luella and Mai that it hadn't been an easy discussion, and mentioned that Lin Senior had glared at her a lot. However, after years of dealing with Lin Junior and Naru, Madoka Mori was practically immune to glares. Her bravery had even won her a bit of favor with the difficult man. Lin Senior was by no means happy with his son's 'rebellion,' but he did officially withdraw his complaint about Madoka's heritage.
So now, Lin Senior was spending lots of time at SPR, presumably gauging Madoka's merit as a possible daughter-in-law... and gauging his son's involvement with the other Japanese people he worked with. Today, Lin Senior was observing Mai's qigong lessons... and causing a noticeable uptick in Mai's nervousness-factor. While he wasn't outright nasty anymore, Lin Senior still glared with more force than Mai found comfortable. She could almost see the man thinking, 'Not only is my son's girlfriend from Japan, but so is his primary student.'
Mai did recognize the irony in Lin's work and social life. For a Chinese man working in England, Lin sure did have a whole bunch of Japanese people around him. Mai was sort of glad that Ayako had decided not to come this week; that might have been the straw that broke Lin Senior's back.
Ah, Ayako, Mai thought as she shifted positions. The shrine maiden felt awful over sending Mai into a week-long anxiety attack, and decided that only her immediate presence would fix the situation. Ayako had been reserving plane tickets by the time Bou-san pointed out that she had no vacation time left. In the end, Martin had to get on the phone and inform Ayako that Mai and Yasuhara were both doing wonderfully at Cambridge, and everybody's nerves were fine. Yasuhara had joked that Mai's guardians were getting an early progress report.
Ugh, Yasu. Mai added an eye-twitch to her usual series of qigong movements, remembering how gleeful Yasu had sounded when he traitorously told Naru about Mai's referencing his work in class.
To which Naru had replied, "Of course she'd want to use the best material available." Mai had barely refrained from dumping tea in his lap...
A huff sounded across the room – apparently Lin Senior had noticed Mai's loss of focus. He probably thought she wasn't taking her lessons seriously. Mai exhaled a long, calming breath... and took her practice up a notch. She put all other thoughts from her mind, moving with the extreme deliberation of her first lessons with Gene.
Meanwhile, Mai's actual instructor furrowed his brow. Lin appreciated the extra effort Mai was putting in for his judgmental father, but the sense that something was... off about her taolu was coming back with a vengeance. Something about the arm movements... flowed wrong, or something.
Arm movements, Lin repeated internally. Mai channeled her PK through her forearms, which wasn't unusual at all; many adepts utilized their arms to focus their powers. Naru, for example, and Gene, as well... which made sense, since Gene had been the one who gave Mai her first PK-MT lessons.
On that note, the onmyouji still couldn't quite believe that Gene had been regularly appearing to Mai over the last two years, helping on cases while teaching PK and astral projection lessons. Lin wondered how Noll was adjusting to that knowledge. His initial reaction had been rather wild, after all...
Lin refocused on Mai just in time to see her make an unnervingly familiar motion with her hands. Mai gracefully drew her hands together in front of her face, as if preparing to catch something.
The onmyouji froze in shock.
When did she learn THAT move? Furthermore, WHY had she learned that move? Lin frantically searched his memory... he was sure he'd never seen Mai perform a 'catching' maneuver until today.
He also doubted that Mai had accidentally forgotten to include it in her regular exercises. The movements of a person's taolu were made to flow one into the next, memorized through repetition. It would have been stranger for Mai to forget movements than remember them. And given her newly secretive ways... Mai must have deliberately left that maneuver out of previous demonstrations. Lin guessed that his father's presence had unnerved Mai into slipping up.
Lin's eyes popped wide open as several trains of thought collided. Mai's mysterious arm movements, Gene's lessons, and Noll's reactions. They added up to something... and Lin was going to find out what.
And it turned out his suspicions had been right on – communication with Gene wasn't Mai's only secret. Lin's mouth settled into a grim line as Mai unthinkingly made another fluid, precise catching motion.
Lin remembered teaching Gene to hold his hands just like that... for when he caught Noll's PK energy, increased it a bit, and sent it flying back.
-0O0-
AN: I know, I know. I'm sorry. This chapter gave me SO MUCH TROUBLE. Part of it, I think, was the lack of Naru and Mai interaction, lol. Apparently, sometimes other people have to talk:) Another part was trying to include a British university setting. Having never been to one, I was relying on the Cambridge website for help lol. (If anybody has tips, please feel free to message me!)
Then there was the stupid storm - my husband and I are fine, but we lost power for a week, and our area's been a mess. On that note, thank you to everyone for the well-wishes and storm survival tips:) You guys are the best!:D
Also, my stupid health issues are being stupid again. I would like to go on the record and say that while I enjoy being a girl, sometimes it really sucksXD.
Anyway, thank you all for waiting patiently, and I will do my best to get the next chapter out more quickly. I'm going to try for next week:)