Chapter 43 – An Eventful First Day
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. Manga 12 in English, guys.
A/N: Aaaaaaaaaand here we go careening into the final arc!
-0O0-
As it happened, the most useful interview of Day 1 was the final one.
"I was at the top of the third-floor staircase, when I swear I felt someone watching me," a maid named Gemma whispered.
She had looked very nervous to speak in front of people, so Mai had scheduled her to go last. Gemma showed her gratitude by trying to provide as much information as possible. She was still frightened, though, and her voice was so quiet that they could barely hear it.
Naru just stared at her stonily – making the already nervous maid even jumpier.
Mai rolled her eyes at his lack of people skills and decided to continue the questioning herself.
She gave Gemma a warm smile and asked, "Did you turn around to look?"
Gemma's eyes flicked to Mai, and she managed a shaky smile. "Yes," the maid replied. "But I didn't see anyone. There was no one in the hallway at all."
Mai nodded encouragingly, ignoring Naru's glare in her direction. "Then what happened?"
Gemma bit her lip. "I scarpered down the stairs as fast as possible. But then..." she gestured to her right arm, which was encased in plaster.
Naru broke back in. "You said that you were rushing. Is it possible that you simply tripped?"
A fair question, Mai admitted grudgingly. She flashed another smile at the quavering Gemma. "Is that possible?"
"I don't th-think so," Gemma replied, twisting her good hand around the immobile one. She looked around the room suddenly, as if she expected something to pop out of the walls. When nothing did, she seemed to gather her courage. "You see, I felt something p-push me. I heard something, like... wind through a window crack, and then I felt something cold hit my back. That's why I fell."
Mai and Naru nodded simultaneously.
"I see," Naru replied. "Thank you for your time." (Mai raised an eyebrow at his sudden show of manners.) But Gemma didn't get up. "Is there anything else?"
Gemma nodded. "There have been lots of stories lately," she replied. "Nothing else happened to me – I was in hospital until last week. But a friend of mine, Victoria, she came to visit me and said she'd almost drowned in the bathtub. As in, she'd felt something push at her chest and hold her underwater. Thankfully, the head cook came in for an extra towel and found Victoria splashing around. Cook pulled her out, but she said that Victoria was practically unconscious."
"And where is Victoria now?" Naru asked, flipping through his case file. "I don't have her listed as a witness."
"She quit," Gemma answered, eyes sad. "The next morning, when she woke up. She packed her things and left that day. She came to the hospital to say good-bye and to beg me to leave, too."
Mai eyed Gemma's white knuckles. "If you don't mind me asking – why didn't you?"
The girl smiled. "My family has worked for the Selfridges for three generations," she said wistfully. "I don't want to be the one who leaves."
Mai reached out and placed a hand over Gemma's shaking one. "That's brave of you. Just hold on a little longer, and we'll sort it out."
"Three generations?" Naru mused. "I wonder, then – is there any information on past hauntings that you or any of your family members can give us?"
Gemma's hand tightened in Mai's, but the maid nodded. "Well, yeah. Everybody's heard about the specter on the third floor, the fires going out in the first drawing room, and we've probably all heard the scream."
"A woman's scream?" Mai asked, checking her notes from other interviews. It was the one experience all of the witnesses seemed to share.
Gemma nodded. "Yes. It happens every once in a while, always at around 9PM, and it's usually raining. My grandmother says..." she trailed off.
"Says what?" Naru probed curtly.
Mai rolled her eyes at his impatience. She threw him a glare and smiled gently at Gemma. "What does your grandmother say?"
Gemma's mouth twitched in mirth as she watched Mai and Naru interact. Then she leaned forward, looking around as if nervous that someone would hear her. "My grandmother thinks that the woman screams because the Colonel murdered his wife."
"What? Are you talking about the late Colonel Selfridge?" Mai asked.
Gemma nodded.
"The notes say she left the Colonel for another man and fled to Scotland," Naru stated.
The housemaid pursed her lips. "Well, that's what the police said happened," she replied. "But Gran – and a few of the older servants – disagree. Besides, the Colonel's wife, the fifth Lady Selfridge – her leaving should have been a big production. No one helped her leave, or even heard from her at all, until that letter arrived in her handwriting."
Mai frowned. That was suspicious. "Well, what does your Gran think happened?"
Gemma glanced around again. "Alright," she started in a low voice. "You see, the Colonel was the one having an affair. He was with one of the maids – Violet, my Gran called her. Gran was a night maid back then, and she saw Violet leaving the Colonel's room one night when the missus was in London."
"But wasn't Lady Selfridge's lover in London? Isn't that what the letter said?" Naru asked.
"The letter said that the Lady had run to Scotland with some chap she met at the London opera house," Gemma said. "But my Gran thinks that the Colonel murdered her, and then forged the letter to cover it up."
"Why does she think that?" Naru asked curiously.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Gemma fell silent.
Mai leaned in. "Is your grandmother still alive? Can we talk to her?"
Gemma's eyes lit up. "Sure! She can tell the story better than I can. She might know some things that I don't, too. She worked here for forty years, although nothing serious happened until now."
"And why is that?" Naru wondered aloud. "Even if the ghost is the fifth Lady Selfridge... why spend decades pulling minor stunts and then suddenly start malicious attacks?"
Neither Mai nor Gemma had an answer.
"I'll ring my Gran on my break," the maid promised as one of the head butlers entered the kitchen. "I've got to get back to work."
Naru nodded absently, still deep in thought.
Mai waved and smiled brightly as Gemma fled. "Thank you so much!" she called to the maid's retreating back.
-0O0-
Lin arranged for Mai and Madoka to interview Gemma's grandmother the following evening. SPR's two female investigators were to accompany Gemma to the nearby village after her shift ended. Her grandmother was apparently very excited to tell her tale of long-ago salaciousness. SPR couldn't wait to hear it.
In the meantime, Mai brushed out her hair and studied the comfortable guest room. She was selfishly glad that SPR was rooming in the main house. Most of the scary stuff happened in the servants' quarters. The servants had also been temporarily relocated to the guest wing as well – the current Lady Selfridge was worried for their welfare. Mai quite liked Lady Selfridge.
Lord Selfridge was a different story. He was pleasant enough on the outside – but Mai felt like she could see through the politeness to the rotten core beneath. She thought about telling Naru how she felt – but Naru would probably want more evidence.
The teen psychic listened to the sound of rushing water coming from the private bathroom. Madoka was in the shower. She wondered vaguely why Madoka was rooming with her and not Lin. Probably because Lin would feel it was inappropriate, or something. He rarely left base, anyway. Not to mention that Madoka and Mai were the only girls, so they should stay together. It would be unwise to leave Mai by herself all night.
Speaking of Lin, she could sense one of his shiki in the room with them. It was floating near the ceiling. Lin probably just wanted to keep Madoka safe after the last case, but Mai appreciated the gesture. She felt better knowing it was there.
Mai yawned and sank into the extremely soft bed. She hadn't thought she'd like western beds, having always slept on a futon. But she had to admit that they were really comfy. This bed trumped Mai's bed at the apartment, though her guest bed at the Davis house was nicer than both.
Breathing out slowly, Mai stretched her senses beyond Lin's shiki. She could feel Yasuhara and another aura, probably Gregory-the-intern, in the next room. Another of Lin's shiki buzzed around in there as well. Lin and Naru were also sleeping in that room, but they weren't there. Those two workaholics were probably still at base.
Mai pushed her abilities further outward, down the hallway of the main guest wing. She sensed a whole bunch of people in the bedrooms – most of the staff was probably getting ready for bed, too. Finally, at the end of the hall where SPR had set up, Mai brushed the easily recognizable auras of Naru and Lin.
Mai barely registered Madoka's emergence from the en-suite bathroom. She was so sleepy that she drifted off with the lights still on, reveling in the feel of Naru's familiar aura down the hall.
-0O0-
A freezing, cutting presence sliced through Mai's unconsciousness.
She woke with a start and sat bolt upright in the bed. There was something dangerous in the hallway. She could feel its presence, frigid with anger and pain.
The young psychic leapt out of bed and tip-toed to the door. The buzz from the spirit read as 'attack level' to Mai. That meant a physical counterattack might be necessary. Mai cracked her knuckles, summoning her PK-MT. Lin's qigong lessons were much better than Gene's had been, and her powers were becoming considerably more disciplined. Faint energy flowed down the marks and spiraled into Mai's hands. She flexed her charged fingers, feeling electricity crackling through her. Taking a deep breath, Mai opened the bedroom door.
She could see the spirit immediately. It was creeping down the hall, completely silent and not completely formed. There was a body and a head and maybe arms, but they weren't very well defined. Mai couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. She could clearly see its glowing gray eyes scanning the corridor as it moved.
And then it noticed Mai. The ghost's eyes locked on the young psychic as she stood in the doorway in a Todai t-shirt and striped flannel pants. Slowly but inexorably, the ghost became more defined. Its hazy extremities morphed into skeletal hands. They were thin and spindly-looking. Mai backed up a step. The ghost developed a facial expression as well – a nasty grin spread across its gray face as it slid closer.
Mai held her ground. I've dealt with worse than this before, she told herself firmly. She shifted further into the hall, wanting to put distance between the ghost and her friends. The spirit followed her progress with its eyes, then raised a spectral hand in her direction. An attack?
Mai tried to raise her arm to use qigong – and couldn't. Her entire body was frozen in place. The ghost's grin grew wider and it crept closer.
The young psychic was panicking a bit now. Mai pulled at her feet, but they were stuck fast to the rug. Aiya!
It was the steadily dropping temperature that gave Mai the answer. The chill in the air contrasted with the heat in her energy-charged hands. The PK-MT she'd already gathered might give Mai just enough opposing energy to fight the immobilization. She pulled her frozen left hand upward with all her might – and it jerked up a fraction. Golden light flew from her palm and arced towards the spirit, connecting with an electric zap.
The ghost hissed in shock, retreating slightly.
Time to strike.
Although she was still stuck, Mai could feel that the ghost's hold over her body had weakened. She jerked her hand hard, and the immobilization broke. A sharp pain radiated through Mai's arm, as if she'd pulled it out of a too-small hole in a wall. Ignoring it, Mai threw the rest of her gathered energy at the angry spirit. The energy crashed across the ghost like a golden wave, and its form dissolved a bit.
Not enough, Mai realized, fear prickling down her spine as the translucent form re-grouped and glided closer again. Mai needed help, fast – she tried to scream, but her throat felt like it was stuffed with ice. All that came out was a whimper. The spirit's wicked grin mocked her failure as it moved in, hand outstretched.
Suddenly there was a brief flash of light as Lin's shiki flew out of the bedroom behind her... and sped away down the hall. Thanks a lot, Mai moaned in her head. The spirit's eyes bore into her, draining her courage.
Mai closed her eyes in fear, out of options. She felt a cold hand wrap around her neck and squeeze hard. Mai choked and screamed in her mind, trying desperately to MOVE!
A huge noise shattered the silence. Eyes now wide open, Mai saw Naru and Lin racing down the hallway towards her. The ghost noticed as well, and the pressure on Mai's throat vanished as the spirit dematerialized with an angry hiss. Mai collapsed to the floor, coughing and shaking.
Naru was suddenly right next to her, crouching on the floor. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice intense.
Mai breathed in deeply and smiled hazily. "Yeah," she croaked, pain throbbing in her injured arm, "I'm fine." She swallowed with difficulty. Her throat was freezing cold and hurting badly.
Naturally, Naru recognized both Mai's lie and her discomfort and quite without thinking, placed his hand on her neck. The chill there shocked him slightly, and he flattened his much-warmer palm against as much of her skin as possible.
Mai didn't even waste energy on showing surprise – she leaned her aching neck further into Naru's body heat. Mai couldn't tell whether it was Naru's touch or aura that soothed her fears and muscles. Probably both. She felt much better already.
They locked eyes for a moment before doors banged open all down the hallway and people started streaming in. Lin, who had gone to check on Madoka, was now pacing noisily up and down the hallway. He explored for any sign of the spirit with his eyes as his shiki searched the surrounding area.
"Did the shiki go and get you guys?" Mai asked breathlessly. At this point, she wasn't sure if she was breathless from the ghost's attack or from Naru's closeness. His hand was still caressing her neck and his eyes raked over her body.
"Yes," Naru replied, checking her over for other injuries. "We had both fallen asleep."
Mai heard the frustration in his voice and knew that Naru was angry with himself. "Everybody sleeps, Naru. It's okay."
Oliver Davis gritted his teeth. Here Mai sat, collapsed and half-strangled, telling him not to blame himself. She needed to worry about herself more!
He looked up to tell her so – and froze. Mai's eyes were twinkling at him. Caught in her gaze, Naru felt an almost overwhelming urge to brush the hair out of her face.
"What happened?" a voice asked above them. Mai and Naru rejoined the outside world to see Mr. Grendale, one of the main butlers, standing over them with a concerned gaze. Naru backed away from Mai, trying not to read into the deep blush suffusing her face.
At least her coloring was better.
Hiding in the doorway, Madoka wanted to beat the tar out of the idiot who'd interrupted them. Noll and Mai were having a moment! Even Lin was leaving them be!
Then she realized she might still be able to save said Moment. Madoka pasted a winning smile on her face and marched over to the butler, stepping neatly around Noll and Mai on the floor.
"Can I help you?" Madoka asked. "Miss Taniyama needs a moment. She should really be lying down." This was aimed at Oliver.
Who actually agreed with his mentor. "Madoka is correct, Mai. You should lie down." Naru dusted himself off and reached his hand down to Mai.
Flushing a bit, Mai took the proffered hand and tried to stand – and fell right over again.
Naru sighed, feeling an interesting mix of elation and dread fill him as he realized there was nothing else for it. Swiftly and purposefully, Naru bent down and swept Mai into his arms. At least everyone looked too busy to pay attention, he told himself as he deliberately ignored the teeming masses in the hallway.
Mind suddenly blank with shock, Mai instinctively threw her arms around Naru's neck and gaped like a fish as the black-clad ghost hunter carried her back into her room.
Both of them missed the excited grin on Madoka's face and the click of Yasuhara's cell phone camera as Naru maneuvered Mai through her door.
Mai herself had just gotten a mental grasp on the feeling of Naru's warm arms around her legs and back when he deposited her on her bed – albeit much more gently than expected.
"Stay here," Oliver ordered, trying to ignore his heart beating out of control. He'd shown visible worry for Mai before, this wasn't so out of the ordinary as to be notable. Except to Madoka,
Mai nodded obediently, eyes still wide with shock. Naru turned to flee the room.
"Wait!" the unknowing object of his affections called. Oliver turned back, only to find Mai looking rather scared and small on the bed. "I... don't want to be alone... right now," she mumbled, embarrassed.
Naru's mind raced. He truly didn't want to leave Mai alone while she was looking so pathetic, but his usual self would need to find out what happened. Fortunately, his incredible intelligence noted that Mai was actually the best person to ask. She'd been alone when she was attacked. Two birds with one stone.
Refusing to let his relief show on his face, Oliver pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down. "Yasuhara!" he called authoritatively.
Mai was confused. Why was Naru sitting down if he was calling Yasu to stay with her?
Yasuhara's head appeared in the doorway. "Yes, Big Boss?"
"Tea. For everyone in SPR."
Mai and Yasuhara exchanged a surprised look. Then Yasuhara winked at Mai. "Sure thing," he replied, practically skipping off toward the kitchen.
"Alright, Mai." Naru grabbed Mai's casebook off the end table and opened it to a fresh page. "Now tell me what happened."
Mai couldn't help but smile softly at Naru's visible concern.
Naru had to look away in order to maintain his professional face, but there was no stopping the revoltingly gooey feeling that suffused him at Mai's tender expression.
-0O0-
Bou-san's phone went off bright and early in Tokyo. He groaned and fumbled for the nightstand. Ayako shifted beside him as he grabbed the phone and touched the screen.
"Who is it?" his fiancée asked sleepily.
"It's a message from Yasu," Bou-san replied. He read it over and gasped, now wide awake.
"What? What's wrong?" Ayako asked.
He read the rest of the message and clicked on the accompanying picture. And grinned like a fox. "Hmm, what do you know."
"What?" Ayako demanded.
"Apparently, Mai got attacked on the case," Bou-san began. "But Yasu says she's just fine."
He gave Ayako the phone with a smile. She grabbed it and looked down to find a photo of a stoic-looking Naru carrying a shocked and blushing Mai in his arms. He was carrying her like a princess and she had her arms around his neck.
"Hmm," Ayako repeated, smiling a slow smile. "Looks like they're making progress."
"We always miss the good stuff," Bou-san groaned.
His phone beeped again. Ayako read the message, eyes widening.
"Yasu says that Naru just sent him to make tea – since Mai is lying down and Naru's sitting by her bedside."
"Wow," Bou-san said, whistling softly.
"Damnit," Ayako growled.
Her fiancé raised a confused eyebrow.
"We do always miss the good stuff!" she agreed, flopping back onto the bed.
Bou-san laughed and hugged her to him. "Well, we can always make some good stuff right here," he said suggestively.
"Hmm, I suppose you're right." Ayako tilted her face up to kiss him.
-0O0-
Mai stirred feebly in a soft bed. Softer than the apartment, not as great as the Davis' guest bed... and hadn't she been thinking this recently? Yes, as she got ready for bed in the Selfridge mansion – because she was on a case!
She gasped and levered herself upright – hadn't she done this very recently, too? Oh, yeah... Mai groaned quietly, rubbing her eyes as memories raced around in her head. She had been attacked by a ghost. As usual. And rescued by Naru and Lin. As usual.
But her groan became an ecstatic grin (accompanied by a huge blush) as she remembered that Naru had princess-lifted her to bed AND stayed with her until she fell asleep. Maybe Mai should stay in England and work for SPR permanently if it meant that Naru could keep rescuing her so romantically.
Giggling to herself, Mai bounced out of bed, stretching like a cat and briefly massaging her sore right arm. She had probably pulled something when she had forced it upward to attack the ghost.
Maybe she should tell Naru about it and pitifully request that he massage it for her.
Or kiss it to make it better.
And then he could kiss right up her arm and... bad Mai! Like that would ever happen.
"Naru, my arm hurts. Could you kiss it and make it better?"
Cue flesh-melting glare. "Mai, don't be stupid. And make sure you carry my tea with the other arm, you have enough trouble with spills when you're not infirm."
Yep. That's more likely. Mai sighed and laughed to herself.
Madoka stepped out of the bathroom, looking fresh and ready to go. "What's so funny, Mai-chan?" she asked.
Mai rolled her eyes. "Oh, nothing, Madoka-san. Just my brain getting carried away."
"Carried away, hn? With love and affection for your black-clad Prince Charming? Even I thought he was rather dashing last night, sweeping you into his arms and carrying you off to bed."
"Madoka-saaaaan! Don't say it like that! You make it sound like Naru meant to..." Mai couldn't even finish the embarrassing sentence, just waving her hands around frenetically.
Her mentor snorted. "I know exactly what I made it sound like, Mai-chan," Madoka replied, eyes dancing. "And don't you worry. Someday, hopefully soon, Naru will carry you off to bed again – and then get in it with you..."
"Madoka-saaaan!" Mai flushed to the tips of her ears.
"...instead of taking notes on your haunting experience and sipping tea like an asexual idiot."
"Ugh, I am leaving before this gets worse. Honestly, you're as bad as Yasu sometimes!" Mai stormed into the bathroom and locked the door.
Mai grabbed her hairdryer and turned it on high to drown out the high-pitched sniggers she could still hear through the wood.
-0O0-
Predictably, Mai was in a foul mood by the time she stomped down to breakfast.
Madoka and Yasuhara had been lying in wait outside the bathroom. They had teased her all the way downstairs – but the real problem was Bou-san and Ayako, who had not only heard about everything but somehow possessed a photo of Naru carrying her. They had called twice this morning – Bou-san telling her to be careful (of Naru, of course, not of the murderous spirit) and Ayako asking her to retell every moment of her 'romantic encounter.'
And so Mai tramped into the kitchen, her tormentors annoyingly close behind her. Both were still snickering. Mai practically threw herself into a seat and leveled Madoka and Yasuhara with her nastiest glare. Which did nothing. Both jerks sat right across from Mai, side by side, grinning winningly. Mai glared harder.
"Alright, which one of you did it?" the angry teen psychic growled.
"Did what, Mai-chan?" the jerks asked simultaneously. Smiling identical angelic smiles.
Mai opened her mouth to yell at them... and realized that everyone else at the table – SPR members, house staff, even one of the sons of the Selfridge family – was staring at her. Including Naru. Mai turned even redder and determinedly gazed down at the plate in front of her. Eggs and bacon. Mai silently ate only the eggs, all the while watching the two evil geniuses eat their food and grin irritatingly.
Eventually most of the staff and the family's son – George, Mai remembered – left the kitchen. Gemma, Daphne (wait, had Yasu seduced her already?!), and all of SPR remained at the table, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"You're not going to eat that bacon, right, Mai-chan?" Yasuhara asked hopefully. His fork crept towards her plate. "No meat on cases for you."
As soon as Yasuhara was in range, Mai whacked his fork away from her food. "And no extra bacon for you unless you tell me which one of you did it."
"Did what?" Two voices asked, faces completely void of guilt.
"One of you called Bou-san after the attack," Mai seethed. "I just got a ten-minute lecture on caution in the workplace."
"In the workplace? From your end of the conversation, I'd assumed that Bou-san meant being careful around..."
"Thank you, Yasuhara," Mai cut him off. "Which one of you did it? No bacon until you tell me." She speared the bacon with her fork and waved it in front of her best friend's face. His eyes followed it. Any minute now...
"Okay, it was me!" Yasuhara admitted. "Now give me bacon!"
"After you ratted me out to Bou-san? Not a chance." Mai made a great show of tossing the bacon into the trash behind her.
"Nooooo," Yasuhara moaned. "That's not fair, Mai-chan! You said you'd give me the bacon if I told you!"
Mai smiled meanly. "No, I said that you definitely wouldn't get bacon if you didn't tell me."
"You tricked me!" The picture of betrayal.
"Yep," Mai affirmed unrepentantly.
At (what felt like) long last, the teasing stopped – even Bou-san's and Ayako's mortifying texts mysteriously halted. And although Yasuhara complained to Madoka about Mai's 'acquired taste for cruelty' for the remainder of breakfast, Mai had successfully stopped the onslaught.
"That was impressive," Naru couldn't help but acknowledge later as they headed up to base.
Mai's answering smile could have outshone the sun.
-0O0-
Naru watched Mai and Madoka traipse down the path leading to the village.
Gemma Douglas smiled and waved them over a footbridge. Mai skipped onto the bridge and promptly tripped into a support beam. Gemma and Madoka rushed to help her, but Mai waved them off and brushed dirt off of her knees as she stood again. Naru sighed testily.
"You could send someone with them if you're worried," Lin noted calmly from behind him.
Naru scowled at the hint of amusement in Lin's tone. "Why would I be worried? They're leaving the haunted house."
"True," his assistant replied, "But they will be returning late tonight, across the haunted grounds of a haunted mansion." Lin watched Noll out of the corner of his eye, smiling in satisfaction when the imperturbable Oliver Davis visibly twitched.
"Lin –"
"On my way," the onmyouji said, closing his laptop and exiting the base. He should still be able to catch them.
-0O0-
Gemma looked back to answer Madoka's query – and stopped. "Someone's following us," she said nervously.
Madoka and Mai both turned to see Lin's tall figure coming down the path.
"Oh, it's Lin-san!" Mai said brightly, waving.
"Hello, Mai-san," he replied, joining the group. "Madoka. Miss Douglas." He bowed his head to each of them. "Noll sent me to accompany you. He's worried about the two of you walking back so late at night."
Mai blushed warmly at another show of concern from Naru, while Madoka raised an eyebrow. "Well, isn't he just an unexpectedly considerate investigator today?" She grabbed Lin's hand and grinned at Gemma.
"This is my boyfriend, Koujo Lin. Apparently, he'll be guarding us and probably taking better notes than I would." Lin stared, not speaking.
Gemma merely nodded nervously to the silent addition, and started walking again. Mai hurried to match her pace.
"Don't worry, Lin's okay," Mai whispered. "He's just really quiet."
Gemma giggled. "That's good. He looks scary. Like that other one, Dr. Davis. He's really handsome... but scary."
Mai snorted. "Yeah, you get used to it. Naru's... well, he's Naru."
"Shouldn't his nickname be Noll if his given name is Oliver?"
Mai rolled her eyes. "Everyone else calls him that. I call him Naru because it's short for 'Narcissist.' He's very aware that he's really good-looking and amazingly smart. It has a negative effect on his social skills, though – as I'm sure you've noticed."
Gemma giggled, watching Mai appraisingly. "He doesn't seem that way with you, though – I saw him carry you into your bedroom last night."
Mai turned fiery red and squeaked. "Well, that was... he was just helping..."
But Gemma needled her some more. "And he stayed with you afterwards. He must care about you a lot."
"You tell her, Gemma!" Madoka yelled from behind them.
"Shut up!" Mai whined. Not this again. "He wanted to ask questions about the attack!"
"After he ordered Yasuhara-san to bring you tea," Lin observed airily.
"Well, maybe he's gone crazy or something!" Mai finally snapped, her whole body now an interesting shade of red. "And so have you, Lin-san! You're just as bad as Madoka-san right now! Maybe you're all possessed or something – I'll try to exorcise you later!" Frustrated and embarrassed, Mai stormed off down the road.
Gemma sighed. "Guess we should let it go. She's going to wind up on the wrong path."
Madoka laughed, squeezing Lin's hand affectionately. "Never a dull moment, huh, Koujo?"
-0O0-
Mai allowed Gemma to tug her back onto the village path. Apparently, she was headed into the woods.
Of course you'd wind up in the woods, Mai-chan. Mai can just hear Madoka now. We'd just send Noll to rescue you, he's always ready when it comes to you.
Like that was a thing Naru enjoyed doing.
But... even if he couldn't possibly enjoy constantly coming to Mai's rescue, he still did it. Repeatedly.
Mai found herself thinking of the first time Naru had come to her rescue. On the Rukoryou High School case, Naru had followed Mai into a well... he'd jumped on top of her to protect her from the falling ceiling... and had reportedly carried her unconscious body to the nurse's office after she'd fainted.
Yasuhara had recounted that fainting story over and over to embarrass Mai – but his tale was way too detailed and consistent for it to be totally made up.
Mai bit her lip. All the teasing was getting to her, making her think stupid things.
Counterargument, Professor Davis's voice said in her head. Counterargument - Naru had also done his best to rescue Masako when she'd been kidnapped on the Urado case. He'd taken Masako's comb to activate his psychometry and verify that she was alive, as well as tried to access memories of her location.
He always helped when anyone got hurt on a case – despite his outward stoicism, Mai knew that Naru actually cared about his SPR colleagues.
Naru didn't give any of them pictures of himself and Gene as a child, though – just Mai.
Because he thought you were in love with his brother and he wanted you to have something of his, her mind reminded her.
Oh. Right.
But... then why give her a picture of himself, too? Why not just a picture of Gene?
Mai had always assumed that it was Naru's way of acknowledging that Mai cared about him, Naru, as well as Gene. Despite his misunderstanding of the situation, Naru's acceptance of himself as someone Mai cared for had always comforted Mai.
The picture of a not-frowning, not-dressed-in-black Naru had also spurred Mai to work with Gene to give Naru a chance to be happy again.
'Happy again' – those were Gene's words. Mai had reckoned Naru's happiness would be restored once his powers were usable again, but Gene had just rolled his eyes at her.
Like she was missing something.
Like everyone insisted she was missing something when it came to Naru.
So... was she missing something?
The young psychic bit her lip in thought. Mai couldn't restore Gene to life, couldn't give Gene back to Naru in any more meaningful way than the twins were already psychically connected.
If Gene didn't mean restoring his powers, then how did Mai undergoing the transfer give Naru a chance at happiness?
The sound of Madoka laughing behind her brought Mai back into the present. The young psychic shook her head to clear it – she was about to conduct an important interview, and she needed to get her head in the game.
But... Madoka would say that having Mai around was what would make Naru happy again. So would Yasu. So would Bou-san and Ayako. But they would be teasing Mai, poking at her obvious and unflagging feelings for Naru. What they'd really mean was that Naru was happy to have SPR Japan back in his life. Not her, specifically.
Well, Madoka would mean Mai specifically made Naru happy – she had all but said so multiple times.
But... that would be crazy.
Right?
-0O0-
A/N: Happy holidays, my beloved readers - now please comment and tell me I'm prettyXD