Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. Manga 12 would be out in English.
Chapter 34 – A Long Night's Journey into Day
-0O0-
Mai searched the dark hallway with her eyes and her senses - where was the ghost?
"Mai. What is it?" Naru asked urgently.
"There's no one there," Mai said, talking more to herself than to Naru.
"Should there be?" Naru registered a sudden chill in the air. Mai had to be sensing a spirit... but for whatever reason, she couldn't see it.
"I heard a voice," Mai explained, eyes scanning the deceptively empty hallway. "It was a woman's voice... and it sounded really close, like she was right behind me. But I can barely feel her..."
Naru fought down the impulse to get between Mai and the spirit. She hadn't taken too kindly to that last time. Besides, he reminded himself, she's a professional now, not a wide-eyed assistant. However... "We should stand up," he decided, rocking back onto his heels. "In case we need to retreat."
Mai nodded in agreement, and held out a hand for Naru to take. He could pull her up while she kept an eye out for the spirit.
Naru barely hesitated before grabbing Mai's hand and pulling her up close beside him. Now was not the time to be ridiculous about proximity. "Do you see anything yet?" he whispered.
A shiver of heat ran down Mai's spine at hearing Naru's low (sexy) voice in her ear. His nose brushed against her hair, and goose bumps pricked all along her neck at the feel of his breath on her skin. Mai wondered how – FOCUS! "What?" she asked stupidly.
Naru almost knocked his head against the wall. "Do you see anything?" he asked again, each word clear and slow as if spoken to someone hard of hearing.
Mai blushed. "No!" she hissed back. "But she's definitely in this hallway."
Naru's mind raced. "You said she spoke," he remembered.
"Yeah, I said I wanted to help you, and then I heard someone else say 'help.'"
"Help!" a panicked female voice sobbed.
"Naru! I just heard it again!" Mai gripped Naru's hand more tightly, wanting fervently to remove her glove so she could actually feel Naru's palm against hers. Mai could really use a better psychic connection to his calming energy right now – she hated not being able to see a spirit. It was much more frightening.
Too busy thinking to monitor his own actions, Naru squeezed Mai's hand reassuringly. Mai's silk-covered fingers curled more tightly around his in response.
Wait – response! Naru sucked in a sharp breath. "Mai," he whispered. "Say 'help' again."
"Wha – never mind." Mai knew better than to question Naru at a time like this. "Help," she called loudly.
"HELP!" the crying voice repeated, much louder now.
"Naru, it –"
"I know, I heard it this time." Naru seemed to grow taller behind her, and Mai couldn't help but admire his fortitude under pressure. "Now say it again – but get ready to use Bou-san's chant."
Mai nodded, reluctantly releasing Naru's hand in order to form the symbol of Fudo Myoo. She stared hard at the empty hallway, and took a deep breath. "Help!" she cried.
"HEEEELP!" the voice screamed desperately. This time, the cry was followed by a strange, ringing noise - like the sound of metal striking metal.
As Mai opened her mouth to speak, the walls started shaking. The floor rocked underneath her, and Mai lost her stance and fell backwards into Naru. She felt his arm go around her waist, and his body bumped hers as they hit the wall.
Naru absorbed as much of the impact as he could, angling his hip to keep Mai upright. As the shaking eased up a bit, Naru adjusted his hold on Mai and gritted out, "Again. Loud enough that they can hear us in base." They might need a rescue.
He felt Mai's preparatory breath more than heard it. "HELP!" she screamed.
"HEEEEEELP!" This time, the responding scream was accompanied by a humongous, echoing crash. And then the floor rumbled, the walls shook, the bathroom light exploded, and Mai threw her body backwards so hard that both of them fell over.
As Naru hit the floor, the unnaturally bright figure of a furious man flew right overhead. That must have been why Mai tipped us over, he thought. Naru pulled Mai off of his body and onto the floor – further away from the ghost.
Mai started chanting next to him, and Naru wondered where on Earth everyone else was. Surely they'd noticed all the shaking and screaming. Not to mention, Lin's shiki should have informed the onmyouji that there was trouble.
"HEEEELP!" a woman's voice screamed. The sound seemed to reverberate right through Naru... but Mai barely even paused in her chant. Naru didn't even have time to be impressed before Mai raised an arm. "Rin!" she cried. "Pyou! Tou!"
Suddenly, the man appeared again – but this time, he was standing on the rollicking floor, facing them. "Help?" he sneered, face cold with rage. "It's too late!"
Mai was undeterred. "Sha! Kai! Jin!" she yelled.
The man's face twisted. "Too late!" he roared, silvery blood dripping from his hands as he clenched his fists. Floorboards snapped on either side of them, and Mai screamed in shock at the noise. Naru rolled onto his hip, shielding Mai from the flying splinters and using his unencumbered arm to drag them backwards towards the open doorway he'd seen on the right.
And then he noticed the second ghost.
"It's the woman!" Mai screamed over the din. "From before!"
The woman wasn't looking at them, Naru realized, and followed her line of sight to the male ghost. The first figure looked up at the woman.
"Naru!" Mai cried. "His aura!"
"What about –" Naru's question died on his lips as bright flashes of light shot down the hallway. One of Lin's shiki exploded through the angry man, and Naru closed his eyes as the blinding ball of white rocketed over them and went for the second ghost.
Mai buried her face in Naru's shoulder, whimpering at both the sudden brightness and the pain she could sense in the air.
Suddenly, the spirits disappeared from Mai's radar... and the floor stopped shaking. Naru's grip on her back fell slack, and Mai rolled out of his hold. She pulled herself into a sitting position just as Madoka helpfully shined a flashlight in their faces.
"Noll! Mai! Are you alright?" the master ghost hunter asked breathlessly.
"Yes," Mai answered, trying to be sneaky about rubbing her aching ribs.
"What took you so long?" Naru asked waspishly.
Madoka breathed a sigh of relief - if Noll was bitching, it meant he was okay. "We couldn't get to you," she told him. "The base door shut right after the monitors went dead, and we couldn't get it open."
"The monitors went dead?" Mai asked. That made sense – the only camera she could see had fallen over.
Then someone ran past her. Mai heard the flick of a switch – and the lights came on. She twisted around to see Gregory over by the bathroom.
"Found the light," he said unnecessarily.
Naru ignored him. "Did the cameras die before or after the shaking started?" he wondered.
"I'm not sure," Madoka answered. "None of that happened in base."
"Are you saying we were hallucinating?" Mai asked incredulously. "That couldn't be – look, the floor's all broken." She pointed to the spot where she and Naru had lain.
"It did happen, Mai-san – but we only felt it after entering this hallway," Lin informed his student. "Everything was focused in this one area. Nothing shook or broke anywhere else in the house."
"That could indicate that whatever happened in this house, happened right here," Naru noted, his sharp eyes taking in the damage to the walls and floor. "Or it could be that the ghosts simply destroy whatever is nearest at the time."
Mai nodded. "The clients took pictures of broken furniture all over the house," she reminded the team. "So I'd go with Naru's second option."
"I tentatively agree," Madoka said as she surveyed the hallway. Her gaze eventually returned to Mai and Noll – both of whom looked like they'd been through a hurricane. "Since whatever happened appears to be over, you two should get cleaned up."
Then Madoka noticed something interesting - Noll and Mai didn't seem to realize that they were still touching.
So when Noll extended a hand to Mai (like it was normal), and Mai took it with a grateful smile (like it was normal), Madoka grinned inwardly.
When Mai shyly asked Noll if his back was okay, and Noll looked back at her with soft eyes and told her he was fine, Madoka's inward grin became an outward one.
And when Noll softly asked Mai if her ribs were hurting as he led Mai past their rescuers, Madoka squealed under her breath.
Lin threw her a patronizing look – and made sure to step between his meddlesome girlfriend and the recently attacked psychics. Mai and Noll had been through enough for one night.
Madoka motioned Gregory over, and pointed to the peacefully chatting duo up ahead. "See? Told you she'd sort him out."
"Are you sure it was Taniyama, and not the intense ghost attack?" Gregory asked skeptically.
Madoka looked down the hall. As Mai turned to head into base, she winced in pain and clapped a hand on her side. In an instant, Noll had his arm across Mai's back. Without even saying something stupid, he took most of Mai's weight and led her slowly into base.
"Ohhh yeah," Madoka assured her intern. "It was definitely Mai-chan."
-0O0-
"What is it, Noll?" Gene asked tiredly.
"I wanted to – what's wrong?" Naru studied his brother's ghostly form in the mirror. As there had been two major incidents today - and it was only the first day of the case - Naru had deemed it prudent to call on Gene for information. But his brother seemed... off tonight. Gene's eyes were tired, almost angry.
"Nothing's wrong," Gene said tersely.
A sliver of fear knifed its way through Naru. "Are you sure?" he asked carefully. "You seem... upset."
Gene couldn't help rolling his eyes. Of course he was upset – Mai had just confessed to telling Lin about the transfer!
The spirit guide gritted his teeth. Lin, of all people – was Mai insane? Lin was a snitch! He had always tattled to Martin about anything 'bad' the twins did during training – even when their misbehavior was only slightly dangerous! Seriously, what was Mai thinking?
"Gene?" Noll's worried voice interrupted the spirit guide's inward raging.
Wait, Noll sounded worried? If Lin knew, then Noll had to know... shouldn't he be foaming at the mouth right now?
Gene pursed his lips. The fallout from the secret-spirit-guiding debacle had been pretty explosive; Noll had started ranting before Gene even manifested enough to hear properly. And as the transfer was a much bigger deal, it was safe to assume that Noll's reaction would be correspondingly huger... was it possible that Noll still didn't know?
Cautiously, Gene dipped into Noll's emotional state. It was very difficult to get in without also dropping his own mental shield, but giving Noll access to his current thoughts would be quite counterproductive. Luckily, Gene didn't need to fully open their connection to get a sense of Noll's feelings.
And to Gene's great surprise, he felt no anger in his brother. Just worry, fatigue, and confusion. Which meant that Mai was right – Lin was keeping his mouth shut.
All the same, Eugene found Lin's unexpected discretion to be more disquieting than reassuring. Lin had never sided with People Doing Risky Things... except when Madoka did them. Now there was a thought – Madoka and Lin were apparently dating now... maybe Madoka's personality had rubbed off on him? Perhaps he was even pulling a Madoka, and saving the 'revelation' for the right moment... "Noll?" Gene asked. "Has Lin recently adopted any of Madoka's character traits?"
Where had that come from? Naru examined his deceased twin's face for signs of spiritual insanity. "Have you finally stayed too long in the 'realm of lingering spirits?'" Naru spoke with deliberate sarcasm to mask the seriousness of his question.
As usual, Gene saw right through him. "Nice try, Noll," he rolled his eyes. "And no, I haven't. I was just... idly wondering whether dating Madoka has changed Lin in any way." He smiled brightly for effect.
"No, you weren't," Naru said flatly. "Now stop being facetious, and explain yourself."
"You know, Noll, perhaps adopting a more caring, encouraging approach would get you better answers," Gene noted mockingly.
"My current approach seems to have gotten you back to normal," Naru replied archly. "However normal a stubbornly lingering spirit can be, of course..."
Gene scoffed. "Ugh, Noll, would you stop worrying over my spiritual health already?" he complained. The idiot scientist was only becoming more determined to figure Gene out, at exactly the moment secrecy was most necessary. "Aren't there tons of case-related things you could be doing right now?"
"I actually called you because I need information the ghost in this residence," Naru retorted peevishly. "Your strangely negative attitude distracted me."
His brother only rolled his eyes again. "How unexpectedly unnecessary of you, Noll. I told Mai-chan everything I know about this haunting right before you called me."
"You saw Mai tonight?" Naru almost winced at the resentful edge to his question.
"Obviously," Gene replied, annoyed all over again as he remembered Mai's confession and her unshakable belief that telling Lin was a good idea. "I am her spirit guide." Then Gene noticed his brother's suddenly mutinous face. "Are you still upset about that?"
Naru really wanted to say no. He also really wanted to deny that the hot swoop of emotion burning in his chest was jealousy. There has to be another explanation, he thought almost desperately. It can't be that.
Meanwhile, Gene took Noll's silence as affirmation. "Seriously, Noll? You know, this is why no one tells you anything. You're so sulky."
Of course I am, Naru agreed silently, which is why Mai loves the 'perkier' Davis twin.
And where did that stupid thought come from?!
Gene watched interestedly as a series of odd facial twitches worked their way across Noll's face... and decided a closer link to his brother's thoughts was in order. Noll looked too busy thinking to notice his presence, anyway. Carefully pushing any thoughts of the transfer from his mind, Gene opened his mental link with Noll...
And a barrage of anger, confusion and jealousy hit Gene smack in the face.
Huh. Gene had expected the anger. And though confusion was an interesting departure for the intelligent and confident Oliver Davis, it was the roiling jealousy that held Gene's attention.
What exactly is Noll jealous of?
As if on cue, Mai appeared in Noll's memory – wearing a soft look on her face, and talking about how nice 'dream Naru' was.
Then the vision shifted to Mai flouncing angrily past Noll – fists clenched and hissing about 'infuriating narcissists' under her breath. Gene noticed that Mai was wearing the same clothes she'd worn for their extremely recent argument about the transfer... this was probably Noll's memory of something that happened today.
So... Noll was jealous because Mai thought his twin was nice? No, Gene corrected himself. Noll is jealous because Mai smiled about 'dream Naru,' but gets huffy and argumentative with Noll himself. Gene snorted quietly. First of all, he was sure that anger and frustration weren't the only emotions involved in Mai's interactions with Noll. They were just the most recent.
Besides, an extremely intelligent person like Noll should recognize that Mai's strong reactions to him were signs of attraction... but Gene hadn't starting calling Noll an idiot scientist for nothing.
And an idiot scientist who doesn't even realize his own feelings would be even less likely to realize Mai's. Ugh, how could his incredibly observant brother be so unaware of what was going on in his own heart? Not for the first time, Gene considered trumping up some academic reason for Noll to kiss Mai – like 'to better understand emotional motivation,' or 'to gage the effect of intimate physical stimulus on emotionally unavailable scientists.'
Gene had a really good idea of how that experiment would turn out.
A moment later, though, his mischievous grin faded. Though kissing Mai would almost certainly drive Noll to understand his feelings (oh happy day), the overarching problem would remain. Oliver obviously still believed that Mai was in love with his deceased twin. Noll's unmistakable jealousy relayed that loud and clear.
Then again, Gene supposed, Noll's being jealous at all is a step in the right direction. But only a small step, since Noll seemed unclear about its emotional significance. With an internal sigh, Gene made to pull away from Noll's mind before his distracted twin realized he was there...
And then another wave of confusion flowed from Noll into Gene – and the memory of Mai stomping off superimposed itself into Gene's consciousness once more.
But this time, the memory lasted a bit longer – as Mai exited the room, her gloved hand brushed Noll's.
Not exactly what Gene would label 'intimate physical stimulus,' but... Noll was presently thinking about the way his skin had tingled where Mai touched him.
A sudden movement outside the mirror drew Gene's attention back to the present - Noll was shifting restlessly, staring down at his hand like he was waiting for it to offer an explanation.
Gene's eyes barely had time to widen before his mind was filled with an even more entertaining memory – a smirking Mai batted her eyes and cheekily asked Noll to 'come and protect her.' Gene almost laughed at Mai's fake-suggestiveness – she was obviously taking cues from that Yasuhara.
However, Noll's unexpected and unequivocally visceral response to Mai's baiting stopped Gene mid-snort. Had Noll actually gone hormonal for a second?
NO BLOODY WAY, Gene thought in disbelief. Was that why his emotions were so unbalanced right now? Did he even know how to process –
Noll suddenly ripped himself away from the memory with enough force that Gene's head spun. Oliver was trying very hard to think about something, anything else... finally, Noll's focus landed on the current case. They'd already been attacked by two separate ghosts, and Noll needed answers.
Gene started to speak – but Noll's thoughts suddenly twisted again. Gene saw himself in Noll's mind, saying that he'd already given Mai all the information he had...
And then Noll's head was off to the races again. An imagined version of Mai having a grand old time with Gene in the spirit world bumped up against an actual memory of Mai talking about a 'special event' that synced her very closely to Gene... images raced past Gene's awareness at the rapid-fire pace Noll adopted when lining up evidence to fit a possible conclusion.
When the barrage of memories incited another wave of jealousy in Noll, Gene realized that he'd been wrong – Noll knew he was pissed about Mai's affection for Gene. It wasn't that Noll was totally clueless... he just wasn't ready to accept what it all meant.
An amazed Gene pulled back into his own head. Was his twin finally figuring out his feelings?
"Fine," Noll said tightly. "Since you've already spoken to Mai, I'll ask her in the morning. No need to keep you here."
Gene's head snapped up in alarm. No! he cried internally, reaching out for Noll's mind again. He had to verify this Very Important Conclusion! "But Noll –"
"You're determined to be uncooperative, anyway," Naru cut him off, teeth clenched. "And I have case notes to look over."
No, you have some thinking about Mai to do! Gene yelled telepathically. But Noll didn't hear – Gene had been too obvious about reaching into Noll's head this time, and his angry twin had mentally batted Gene away. "Noll!" he cried aloud.
It was too late – Noll had already broken the connection, and Gene felt himself drifting away. Damn it, he thought. Hoisted by my own 'uncooperative' attitude.
-0O0-
Mai groaned slightly as she tossed and turned in bed.
Her unhappy noises caught the attention of the other person in the room - Madoka abandoned the book she'd been reading, and went to sit beside the fitful psychic.
When Mai started shaking, Madoka silently assessed her options. She could wake Mai up - the girl was obviously having a nightmare. However, that nightmare was more than likely about the ghosts, in which case Madoka should probably leave her to ride it out. Mai would want to see it through... and Lin was still waiting on the family records of the old owners, so they did need information.
However, Madoka could also talk to Mai while she slept and try to get information that way. Noll had done that on one of their cases – although his intention had been to pull Mai out of her nightmare rather than request a real-time interpretation of events.
But still, it couldn't hurt. "Mai-chan, can you hear me?" Madoka whispered.
No direct answer, although Mai's groaning increased in volume.
"Mai-chan, are you aware that you're –"
"No!" Mai suddenly shouted, "Please don't. I love him!" Mai's head jerked to the side hard and fast, like she'd been slapped. She whimpered in pain and threw her arms forward, almost whacking Madoka in the jaw. "Wait! No!" And then Mai's hands were grasping at her own throat, but not quite touching it. And choking noises erupted from her mouth.
Okay, time to wake her up! Madoka reached out and shook Mai, calling out her name. But it wasn't working; Mai continued to gasp for air.
Then one of Mai's hands left her throat and edged along the sheets toward the edge of the bed. Following this trajectory, Madoka saw the water bottle on the bedside table. Without another thought, Madoka unscrewed the plastic container and threw its contents at her friend's contorted face.
Mai's eyes opened and she shot up in the bed, narrowly missing Madoka's panicked form. As Mai took in deep gulps of air, Madoka felt a cold presence brush by her. Mai had definitely been possessed by one of the ghosts. The female ghost, if Mai's words were anything to go by.
Mai coughed, rubbing her throat and wiping water from her face. She shivered, though all of her nerve endings felt like they were on fire. Her throat felt thick and pained, and her nightshirt was drenched. She glanced up and met Madoka's white face.
"Are you alright?" the master ghost hunter asked quietly, sounding much less composed than usual.
Mai nodded. The movement made the room wiggle oddly before her eyes, and Mai closed them to keep the dizziness at bay. "Yes," she whispered. The pain and thickness in her throat were already fading, and Mai forcefully reminded herself that it wasn't actually her being murdered. Then the ghost - and actual murder victim - finally drifted out of the room, and Mai's shivering lessened immediately.
"I was the female spirit," Mai told Madoka, sounding calmer than she felt.
Madoka nodded. "I guess we know how she died – and why there are two ghosts. She and her killer are both trapped here."
"It was a love triangle," Mai elaborated. "And the man she left killed her." Peeling her wet shirt away from her body, Mai looked thoughtfully towards the bedroom door. "Should we go tell Naru?"
"He might be asleep," Madoka mused. "It is two in the morning."
Mai shook her head... and nothing moved that wasn't supposed to. Excellent, that meant she could walk to base. "No, he's up. I can sense his aura... he's in the base with Lin."
Madoka raised an eyebrow. "You can sense that they're awake?" Never mind that she could recognize their individual auras so quickly...
"Yeah," Mai said, surprised at Madoka's question. "I mean, awake auras are... brighter than asleep ones." The teen psychic sighed. "I don't really know how to describe it... my senses just yell, 'Awake!' at me." She rolled her eyes. "It's confusing to explain."
Madoka grinned and ruffled Mai's hair. "That was a fine explanation. And we can practice some more in a minute, when you tell the guys about your dream." Then she paused. "Speaking of guys, isn't Greg in there, too?" He was supposed to be watching over the base, after all.
Mai cocked her head to the side, as if listening to something only she could hear. "No," she said finally. "I'm not really familiar with his aura yet, but there are definitely no other human auras near the base." Then her eyes lit up. "Oh, I found him! He's down the hall, sleeping."
The lead investigator clucked her tongue. "Interns," she grunted. "They beg for a chance to head into the field, and then fall asleep on duty."
"Don't be too hard on him, Madoka," Mai said placatingly. "Remember my first case? I broke a super-expensive camera... and Lin."
Madoka snorted. "True enough," she admitted. "Let's go, Mai-chan. I want to get back to sleep sometime tonight."
As Mai eased out of the bed, a wave of cold practically smacked her in the face. It was frigid in this house – and it wasn't just the ghosts. "Wow, it's chilly tonight," she said through suddenly chattering teeth.
The older woman scrutinized her employee-slash-friend, wondering if Mai's shivers were simple chills or a sign of shock. "Mai-chan – why don't you just stay in bed? You've just had a frightening experience; I can send the guys in here." Madoka winked and turned to leave – but a cold hand grasped hers. Alarmed, she looked back and realized it was Mai's hand – she was wearing her fingerless gloves tonight.
"Sorry," the teen psychic said sheepishly. "I just – I'm still a little freaked out. I don't like being alone after those dreams."
Madoka smiled warmly and pulled Mai in for a hug. "It's alright. Just watching you choking was pretty awful. We'll go together, then – and you stick close to me, okay?"
The warmth of Madoka's smile and aura spread through Mai's spooked form, and her shivering abated as they padded quietly down the hall.
-0O0-
"Wow, she's really out," Madoka noted. Mai's nightshirt was still wet from her impromptu wake-up bath, she'd stammered and shivered through explaining her dream, and she was actually sort of sitting up - yet somehow, Mai was sleeping soundly.
"Mai always sleeps like that," Naru griped. "At least when she's supposed to be working." Mai had been trying to explain how 'awake' and 'asleep' auras differed when Lin had noticed something on the monitors. By the time they established it was nothing to worry about, the group turned back around to find that Mai had dozed off.
"She's not 'supposed to be working' at two in the morning," Madoka returned snippily. "She should be sleeping. And considering that Mai-chan just experienced a death dream that involved being strangled by an angry ex-lover..." Madoka bit back a grin as Naru's eyes snapped to Mai. She gave an inward cheer as Noll's expression visibly softened.
As if aware of his perusal, Mai chose that moment to stretch languidly, revealing her trim stomach and pushing out her chest. Naru froze for a moment before quickly looking away. He kept his eyes on the thermography readouts until Mai turned onto her stomach and burrowed into the couch cushions.
Then she shivered - and Naru noticed something odd. "Why is Mai's shirt wet?" he asked slowly.
"We decided to lighten things up with a wet t-shirt contest," Madoka replied seriously. She was thrilled to see Noll freeze again before snapping back to normal.
"You have been spending far too much time with Yasuhara," Naru accused. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lin nod in agreement.
"You give him too much credit," Madoka laughed. "Mai-chan hangs out with Yasu all the time, and she's not nearly as pervy as I am."
As much as he hated giving Madoka the last word, Naru was absolutely not going to comment on that.
Lin was of a similar mind. He decided to re-focus on the white noise in the attack-hallway.
Silence fell, and Madoka grinned in victory. "Right, then. When Mai started choking, I needed to wake her up. But I didn't want to smack her, and there was a water bottle right next to the bed."
"So you considered dumping water in her face less jarring?" Naru asked incredulously. "The sting of a slap would have lasted a minute. Yet Mai's shirt is wet half an hour later."
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Madoka muttered. Feeling suddenly guilty, the lead investigator pulled a spare blanket out of a nearby box and tucked it around Mai.
Naru's mind was caught between contentment and satisfaction – contentment that Mai would be more comfortable, and satisfaction that Madoka had given him an opening to castigate her. He was infinitely more comfortable with the satisfaction. "'It seemed like a good idea at the time,'" Naru repeated. "An explanation given throughout the ages to ameliorate failure."
He almost felt Madoka's temper spike.
"I thought I told you to leave your attitude at the door," she snapped.
"I can't help that you make no sense." Naru leafed through a log of the day's events, waiting for the yelling.
Instead, Madoka just sighed heavily. "I want you to figure it out as badly the rest of us do, Noll," she said cryptically. "But stop using everyone else as an outlet for your frustration."
Naru wanted to deny having any idea what she was on about – but he held his tongue. For all of her nonsense, Madoka Mori was exceptionally sharp... and Naru wasn't ready to hear corroboration of his as-yet-unconfirmed suspicions.
But to his former teacher, Naru's lack of speech was just as telling as a discussion would have been. Madoka studied her protégée with interest. Refusal to speak wasn't exactly strange for Oliver... but he usually reacted to Madoka's hints about unrealized feelings with confusion or scorn. More telling still, the look in Noll's eyes suggested that he knew exactly what she was talking about.
The hunter in Madoka wanted to press the advantage, to force the truth out of Noll's head and into the world. But the Ph. D in Madoka warned her to keep quiet. If Noll was really almost there... then the last thing his self-realization needed was a spotlight.
"Here, Noll," Madoka said finally, holding up a sheet of paper. "What do you make of this police report?"
-0O0-
A quiet hour later, Madoka was ready to call it a night (again). Shifting in her chair, she studied Mai's peaceful form. Madoka didn't really want to wake her again; in the last twenty-four hours, Mai had two run-ins with ghosts and a psychic nightmare. She needed some uninterrupted sleep...
And then Madoka had a brilliant idea. She'd drag Koujo out with her, and Noll could stay in base with Mai! Maybe a few hours of staring at her adorable sleeping face would set off the emotional epiphany they were all waiting for!
Feeling eyes on him, Naru glanced up to find Madoka wearing her 'up to something' face. Time for evasive maneuvers, Naru thought, wracking his brain for something to distract her. "Gene was odd this evening," he blurted out.
This statement drew the attention of both Madoka and Lin. "What do you mean?" they asked simultaneously.
Naru silently declared victory. Not only had he pulled Madoka out of Plotting Mode, but his suddenly cooperative brain had brought up something he actually wanted to discuss.
And this sense of victory was in no way mixed with relief at having something to think about besides his personal... quandary. Right.
Back on topic. "I mean exactly that," Naru replied. "I spoke to Gene this evening, and he was behaving oddly."
Madoka's eyes returned to the sleeping psychic on the couch. "I wonder if Mai's noticed anything."
"If she did, she wouldn't tell me," Naru said sourly. "She's still skittish when it comes to Gene." For whatever stupid reason.
"Maybe Mai-chan thinks that talking about him hurts you," Madoka suggested.
"I've already told her it doesn't," Naru muttered. He was thinking about Mai laughing on the balcony as he'd told her stories about birthdays with Gene.
SPR's lead investigator pursed her lips. "Then do you reckon they're hiding something again?" Madoka's face was unusually serious.
Across the room, Lin stared hard at the monitors and willed his face not to give anything away.
Naru considered the question. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Gene's not being furtive like before. I just feel like he's off, somehow."
"Off as in spiritually troubled?" Madoka asked quickly. If Gene had stayed in limbo too long, his spirit could be in danger.
Not wanting anyone to see the concern in his eyes, Naru stared hard at the wall. "He was very short with me tonight. That's unusual for Gene."
Madoka was rapidly rethinking her decision not to wake Mai. Not only was Mai the only other person who could see Gene, but her psychic instincts were excellent. If Gene were going to the bad, Mai would almost certainly be able to sense it.
Besides, the master ghost hunter thought, if Gene's 'oddness' IS another attempt to keep Noll out of the loop on something... then Mai is probably in on it. And she's easier to crack.
Naru followed the direction of Madoka's stare. "Mai saw Gene, too," he revealed sullenly. "Earlier this evening."
Madoka raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Funny, she didn't mention that."
Lin gritted his teeth. He knew what had probably happened. Despite his own vehement opposition, a guilt-ridden Mai had decided to inform Gene that she'd outed them. If Mai saw Gene first, then Gene's 'oddness' with Noll was probably just leftover anger over Mai's revealing the Big Secret.
The onmyouji shook his head ruefully. Given Gene's insistence on secrecy, it would be quite ironic if the transfer were revealed to Naru via Gene's own lack of emotional control.
"The last time we spoke about Gene' spiritual health was the night Mai confessed to being in communication with him," Naru informed them. "She told me that Gene was fine." Even as he said this, Naru was mentally reviewing Mai's assurances from the evening in question. He was definitely not thinking about how quickly his anger had dissolved under Mai's soulful gaze, or the way her touch on his arm had pulled all of his attention to their point of contact.
"However," Naru continued, forcibly yanking his thoughts down a more comfortable track, "Since Mai has become rather adept at concealment, I can't be sure they aren't hiding something again."
Lin resisted the urge to glare at his sleeping student. He'd told her not to say anything to Gene.
"We will ask about it when Mai-chan wakes up," Madoka directed. Noll didn't seem to think that Gene would go residual this very second, and Mai really did need some sleep.
Naru nodded slowly. It was only day one of the case, but Mai already been attacked by multiple ghosts, re-lived a violent death... and astral projected to Gene for 'spiritual guidance.' Naru's jaw clenched. "If Mai maintains that Gene's spirit is fine," he ground out, "Then they're probably up to something irresponsible."
"And probably dangerous," Madoka added grimly.
"When it comes to Mai, the two words are synonymous," Naru bit out. "And Gene's the same way. Odds are, they'll only encourage one another." Gene and Mai shared a troublesome personality trait - incredible lack of concern for their own well-being. The many possible ways that Mai could be irresponsible with Gene made Naru's stomach twist. They made a very sacrificial-slash-reckless couple. Naru's stomach twisted harder.
Madoka raised an eyebrow, her concern for Gene's situation briefly overwhelmed by satisfaction at the jealous undertone in Noll's voice. That tortured-looking expression on his face was pretty interesting, too.
Now that Madoka fully understood Noll's emotional dilemma, evidence of it was very easy to spot. For example, Noll's extreme reaction to Mai's initial revelation about Gene made so much more sense – he was mistakenly incorporating a romantic facet to Mai's secretly 'seeing' Gene. And now Noll was pissed because he thought Mai and Gene were doing dangerous things together behind his back. Emphasis on together. "Well, we'll make sure to ask what they've been 'up to' lately."
At this assertion, Lin decided enough was enough. One conversation with a less-than-wary Gene had prompted a damn interrogation – and the longer Noll and Madoka talked about it, the worse their suspicions would get. With a discreet wave, Lin instructed one of his shiki to wake Mai. Her stubbornness had caused this situation, so she could get them out of it.
He watched his shiki slam hard against the edges of Mai's spiritual space... and less than a second later, the qigong student rocketed upright with a shriek. Lin silently admired her reaction time as Naru and Madoka moved immediately to Mai's side.
"Mai-chan, what happened?" Madoka cried.
"Did you have another dream?" Naru asked quietly.
Mai was frozen in place, trying to simultaneously bring her freaked-out spirit energy under control and hear over the gong-like ringing in her ears.
Upon reflection, Lin figured he could have told his shiki to be a little gentler...
"Are you alright?" Madoka ran a cool hand along Mai's flushed forehead.
Madoka's voice sounded tinny to Mai's over-sensitive hearing, but it was comprehensible enough. "Yes," Mai replied, her eyes on Lin's shiki. She tracked her attacker as it drifted to a stop behind Lin's shoulder... and why was Lin staring at her like she'd done something wrong?
Lin spoke as soon as Mai noticed him. "It's good that you're awake," he stated.
His low voice was much easier to understand than Madoka's, but... "Huh?" Mai ventured. Was that Lin's way of saying, 'Sorry I set my shiki on you?'
"Noll and Madoka are concerned about Gene," Lin explained slowly, willing his co-conspirator to understand that there was a problem.
Alarms bells went off in Mai's head, and she realized that Lin was trying to tell her something without being obvious about it. "Why?" Mai asked cautiously.
Lin breathed an internal sigh of relief at the comprehension in Mai's eyes. "They are worried that the strange attitude problem he exhibited with Noll this evening is a sign that he has stayed too long in limbo."
Objection, leading the witness! Madoka noted in her mind. Why did it sound like Lin was telling Mai what to say?
Mai paused only a moment before picking up the line. "No, he's okay," she replied simply – but one look at Lin told Mai she needed to do better. "I mean... Gene and I had an argument tonight," she said truthfully. "So he was probably just still annoyed with me."
Naru raised a surprised eyebrow. "An argument?" That was unexpected. Mai and Gene seemed to have such a pleasant relationship.
"Yes," Mai grumbled.
"About what?" The question was out of Naru's mouth before he could stop it.
About me being a big-mouth. Mai sighed; Gene was within his rights to be angry that she'd told someone... but honestly, what choice did they have? They both agreed that Mai needed experienced help if she wanted to be an able partner for Naru, and Lin was definitely their best option. And despite Gene's angry insistence that the onmyouji would tell on them, Lin was currently in the process of trying to keep the transfer under wraps.
However, Mai couldn't tell Naru any of that. So she summoned her best 'outraged' face. "None of your business, Narcissist."
"Oh, really?" Naru asked coolly, his expression suddenly shuttered. "Your argument with Gene spilled over into my conversation with him –"
"That doesn't mean I have to tell you!" Mai defended hotly.
Lin cleared his throat. It means you have to come up with SOMETHING, he told Mai with his eyes.
Mai rolled her eyes. Fine, Lin. "We had an argument about the case," she said dismissively.
Even Madoka scoffed. "Pull the other one, Mai-chan."
"What?" Mai shot back. "I can't get into a fight with my spirit guide?"
The master ghost hunter frowned. "Oh, I'm sure you can – I just doubt it was about the case." No, it was about something else – something else that Mai, Gene, and apparently Koujo wanted to conceal.
"We've had arguments about cases before!" Mai persisted. TTMPI's first case after the transfer came to mind...
"But not this time," Naru argued. "You'd be less defensive." Mai's face blanked for a moment, and Naru knew he was right. His brain instantly started running the possibilities - had they fought over Gene's refusal to move on? About his unfinished business? Or perhaps... the futility of a romantic relationship? A swell of what felt disturbingly like glee ripped its way through Naru's chest at this last thought, and he closed his eyes in consternation. It couldn't be that. "So what was the fight really about?" Naru asked demandingly, trying to mask the discord in his soul by going on the offensive.
Facing off against Naru or Madoka was old hat by now, but their combined interrogative efforts made Mai want to run back to the room and lock the door. But that wouldn't solve anything - and would probably end in Mai being attacked by the ghosts again. Twice in one day was enough, thank you very much.
Then what to do? The questions were only getting pointier... ah. A while back, Mai had asked Bou-san why he always let Ayako's baiting rile him up. His reply was that 'the only way to fight fire was fire.' Mai interpreted this approach as, 'when you're hit, hit back.' And come to think of it, directly confronting Naru had produced results in the past. "Why do you want to know?" Mai challenged angrily. "It was just a fight, Naru. Why are you harping on about it?"
"I'm sorry?" Naru asked unthinkingly, totally unprepared for this question. He wasn't even sure why he was harping on about it.
"You don't have to apologize for your brother," Mai quipped derisively.
In the last minute or so, three things had become apparent to Madoka Mori. One - at this point, Noll and Mai had completely forgotten anyone else was in the room. Two - they'd obviously pushed too hard, and now Mai wasn't going to tell them anything. And three - Gene's spirit was clearly fine. Mai would never screw around like this if there were really an issue.
So Madoka decided it would be best to step back, and let the sparks fly. Between Noll's emotional unrest and Mai's temper, this fight might actually go somewhere!
The ever-observant Lin noticed his girlfriend's sudden tactical reversal - and wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disturbed. He was definitely disturbed by that angry, knowing look she'd thrown his way...
The normally-observant Naru didn't take notice of any of this peripheral drama. His whole attention was focused on Mai... who was obviously trying to piss him off. Mai's chin was up, her eyes were mocking... and the way she was sitting made her look far too much like Masako Hara for his liking.
Then she smirked. "I must have gotten cuter in the last two years," Mai drawled. "Enough to earn a wordless stare from Naru the Narcissist."
"I'll go and get you a kimono sleeve to hide behind," Naru snapped.
Mai tried not to feel hurt that Naru considered Masako to be his measure of beauty. "Don't do me any favors," she retorted.
Much better, Naru thought with relief. Mai was acting like herself again. Then he froze. Mai was still being uncooperative and angry - why would that please him? The answer his mind provided was not what Naru wanted to hear, but even as he pushed it away he couldn't completely reject it.
Embodying calm he didn't feel, Naru settled onto a nearby chair with the deadly grace of a jungle cat. The stare he lasered into Mai was even deadlier. "Misdirection isn't your strong suit," he intoned.
And yet you still don't know about the transfer, Mai thought rather gleefully.
Naru's consternation only increased at the sudden mischievous glint in Mai's eyes. He obviously wasn't doing a good job simulating normalcy. "What was the fight about?" he repeated.
"Stuff," Mai replied stonily.
Naru resisted the urge to close his eyes in annoyance – he'd lose whatever advantage he had left. "Mai –"
"Ugh, it wasn't about the case!" Mai cried exasperatedly, flinging herself backwards into the couch pillows. This had to end before she slipped and said something stupid.
Naru smirked victoriously. "You've decided to admit the obvious?"
Mai rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I meant that it'snot related to SPR, so I don't have to tell you. And I don't want to." She matched Naru glare for glare. "Surely you can understand that, Mr. Didn't-Even-Tell-Us-His-Real-Name-For-A-Year."
A muscle in Naru's cheek twitched, but he didn't back down. "I'm not asking because I care about whatever stupid things the two of you bicker over," he hissed coldly. Lies, his mind denied.
Lies, Madoka mouthed to Lin.
"Then why are you asking?" Mai asked angrily.
Yeah, Noll - why? Madoka jeered silently. Do you even realize you're jealous?
Naru's breath caught. Of course Mai had asked the very question he'd been avoiding in his own head.
Mai drew herself up, expecting Naru to come back at her with all ice-guns blazing...
Therefore, she was intensely surprised when Naru suddenly sank back into his chair with a strangely lost look on his face.
Holy s**t. Even Madoka's inner voice sounded astonished. He DOES realize it, doesn't he? The master ghost hunter threw Lin a goggle-eyed 'Is this really happening?' look (having decided to ignore her suspicions in favor of sharing this amazing moment with him). It must really be happening, Madoka decided, because Lin couldn't even summon the wherewithal to toss her a disapproving glare. Madoka crammed her fingers against her mouth. She noticed that despite Noll's introspective break, his eyes were still unconsciously on Mai. Luella was right; Noll really was adorable sometimes. Madoka made a mental note to describe this whole thing to Luella in detail, after the case.
As oblivious to their audience as was Naru, Mai sat frozen and uncomprehending on the base couch. She watched as Naru's stare grew more and more unfocused, until his eyes finally skated away from hers. Her brain seemed to turn back on, and Mai suddenly realized she hadn't been breathing. Naru's gaze dropped to the floor molding, and Mai felt simultaneously relieved and bereft – although his laser stare sometimes made Mai feel like a butterfly pinned to a board, a thrill jolted through her whenever Naru's deep blue eyes locked with hers.
Even now, Mai couldn't look away from him... she watched as Naru's face went from confused to contemplative.
Naru had pulled his eyes away from Mai, but it was too late. For whatever reason, Mai's question seemed to break Naru's ability to ignore his own thoughts. Perhaps it was because he didn't like not having an answer for something. Perhaps it was the frustrated tone of Mai's voice; unconsciously echoing Naru's frustration with himself. Perhaps it was because he was distracted by Mai's inexplicable ability to find the most resonant things to say. She'd always been like that, from the first time she called him 'Naru' to their conversation on his birthday.
And so Mai's question got through Naru's mental wall. Predictably, the answer had been immediate.
Because you're jealous, his mind had answered simply. And refusing to recognize it doesn't make it go away.
Unapologetic and to the point, the way Naru usually fought his battles. It was so much harder to fight when there was no fight to be had, he'd always figured. Naru found it to be a highly effective strategy - and apparently, it even worked on himself.
Because you're jealous. It ran through Oliver Davis' mind over and over. He didn't bother refuting it - deep inside, he'd already known. The evidence was overwhelming, and the resultant conclusion was obvious.
It was so much harder to fight when there was no fight to be had.
As Naru's shifting expression and aura settled, Mai leaned forward to speak. "Naru?" she asked softly, her anger disappearing like it had never been. "Are you... okay?"
Mai's voice snapped Naru out of his daze. Oddly fitting, since she'd snapped him into it. "I'm fine," he lied through gritted teeth, staring staunchly at the base's ugly molding.
Abruptly, Mai remembered that Naru had all but admitted to having some 'petty emotional drama' going on. "You don't sound okay," she protested concernedly.
Naru closed his eyes tightly – he couldn't look at Mai right now. He could already imagine the warm, caring look she'd be wearing, and he simply could not deal with that without...Naru stopped that thought in its tracks, seeing no reason to make his situation worse.
Yes, he was jealous. There was no way around it. And Naru, despite never having experienced this particular component of the human condition, was not unaware of the implications.
But, Naru told himself firmly, ignoring the sense of despair in his gut, what did it matter?
-0O0-
AN: I know, I know - I said it wouldn't take as long, and it took so long. Longer, in fact, than it has ever been - and I hated every minute of it. The main problem is that I very much underestimated my new schedule's effect on my free time. I work on Fridays now, and I used to do most of my editing on Fridays. Plus, it turns out my job is really hard, and I've been working overtime every week just to get everything done. At the end of most days, I just come home and take a nap. I feel really awful about not posting the new chapter sooner - I wanted to post it as much as you guys wanted me to post it. I feel so happy now that's ready.
Speaking of which, there was also the problem that the original last half of the chapter did not flow well, or get anything done. I've seriously been staring at it for two weeks, without knowing what to do about it. And then (after getting a lot of sleep and feeling caught up at work) I figured out the problem.
And since you guys are lovely, and I want to make it up to you, this chapter is super-long. And I'll give you a hint about the next chapter - Naru might have more physical contact with Mai than he's used to;)