Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. Manga 12 would be out in English. Why isn't it, again?
A/N: Happy holidays to my faithful, patient, awesome readers. I even tried to make it Christmas-alicious for you.
Chapter 41 – Christmas Presence
-0O0-
By the time the group exited the Tube at Westminster, Oliver Davis was ready to PK-ST all of them into unconsciousness.
It was bad enough that he was being forced to sightsee in his own hometown by his idiot compatriots. It was even worse that they were out sightseeing this close to Christmas. London was relatively famous for its 'spectacular' holiday decorations and displays. Just the memory of all the lights and people had Naru gritting his teeth.
As Madoka dragged him up the stairs like a naughty child, Oliver hypothesized that the resulting hospital stay might be worth the energy expenditure. He'd obviously spare Lin, who looked just as thrilled as Naru was sure he himself did. But Madoka was still holding onto both his and Lin's arms, though, so Naru would need to find a way to get Madoka to release Lin for a moment in order to conduct electrical current –
"Oh," Mai gasped softly from his other side.
Suddenly drawn from his internal revenge plots, Naru's eyes slid to Mai in concern. But Mai didn't look upset, she looked… amazed.
Mai's eyes were as round as Naru had ever seen as she gazed at the scintillating display now before them, and her mouth had dropped open in wonder.
She must have felt his gaze upon her – Mai turned to Naru, her whole face as bright as the lighted trees in the square. "Naru," she almost whispered, "It's so beautiful! I can't believe it!"
"It is," he replied stupidly, his dark mood dissipating.
He must have said something else in the long seconds between Mai's eyes meeting his and her racing forward to have a closer look at the nearest decorations. But he had no idea what it could have been.
Naru eventually became aware of Madoka staring gleefully at him. "That was a wonderful early Christmas present, thanks, Noll."
She tore off after Mai before Naru could school his tongue into retorting.
-0O0-
A flurry of robes and stomping feet alerted Mai to the approach of classmates. Looking up, she started as a clutch of delighted faces stared at her expectantly.
"Um… good morning?" Mai offered with trepidation. Ever since Naru's totally embarrassing cameo at Oxford, Mai had been approached by every single classmate at least once. She didn't imagine there were any other novel methods to ask about Dr. Oliver Davis, his current research, or past ghost hunts. Mai internally braced for interrogation.
"Did you hear about the internships?" one of the students asked excitedly.
"No, I don't know when Naru plans to publish – wait, what internships?" Mai asked, confused.
"Professor Davis has posted that there will be three students chosen to intern at SPR next semester!" Judith-the-Naru-super-fan enthused.
"Oh," Mai replied unenthusiastically. She and Yasu already worked for SPR, so they wouldn't be up for internships.
But more importantly, any shred of Mai's anonymity would be really, officially over once three of her classmates started at the office. As far as she knew, her Oxford compatriots were only aware that she'd worked with Madoka and Naru in Japan.
"You don't sound very excited, Taniyama," Andrea (a much nicer classmate) noted with surprise. "Don't you want to work for the premier parapsychological outfit in the world?"
"I'm… just concerned about keeping up with work in another language and working for SPR at the same time," Mai hedged. She wasn't lying – this was, in fact, the hardest part of the transfer to Cambridge for Mai. Thank goodness for Yasuhara and his superior translation skills.
"We'd also have to work with that perfectly dismal brownnoser," the aforementioned translator said softly, gesturing limply to Roger. "Yuck."
"You lot are assuming you'll be chosen, then?" a pleasant fellow named Tom asked teasingly. He was one of the few who hadn't really pressed Mai about the magnificent Oliver Davis. She laughed to show her continued appreciation.
"Well, I don't know about me," Andrea admitted bashfully, "But these two have top marks and they've worked with Dr. Mori before. I would think they'd have an edge."
Tom nodded. "That's true. I'm not up for it, obviously – I'm graduating this year and hopefully will work for SPR properly afterward."
Another unpleasant surprise. Mai wouldn't need to worry about interns spilling the beans if a few of her current classmates were bound to end up working for SPR next year. Her cover would be blown regardless. Argh.
"Well, may the best people win," Andrea said with a grin. Mai smiled weakly in return.
"You mean 'may the most well-connected people win,'" came a familiar smarmy voice from the row below.
It seemed like the entire group groaned at once.
"How may we help you, Roger?" Tom asked tightly, giving the jerk a superior look to remind the interloper that he was not the upperclassman here.
"I am loath to think that my top grades might be overshadowed by acquaintanceship with Dr. Mori," Roger replied, a hint of nastiness in his tone.
"Now don't be jealous," Yasu urged, his voice positively saccharine. "Besides, aren't you acquainted with Dr. Mori as well? Weren't you her ghost 'dummy' last lecture?" Mai caught the slight emphasis that Yasuhara placed on the word dummy and had to cough to avoid laughing.
"True enough, but Taniyama has played the 'dummy' far more times than I." Roger leaned so hard on the word dummy that Mai visualized him falling over on top of it.
"She has more experience with ghost hunting, so she's a natural choice," Andrea said hotly in Mai's defense. Roger glared.
"Well, like we said, may the best people win." Tom said in a conversation-is-over way. "Class starts in a minute, Roger. Wouldn't want to look unprepared for Professor Davis the day after he posts internship openings."
Roger looked like he wanted to retort, but he couldn't fault Tom's logic. He retreated slowly, throwing the knot of students a nasty look as he went.
"Can we screen the selectees?" Andrea wondered. "Can we vote him off the island if he gets picked?"
Tom shrugged. "It's never happened before, but maybe we can move for an exception."
-0O0-
Mai had been in a… funk all night.
Not a psychic funk, Naru decided. None of the signs of an incoming vision, or PK exhaustion, or Mai's death dream about Gene were present. Just Mai staring off into space, frowning and tapping her foot anxiously on the carpet.
An unrelated emotional issue, then. Dr. Oliver Davis twitched involuntarily. If it were anyone else, he'd pay it no mind… but his singular affection for Mai seemed to have a depreciating effect on his ability to ignore her feelings. He tried to focus on the much more interesting preliminary overview of SPR's upcoming case, but…
Mai sighed heavily and drew her lips into a pale, thin line. She glared at the porcelain cup in her lap accusingly.
"Would you like more tea, Mai?" Naru asked her quietly. No need to draw attention to his abnormal solicitousness.
The object of his affection snorted in response. "Sure, Naru, I'll make you another cup, too." Mai levered herself off of her favorite squashy chair, and swept up Naru's empty cup as she shuffled by.
Naru almost smiled. He'd meant that he would get the tea for her, and then would hopefully be able to unobtrusively inquire about her mood upon handing it off.
But perhaps cornering Mai alone in the kitchen would be less noticeable. A cursory glance around the room revealed that no one's attention was currently on him – Oliver straightened his paperwork and carried it with him into the hall.
Across the room, Madoka and Luella exchanged mirthful glances. "I thought he'd stew a little longer before trying to sort Mai out," Luella admitted.
"Noll's always adapted quickly," Madoka opined. "Maybe they'll manage to get together by Ayako's wedding."
Lin – Lin – scoffed from the desk. "That is highly unlikely. There are more vital issues to overcome first."
"Like what?" both Madoka and Yasuhara asked quickly. Neither investigator had had any luck in figuring out what Lin and Mai were hiding.
Lin speared his suspicious colleagues with a withering stare. "The Banderson case," he replied archly. "It starts next week."
Madoka visibly deflated.
"Cheer up, sensei," Yasuhara whispered. "They'll slip eventually."
"Do you have any idea what it took to get Lin Koujo to admit he liked me?" Madoka hissed back. "I practically had to die!"
Yasuhara nodded, considering. "Well, the supposed spirit in the Banderson mansion seems to go after pretty women. Maybe it'll attack you during the case… and Lin will sob a confession over your concussed body."
Madoka rolled her eyes. "Here's hoping."
-0O0-
"Naru!" Mai exclaimed with surprise as he padded into the kitchen. "Did you get impatient for your cuppa?"
Oliver's eye twitched. He both wanted to correct Mai's usage of annoying slang and also allow himself delight at her increased familiarity with English phrasing.
Affection did in fact make one act an idiot.
"Not exactly," he replied distractedly, trying to mentally shove his dichotomous reactions to the back burner of his attention. "I wanted to ask if you were alright."
Mai's mouth dropped open.
Inwardly cursing himself for speaking without thinking, Naru fell back on the time-tested strategy of behaving as if nothing were amiss. "You've been acting strangely again," he persisted. "I was… concerned."
Mai just stared at him, obviously trying to rationalize his uncharacteristic personal appeal. Naru moved to pick up his steaming teacup, assuming that Mai would snap out of it once he broke their eye contact.
"I'm… worried about recognition," Mai said quietly.
Naru's head whipped back to face her. He hadn't expected Mai to admit her problem so quickly. Perhaps directly showing concern was a more efficient method of working through an issue with Mai. "What do you mean?" Naru asked. Recognition of what?
"When you publish that paper about me, all of my classmates are going to read it," Mai mumbled, staring at the floor. "They're already weird about my knowing you and Madoka, and apparently some of them will be coming to SPR as interns soon, and then the paper…" Mai bit her lip. "I-I want to study at Cambridge, not be studied at Cambridge."
Naru regarded Mai carefully for a moment, taking in her hunched shoulders and the note of regret in her voice. "That's all?" he asked flatly.
Mai's head snapped up. "What do you mean, 'that's all?'" she sniped. "I admit to being scared, and tell you something that's really bothering me, and that's what you have to say?"
Naru's lips twitched. "You misunderstand me, Mai. If 'that's all' it is, then it's easy to fix."
Mai raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I'll give you a pseudonym," he explained. "Many scientists use fake names to protect the anonymity of their research subjects. At this point, I can't guarantee that your classmates won't guess that you're the subject…"
Mai grimaced.
"But a pseudonym will protect you from larger recognition, and at least leave you with plausible deniability with regard to other students. I… understand your concerns," Naru admitted in a slightly warmer tone than his usual. "I suspect you'd be uncomfortable with the notoriety a major paper would bring."
The expression on Mai's face was a fascinating mix of shock, gratefulness and caring. "T-thank you, Naru." Her voice throbbed with sincerity.
Something in Oliver Davis's chest tightened uncomfortably. The unforeseen psychosomatic consequences of emotional attachment were more noteworthy than he'd ever guessed. A retreat into normalcy was obviously necessary.
"More importantly, Mai," Naru mused, his tone cooling into something more normal, "The attention would definitely interfere with your education. You already sit too far away from my father to efficiently absorb his lectures, I can't imagine the level of distraction constant staring from your classmates would bring."
Mai's breath hitched as if to start yelling – but then she just shook her head and retrieved the tea service. "Honestly, Naru, me neither."
It took everything Oliver Davis had not to chuckle amusedly as Mai whisked past him into the hall.
-0O0-
Upon reentering the living room, Mai only needed a moment to summon the required fortitude. Naru's unexpected helpfulness with the publicity issue had settled something within her. "Professor Davis?" Mai began.
Martin looked up from his case notes with alacrity. Something had been bothering Mai all day, and it seemed she was finally ready to address it. "Yes, Taniyama?" Martin tried to sound encouraging.
"About the SPR internships…"
"Oh, you don't need to concern yourself about those," Martin interrupted amusedly. "You already work for us."
"Right, but didn't we decide to keep my, er, involvement with SPR as quiet as possible? If we have interns coming in – and a couple of graduates working soon as well – how are we going to keep me a secret?"
Martin gave Mai a curious glance. "Well, Taniyama, I wasn't planning on having you remain an unknown forever," he revealed. "I wanted to give you time to settle into the program before everyone got wind of your abilities and experience. I didn't think that having such focus on you before you'd got your bearings would be productive."
Mai felt a shock of surprise – Martin was looking at her like he thought she'd known this already. Yasuhara, Lin and Madoka wore similar expressions.
Naru, on the other hand, frowned at his father. And Luella, ever the interceding force, outright clucked her tongue and glared.
"You're just assuming that Mai wants to be a face of parapsychology, then?" Luella asked archly. "She isn't one for the limelight. Neither is Noll, really, but he chose to publish books and film PK demonstrations. You shouldn't just expect the same of Mai."
Silence fell across the study as lines in the sand were drawn.
Mai waved her hands as if she could physically break the tension. "Oh, um, I'm alright with it," she lied.
"You're not alright with it," Naru countered immediately. "And my father shouldn't just adopt a course without getting your input."
Mai's insides warmed at the defense even as she built up a denial. "But Naru, Professor Davis has taken me on as a student and ghost hunter, and has been extremely helpful with testing. It tracks that I should do demonstrations and things in return." Mai turned back to her professor. "If that's what you'd like, Professor Davis."
Martin stared incredulously his visibly fuming son. "No…" he answered slowly, "Noll and Luella are correct – I shouldn't have assumed. If you'd like, Taniyama, we can keep you out of the office once your classmates arrive at SPR. Incidentally, I wasn't currently planning any psychic demonstrations."
"Yet," Luella and Naru snapped simultaneously.
Mai's inward blush became outward at their sustained show of anger on her behalf. "Well," she considered, "I don't think it will be necessary to hide me or Yasu in the office." She could see Martin's posture droop in relief. "I was just taken off-guard, I guess. I mean, I should have expected that someday I'd need to reveal my abilities to more people."
The young psychic twisted her fingers together in her lap, stalling to sort through her thoughts. "And… I fully intend to continue working on cases, and I doubt my name will just never come up at SPR, even if my classmates don't actually see me there. And…" Mai trailed off for a moment, allowing her wild thoughts to coalesce into a decision.
Then Mai squared her shoulders and met Martin's gaze with alacrity. "I definitely want to work in the field when I graduate. And I want to help you and Naru legitimize parapsychology, Professor. I can't do that if I'm hiding in a back room somewhere."
Naru felt something warm uncurl in his chest at Mai's words. He couldn't stop himself from giving her an appreciating look.
Meanwhile, Madoka clapped openly. "Well said, Mai-chan. And don't worry, we'll keep that unpleasant Roger away from you once your abilities are recognized. That's who you're worried about, right?"
Mai huffed. "Not just him – although he is unpleasant. The whole lot of them have been a bit ridiculous lately – I just want to study and not be stared at all the time."
Naru tried to imagine Mai's reaction to the scrutiny he was normally subjected to. Images of her blushing, twitching and finally yelling at onlookers filled his mind. Naru couldn't help smirking.
Which Mai noticed immediately. "Well, some of us don't enjoy being stared at, Narcissist. I'll just sit next to you at every conference – they'll all re-direct their attention to your magnificence, and then both of us will be happy."
A flash of amusement lit Naru's eyes, and Mai scoffed to ward off her blush.
Yasuhara wasn't about to let the moment go so easily. "I don't know if Roger will be the worst of your problems," he threw in with feigned nonchalance. "He might be too busy attempting to impress the high-ups to bother with tormenting you."
Tormenting her? Naru thought, irritated. What was his father doing, letting some idiot openly harass Mai?
"I think our greater concern will be admirers," Yasuhara continued blithely, carefully keeping his eyes away from Naru. "I mean, Tom, for one, wants to work at SPR next year. With the removal of time constraints and that unspoken upperclassmen-lowerclassmen constriction, I reckon he'll go after you by late fall."
"What admirers are you – WHAAT?" Mai ended in a high-pitched yell.
Yasuhara blinked innocently back at her.
"What are you talking about?" Mai hissed. "Tom doesn't like me like that!"
"Says you," Yasuhara replied. "And he's not your only admirer, either. You're so dense, Mai-chan. I imagine it'll get worse once you're officially outed as a powerful psychic and ghost hunting investigator."
Mai just gaped at her best friend with dead eyes and a look of disbelief.
Madoka pressed her lips together at the sight of Oliver giving Yasuhara a similar dead-eyed stare. She could barely keep from grinning at the white-knuckled grip her student had on his tea cup. Clearly, Noll was bothered by the possibility of several suitors in Mai's future. But did he recognize what his own reaction meant?
"I'm sure Taniyama will be fine," Martin said conclusively. He realized what his employees and student were after – but he could also see that this conversation was about to devolve into anarchy and temper tantrums. Continuing the argument would just make Noll peevish and render Mai unwilling to go through with an eventual unveiling of her psychic abilities.
Madoka and Yasuhara both recognized the finality in Martin's voice and wisely let the subject drop. They had sort of accomplished their goal, anyway – Naru had taken the bait.
The aforementioned Oliver Davis inwardly seethed with annoyance – initially about Mai's blushing embarrassment about the inferior specimens who supposedly fancied her.
However, the fact that Naru measured Mai's admirers as inferior to himself – therefore assuming that he was a superior candidate for Mai's affections – made it worse. The ramifications of this emotional entanglement seemed to have no end.
Meanwhile, Luella just smiled secretly. A psychologist's holiday, this group.
-0O0-
After too more many minutes of indirect Noll Baiting, Martin abandoned the sitting room for the silence of his study – giving Lin a pointed look as he vanished.
Lin cleared his throat and cut across the nonsense happening around him. "Mai-san, Yasuhara-san; there is a case coming up that SPR wants you both to go on. It's probably going to take at least a week, and it's far enough away that we'll be spending nights."
Grateful for the interruption, Mai jumped on Lin's words. "I assume we wouldn't have to request time off from school, if this is Professor Davis' idea?"
Lin nodded. "We'd be leaving next Monday. Martin wanted to avoid interfering with your ability testing this week."
Luella cleared her throat. "I think you mean that Martin wanted to avoid missing Christmas with his family, Koujo," she noted.
Mai bit her lip to keep from smiling at Lin's gormless expression. "Of course we don't want to miss Christmas," she said soothingly. "It will be weird not spending the day at the orphanage, though." She absentmindedly fingered the keys hanging around her neck. "I even have a new key to add to my special necklace this year – our London apartment key!"
Naru stupidly thought of surrendering his current SPR office key to Mai in a Christmas box.
"You can certainly add the key on Christmas at the house, Mai," Luella said reassuringly. "To keep your tradition. Is that a tradition that Japanese people engage in on Christmas? Crafting?"
Mai laughed brightly. "No, the Christmas tradition in Japan is dating."
"And KFC and Christmas cake!" Yasu added.
"Dating?" Luella asked, mystified.
"Yes," Mai nodded. "It's a day for couples in Japan. Your boyfriend is supposed to take you on a nice date and buy you a romantic gift."
Luella looked even more confused. "But… isn't that Valentine's Day?"
Mai grinned. "No, Valentine's Day is our chocolate-giving holiday."
"Cultural diffusion in Japan is a piecemeal process," Yasuhara said sagely.
"You just wait until Valentine's Day, Luella," Mai said with relish. "It's one of my favorite days of the year. I am a very good chocolate-maker."
"You make the chocolate?" Luella asked.
"Yesssssss, Mai-chan's Valentine chocolates," Yasuhara simpered. "Sugoi."
Naru was grudgingly interested in this conversation. The culture of a society was always important when preparing for parapsychological investigations, and the differences between holidays in Britain and Japan were plentiful and interesting.
On the one Valentine's Day he'd spent in Japan, Naru had walked into his office to find a brightly-colored bag of chocolates waiting on his desk, with a note. "Thank you for supporting me, Naru. From Mai Taniyama." Lin had received one, too. The chocolates had been shaped like tiny ghosts, and Naru had reluctantly found himself pleased.
"While we're on the subject of holidays," Luella broke in, "Do any of you have any special requests for Christmas presents? I haven't quite finished shopping yet."
"Me neither," Mai groaned. "And now I have to run around London tonight low on iron because of testing on Wednesday."
"We definitely need to get testing done this week," Yasuhara reminded Mai. "We can't really test while on a case – so if we plan to miss testing next week, we can't skip now."
"We'll take tea breaks and sightsee between shops, Mai dear," Luella assured her.
"Should we infer that you are both coming on the case with SPR?" Naru asked from the corner.
"Duh, Narcissist." Mai rolled her eyes. "One would think you'd be able to puzzle that out."
"I never know with you, Mai."
"Jerk." Mai reached behind herself for a throw pillow.
"I don't recommend throwing a projectile in this direction." Naru flipped a page. "Luella is fond of this lamp."
"You think I'll miss, Narcissist?!"
Naru just regarded her silently over the top of his notes.
Breathing a sigh of defeat, Mai dropped her weapon. "Yeah, fine."
"So yes, Lin-san, Mai-chan and I will officially go on the case," Yasuhara interrupted loudly. "In case anyone wanted my input."
"We didn't," Mai replied meanly. "You're my assistant. You go on cases that I go on."
"I prefer the term associate, Boss-chan," Yasuhara replied plaintively. "Besides, I'm TTMPI's head researcher! It's not like I wander shiftlessly around the office, making tea once in a while like some other assistant I knew." Yasu barely dodged the throw pillow originally meant for Naru.
"Lin's SPR title was 'assistant,' and he did lots of stuff!" Mai snapped. "Besides, I didn't wander shiftlessly, I was dusting!"
Lin and Naru exchanged a disbelieving glance.
"And 'once in a while?' I made tea about every half-hour, thank you very much!"
-0O0-
"… church festivities for your first Christmas in England!"
Mai pulled her hand away from a very soft, deep red jumper that Luella had just tossed into their cart, shaking her head to dispel an untimely daydream of hugging a red jumper-clad Naru. "What was that, Luella?"
"I've booked us tickets to the Christmas Eve carols service at Westminster Abbey," Luella repeated. "I thought your first Christmas in England should include a bit of happy spirituality… to balance out all those exorcisms and death visions."
Mai burst out laughing. "I don't know, Luella, the first time I ever went to a church, I wound up lost in a forest with a depressed ghost orphan."
Mrs. Davis' eyes rolled heavenward. "I will make sure you stay firmly within sight, Mai dear." So will Noll, Luella added silently.
"What exactly are carols?" Mai wondered. Her English vocabulary was quite developed, but that wasn't a word associated with education.
"Christmas songs, darling – it's a jolly service with loads of singing."
The younger woman's smile brightened. "I love singing! And I actually know a couple of Christmas songs, er, carols."
"Really?"
"Yes, I've learned a few from the priests at the church orphanage over the years." Mai beamed delightedly and positively skipped over to the next display.
Luella smiled at her retreating form. Thank goodness Noll fell for such a lovely young woman.
"Luella!" Noll's lovely young woman waved a bright pink canvas bag. "What about this for Madoka? It has lots of pockets AND it's her favorite color!"
Naru's mother nodded. "An excellent selection, dear. Madoka does not travel light."
"Especially not on ghost hunts," Mai agreed. "She always carries extra snacks. And bandages. And extension cords."
"I imagine SPR needs plenty of bandages," Luella despaired.
Mai shrugged. "Spare extension cords are actually waaaay more necessary. You always think you have enough, and then bam, there goes another camera feed."
-0O0-
Naru stared at the offending garment. "No, Mother."
Luella set her jaw and dug in. "Yes, Oliver."
Naru's eyes met his mother's. "I am already wearing a 'church outfit.' My suit jacket has peak lapels."
"Your suit jacket is black, Oliver. As is the entire rest of your ensemble."
"That is my preference."
"Noll. I will not allow you to attend Christmas Eve service at Westminster Abbey wearing head-to-toe black. Jesus Christ is coming into the world tonight, not leaving it."
Mai could hear Madoka snickering behind her. Everyone was waiting in the foyer to leave for the carol service – waiting on Naru, surprisingly.
Although the ongoing argument suggested that Naru had delayed the descent from his lair in order to slip out the door behind everyone else and escape Luella's notice. Mai bit her lip to keep from giggling.
"That is a jumper, Mother," Naru pointed out. "A bit casual compared to my current ensemble."
"I am more than willing to sacrifice formality for color, Noll."
"I am not."
"I'm not asking."
"I'm not conceding."
"Noll," Martin rubbed his temples. "Just don the jumper and be done with it. It'll please your mother for Christmas."
"Over-conciliation is how you ended up wearing a poinsettia tie, Father."
"I think your tie looks brilliant, Professor Davis," Yasuhara enthused.
"I think Martin looks like his torso is growing a houseplant," Madoka whispered to the room.
Mai lost the battle with her mirth and doubled over with laughter.
Both Luella and Naru whipped to face their audience.
"You know, Mai-chan," Madoka began sweetly.
Mai feared that tone. She was not alone – the entire party seemed to freeze.
"Your ensemble is smashing," the master ghost hunter continued. "A nice deep red, just like the jumper Noll's going to wear!"
Mai took a moment to force down a blush. "Y-yes, I thought the color was really lovely when Luella picked it out, so I think I picked a similar shade by accident." The young psychic stared resolutely at the floor as she confessed this embarrassing anecdote.
Meanwhile, Madoka stared straight at Naru. His peripheral vision took in Mai practically trying to hide inside her own coat, and those irritating soft feelings threatened to take hold. Part of him championed the idea of matching Mai, however unintentionally. Another part wanted Mai to smile instead of hide shamefacedly. Yet another part of Naru just wanted to end this tableau.
Majority wins. "Fine," he said as flatly as possible, gingerly plucking the soft jumper from Luella's arm as if it were a spider. "I consider myself excused from carols."
"Wait, you were going to sing, Big Boss?" Yasuhara cried.
"You will never know." Naru motioned for Mai to start moving, and managed to bundle her outside without any further comment.
-0O0-
The holiday caterwauling was as constant as Mai's obvious psychic distress, Naru opined.
That was Mai's third shiver in five minutes. And this shiver was accompanied by a blank, faraway look… definitely another vision warning.
Oliver Davis knew his mother meant well. Luella wanted Mai to have a happy first Christmas in England, and to Luella, that meant a beautiful church service and singing.
And to be fair, were Mai a normal girl, she would have loved it. Mai was trying very hard to love it anyway.
However, the combination of a centuries-old spiritual center like Westminster Abbey with the high psychokinetic energy surrounding an emotional touchstone like Christmas… did not make for a peaceful evening for an empathetic psychic like Mai.
Ever since the priest had mentioned 'celebrating the memories of those no longer with us,' all three psychically sensitive members of their party had gone stiff. Naru imagined that any lingering spirits in the abbey had just gotten a jolt of awareness from the rising nostalgia and echoes of grief in the living attendees.
But while Lin and Father Brown had started to relax after a few minutes, Mai had started to shake lightly. Her jaw was clenched and her knuckles were white from gripping the pew in front of her.
Then Mai's body had jolted slightly, and her eyes drifted shut – and Naru understood what was happening.
Oliver gritted his teeth. He had hoped to draw his deceased twin into conversation tonight after service. Perhaps foolishly nostalgic himself, Naru admittedly wanted to see Gene and talk to him for Christmas. He had also wanted to draw his brother's spirit toward himself (and therefore away from Mai) during a highly emotional time for the Davis family.
Clearly, he had missed his chance. Sighing quietly, Naru edged closer to Mai – close enough to brush her arm with his.
Mai Taniyama jumped, her hazy gaze clearing as her attention was forced back to the physical world.
"Are you alright?" Naru asked quietly. He tried to make his voice sound passingly solicitous, but Mai's soft look and hint of a smile suggested he missed the mark.
In the past, Oliver Davis would have recoiled and misunderstood the leaping feeling in his chest. Presently, Naru grudgingly accepted the warmth suffusing his body and addressed Mai with something approaching tonal equanimity.
"Would you like to take a break?" he asked. "I've heard enough off-key caroling for one evening, and there is a nice vantage point for viewing the London Eye directly through Big Ben on this street."
Mai's eyes widened to saucers, but she thankfully refrained from any gaping or stammering that would have alerted Madoka or Luella to Something Happening. "Yes," she replied with alacrity. "I think I'm done with church, too." Another shiver.
Naru swept up their coats as Mai quietly retrieved her purse, and Naru edged backward to give Mai room to leave first.
Madoka was thankfully out of view, but Luella and Martin both turned to stare expectantly at their son.
Sighing again, Naru explained lowly, "The psychokinetic atmosphere is a little much for Mai right now. We'll be outside."
His parents' faces instantly shifted from bemused to concerned. "Go on, then, Noll," Martin acquiesced.
Luella, meanwhile, dug into her purse and handed Naru something… crinkly? "For both of you."
Naru did not look at whatever it was until he was safely outdoors with Mai in tow. "Luella gave us…" he stared in disbelief. "… peppermints."
Mai grabbed for one immediately. "Christmas candies, right?"
Oliver Davis rolled his eyes – but still unwrapped one. "She used to bring them to church, or long meetings at school – I believe to keep me quiet when she knew I'd become bored."
Mai grinned wolfishly. "Sooooo you're telling me that Luella carries Naru-snacks. Like dog treats for good behavior."
Naru whipped back toward the Abbey. "I'm sure you can find the picture spot on your own… eventually."
"Wait!" Mai begged, grabbing his arm. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She offered a peppermint and a grin. "Will you walk me there if I give you a Naru-snack?"
Oliver was torn between relief at the humor in her eyes and the frustrated urge to stomp all the way home.
Frustration won. "Have fun being lost in London for Christmas, Mai."
"Chotto-chotto matte!" Mai cried from behind him.
Naru stopped. Mai's speaking Japanese had not lost its effect on him.
"My legs aren't as long as yours!" As if to punctuate her point, Mai promptly tripped into Naru.
He only just got his arms up fast enough to catch her. "Baka," he grumbled. Naru would have righted her immediately and continued on his way… but Mai's closeness and amazed expression blanked his stupid brain.
Mai blinked slowly, and the electricity he felt buzzing through his body increased in intensity.
And then Mai shivered in his arms, and Oliver Davis remembered himself.
They were out here because of Gene. Who Mai had unfortunately attached herself to; who was still so close with her that she received regular visions of his death.
Upon feeling Naru freeze, Mai jerked herself back to a standing position. "S-sorry Naru," she warbled, twisting her gloved hands around one another. "I know you don't like people touching you." She attempted a smile.
Naru couldn't even begin to sort through the cacophony of emotions crashing around inside him. A proper scientist would examine each one before even attempting a hypothesis, much less a course of action.
As inconspicuously as possible, Naru took a deep breath and gestured to Mai to follow him. "The best vantage point is over here," he said finally. "I've heard it described as 'a vision of the future through the past.'"
"Sugoi," Mai breathed excitedly.
Naru ignored the lurch in his chest. Sort through the mess, first – one level at a time.
-0O0-
Martin pulled his son aside after service ended. "Perhaps Taniyama should stay at the estate tonight?" he suggested. "A high level of psychic interference might have aftereffects."
Naru bit the inside of his cheek. Martin was correct, and Mai would almost certainly experience her death dream tonight. However, ensconcing Mai in Gene's house on Christmas would all but guarantee it. Mai and Naru were also united in adamance that the elder Davises remain ignorant of the subject of the recurring vision.
"I'll be fine, Dr. Davis," Mai cut in smoothly.
Where had she even come from? Naru's current spatial awareness was disappointing. His scientific side suggested that keeping Mai out of his general vicinity tonight would help him regain his levelheadedness – but he immediately dismissed that thought as selfish. This was a much larger concern than his mood.
Gene would be proud.
"Taniyama, you never came back to service and you are noticeably pale," Martin argued. "I believe that your guardians would want you with us tonight."
Mai huffed amusedly. "Yes, well, Bou-san and Ayako are quite overprotective. I've been fine with just Yasu in the apartment for months now, and I'll be fine tonight. Most of the spiritual energy nearby has disappeared."
Martin's raised eyebrow conveyed clear concern and disappointment. "Yasuhara is not a spiritualist, and unless I'm mistaken, you anticipate experiencing your recurring death vision tonight."
Mai quailed a bit upon hearing the dissatisfaction in her professor's tone – but Mai did not want Gene's family listening to Gene die on Christmas Eve. Even if Martin and Luella didn't know what they were hearing.
Naru knew. And Mai understood that Naru was still in deep mourning for his twin, no matter how Naru-like he outwardly appeared.
"I will be fine," Mai said firmly. "And honestly, professor, I don't want Luella to feel ill on Christmas morning after watching me throw up and cry all night."
Professor Davis' eye twitched, and Mai pressed her advantage. "Sometimes it's worse with more people around," she revealed. And it was true – waking up to a stricken Luella after feeling Gene's last regrets about never seeing his mother again made the aftermath even worse.
"There is no further information to be gleaned with a repeat experience," Naru chimed in. "Not as a scientific endeavor."
Martin's lips thinned, and he stared piercingly at his son and his student for a moment. "Alright," he conceded. But as both Mai and Oliver visibly relaxed, Martin's internal alarm only got louder. They were certainly hiding something from him – something obviously parapsychological in nature.
Taniyama was right, Martin knew – Christmas was perhaps not the moment. But Christmas was only tomorrow, and then he could begin the work of deciphering Taniyama's secret.
Taniyama's and Noll's secret, Martin amended. They were definitely in it together.
-0O0-
It turned out that the day after Christmas was the moment.
Martin was walking back from the breakroom when he heard soft voices coming from somewhere nearby. He peeked around the corner to see Taniyama and Yasuhara leaning side-by-side against a wall.
Taniyama appeared much recovered – she'd been drawn and pale throughout Christmas Day celebrations, despite trying very hard to seem normal. Luella had heaped at least two extra servings of vegetables onto Mai's plate for Christmas lunch, and made noise about serving beef tonight to get Mai's iron up after today's training.
His normally lively student was sipping tea quietly as Yasuhara leafed through a folder of testing data. Martin checked his watch – it was almost time for Mai's regular exercises. No doubt today's results would differ from the usual, given Mai's assuredly traumatizing experience over Christmas. It hardly mattered – Martin was already extremely satisfied with their progress.
He was about to walk over and announce himself, when the ring of a cell phone broke the peaceful moment.
Mai groaned. "That'll be Bou-san again," she hissed, glaring at Yasuhara. "Thanks so much for reporting to him about the dreams."
"You know I had to," Yasuhara replied placidly. "You would never have said anything – not even to Big Boss."
"Of course not! That was not something Naru needed to deal with on Christmas!"
"Which is why I told Bou-san instead of Naru."
"You didn't need to tell anyone," Mai stressed. She waved the phone at her best friend. "Now I'm going to be fielding worried phone calls all week!"
"You saw the Nightmare twice in one night," Yasuhara reminded her. "That's only ever happened once before, and somebody needed to know."
"Twice isn't so bad," Mai said softly. "The first night it happened, it just kept coming over and over."
Yasuhara was silent for a moment. "Does anyone else know that?"
"Yes, Naru and I had a long talk about it on his birthday," Mai informed him grimly. "So don't you dare tell Bou-san or Ayako!"
"And what did Naru think?" Yasuhara pressed.
"He wasn't happy," Mai admitted. "But mostly because he was sorry that I've had to see that so many times. Naru feels... responsible, I think. Even though it's not his fault at all, and I made sure to tell him so."
Professor Davis frowned. Why would Noll feel responsible for Mai's recurring vision? Was it because he couldn't stop the dreams from occurring? All the more reason to bring more people into the fold – looping in more professionals would significantly increase the chance of finding a solution.
"Well, I'm sure Naru is upset that he can't help you get rid of them," Yasuhara said, unknowingly echoing Martin's thoughts. "But he probably feels like he must have something to do with it – I mean, it's his twin's death you keep experiencing."
Martin was thankful he'd decided to drink out of a paper coffee cup today. It didn't crash into pieces when it hit the floor.
-0O0-
A/N: I promise we start the case next chapter, with John along for the ride. It was supposed to begin at the end of this chapter, but the Christmas spirit just took right over lol. I love you guys.