I'm sorry for the long delay but it took me a while to get situated for the next case. It's one of those kinds where I have the character development in mind, the location set up, and some of the activity but I'm not entirely sure how it will all come together type of situations. I'm sure you guys will love it and hopefully you enjoy this one! Some fluff and comic relief and some ideas of what might go on in the next chapter. Enjoy!

Post Case 7-The Chase

April Sunday 5:45 P.M.

It has been almost two weeks since the end of the resort case and Mai was making herself comfortable on the couch in Hozumi's office, nibbling on grapes. Hozumi came in with two cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table on either side of the bowl of grapes. He took a seat in the chair across from her. "So in the last two weeks there was only one night where you got less than seven hours of sleep?" he asked, opening his notebook.

"Yeah," she replied, taking a sip of her tea. "And that was my own fault, I was reading before bed and lost track of time. I think I got about four hours that night."

The man nodded and made a note before grabbing his own tea off the table. "And you've also made contact with your spirit guide on your most recent case, have you seen him since?"

Mai nodded and leaned back. "Twice, each time was when I was starting to have a nightmare."

"And the nightmares?"

"Just memories of old cases and insecurities," she explained with a shrug. "Nothing new with them and the demon is gone so I think things are starting to go back to normal."

"Well, that's good." He made another note and taking another sip. "And how are your studies? You're a week into senior year, right?"

"So far I'm doing better than I was the start of my second year," Mai said with a smile. "Though, now that I'm sleeping more I don't get as much work done as I was getting before."

Hozumi smiled. "It's a little early to say for certain, but I think you're almost back to where you were before the demon attached to you."

"No, I'm not," Mai said with a shake of her head and an almost sad smile. "I'll never be the same person I was last summer, too much has happened and I've learned too much. But I'm okay with that." The sad smile turned into a grin. "It just means I've grown and now that my sleep is better regulated and I'm back in contact with my guide and I no longer have a demon sucking the life out of me, certain aspects of my old self are coming back."

"Oh?"

"I'm starting to look for the positives again, but I'm no longer as naïve. I'm still stubborn and get jealous, but I'm more patient than I've ever been, especially considering who I work for. I'm better at maintaining my relationships with friends, but I'm now doing much better in school than ever. Overall, I'm happier now than I've been in months and I'm starting to think things are falling into place."

"Well, it looks like soon you won't need to meet with me every Sunday." With his words, Mai felt the sudden weight of sadness in her stomach. She knew this was coming eventually, she was getting better and no longer needed Hozumi's help. But that she didn't mean she wasn't going to miss stopping by this office every week, or almost every week.

"Hey, don't look so sad." Mai snapped her head up and saw the knowing smile on his face. They may not have known each other very long or very well, but they had gotten pretty good at reading each other. "This is a good thing, besides we can still meet up every now and then, I'm sure we'll have plenty of case stories to share."

"So basically, we're friends now?" Mai asked a smile growing on her face.

"I told you from the beginning, I'm treating this as helping out a friend. And friends keep in touch."

Ding-ding. Ding-ding.

"Hozumi? I thought you close early on Sundays!" A voice called as the two in the living area turned their heads to the visitor. She was a middle aged woman of average height, her brown hair was wrapped in a tight bun at the back of her head with bangs hanging on her forehead. She had the same cerulean blue eyes as Hozumi and a feminine version of his jawline.

With the rather striking resemblance between the two, Mai wasn't surprised when she heard Hozumi's next statement. "Okaa-chan, what are you doing here?" he asked, standing up from his chair. "I thought you had bookclub today."

"Oh, Hinata needed to reschedule because her daughter went into labor this morning." The woman's eyes lit up as she clasped her hands together in front of her. "It's a boy! I'm on my way to the hospital to congratulate the family, but you were on the way so I thought I would stop by."

"Be sure to congratulate them for me," Hozumi said with a smile and then gestured to the girl across from him on the couch. "Okaa-chan, this is Mai, she works for another paranormal research company."

Mai stood up as well. "We were discussing each other's cases, it's a pleasure to meet you," she explained with a bow. Not exactly the truth, but I don't want her to get the wrong idea, she thought as she stood back up.

What her eyes met was not what she expected. The woman looked almost lost and shocked as she looked at Mai. Mai knew her face must have contorted in confusion and the woman shook her head and gave an awkward chuckle. "Please forgive me, you look just so familiar to me, I could have sworn we had already met. Mai…"

"Taniyama. Taniyama, Mai," Mai said, returning her with an awkward smile. "And you're…"

"Oh! I'm all out of sorts!" The woman playfully smacked her forehead and laughed again. "I'm Tachibana Akane, but feel free to call me Akane, I'm not much for formalities."

An odd feeling crept into Mai as she stood there. A little more than the original discomfort of Akane's staring. Well, Mai, time to go… She pulled out her phone as though she felt it buzz. "Shoot!" She slipped the phone back in her pocket and turned to Hozumi. "I'm sorry, Hozumi, I promised Michiru and Keiko I'd meet up with them to study."

"That's fine," he said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I think we were about done for today. Same time next Sunday?"

"Yep, I'll see you then." Mai quickly grabbed her bag and headed out the door, but made a quick bow to Akane before she left. "It was very nice meeting you, Akane-san." The woman waved back and Mai was gone seconds later.

"Wanna tell me what's on your mind?" Hozumi asked his mother as he went to the kitchenette to grab another cup of tea. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Akane blinked hard and shook her head. "I feel like I might have…"

The sun was setting as Mai got off the train not too far from Keiko's house. She did actually have to stop by and pick up her notebook that she left there the night before, so she didn't totally lie to Hozumi. She was on her friend's street when she heard, "Mai! Watch out!"

Mai jumped back as a small white and brown furball zoomed past, startling her. "What the-" She forced herself to spin in order to avoid the tall body that was charging after the furball. "Genji?"

"Can't talk right now, but good to see you, Mai!" the young man called over his shoulder as he raced down the street.

"C'mon, Genji! Don't let Mr. Fluffernoodle beat you! You'll be a disgrace!" Another familiar voice called. Mai turned her head to see a longhaired brunette race past her.

"Maybe, but you're gladly dating this disgrace!"

"Mr. Fluffernoodle! Come back!" This voice was much younger and much more upset than the first two. Mai turned around one more time, fighting off the whiplash of the sudden moves and found Keiko with a girl who was probably around six.

"Don't worry, Naomi," Keiko said, patting the girl's head. "I'm sure we'll be able to find him."

"She's a girl," Naomi said with a pout, causing Mai to raise a brow. Now she was even more confused. Actually, she had a pretty good idea at what's going on.

"Your cat escaped again, Naomi-chan?" she asked as the girl nodded her head.

"She got out the front door when I got home from playing with Hideki and Jiroko. Mr. Fluffernoodle is a bad kitty!" The girl stomped her foot and Keiko gave an exasperated look at Mai.

"Michiru and Genji stopped by and they were leaving as Naomi's cat ran out. As you can tell, Mr. Fluffernoodle, one, us, zero," Keiko explained.

"And Michiru and Genji ran after him." Mai nodded as the pieces started to come together.

"Her." Naomi sent a side eye to the teenager.

"Sorry, her."

Meguri megutte mo mata koko de aitai. Hagurenai youni kono te wo tsugunda.

"Don't tell me…" Keiko said as she answered her cell. Mai could tell by how her friend's eyebrows scrunched together that it wasn't good news. "Alright, keep looking, I'll find out from Naomi." She hung up and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. "Naomi, Mt Fluffernoodle's run away before right?"

The girl nodded with an angry pout. "Yeah, especially when we first got her, I have to be careful when I can home from school or playing."

"But you found her, right?" Mai asked, kneeling down to the girl's height. "Where has she gone when she runs away?"

"We found her at my uncle's before, she was his cat's kitten," Naomi said thoughtfully, scrunching her face in thought. "Or the park nearby, but it's getting dark! How can we find her!"

"What kind of cat is she?"

"She's a Himalayan," Naomi answered and looked down it a frown. "She's so fluffy I miss her!"

Mai stood up and nodded at Keiko. "I'll start at the park since it's down the road get Genji and Michiru the address for Naomi's uncle and have them look there."

"Mai, it's getting dark, you shouldn't go looking in the park alone!" Keiko called as Mai turned and headed off before she could be stopped.

"Hence why we need to work quickly!" she called over her shoulder and turned the corner.

"Matsuzaki-sensei? Matsuzaki-sensei?" Ayako heard the faint voice calling her as she continued to stare out the window. She had zoned out but wasn't quite ready to come back just yet. "Ayako!"

The exclamation combined with the hand that fell on her shoulder, startled the priestess from her reverie. She blinked hard and spun around to face the woman just a few years older than her. "Sorry, Chikako, what's up?"

"Someone's out of sorts today," the woman said as she took her coffee cup and sat down across from the priestess at the table. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing," she said with a sigh and glanced out the window at the setting sun.

"That's not nothing," Chikako said, taking a sip and leaning back. "Does it have something to do with your mom stopping by earlier?"

"Huh?" She blinked again and looked back at the woman. "No, we have our differences but there wasn't an argument today."

"Then why do you look like you got punched in the gut?" At this, Ayako was silent. Chikako sighed and took another sip. "Fine, you don't have to talk about it, but just know that you can talk to any of us if something's bothering you. And trust me, we all know something is."

She stood up and left the room, Ayako glanced down at her watch. She only had a few minutes left of her break, so much for getting something to eat. She ran her hands through her hair and retied it with her hairtie. She knew Chikako was right, something was bothering her.

But even she wasn't too sure just what it was.

Mr. Fluffernoodle, technically a Mrs., was a quick furball. Mai had caught a glimpse of brown and white as it ran down from one of the trees in the park. She knew she should have sent a text or called Keiko or Michiru, but there wasn't time. If she took her eyes off of the cat for even a second, she would lose her.

"You've got to be kidding me…" she grumbled as she reached the end of the sidewalk as the light was about to change. Mr. Fluffernoodle dashed across the street leaving Mai with barely a second to make a decision. "Two seconds left on the timer, I can make it," she decided and ran.

Of course it was mere wishful thinking on her part as she took two steps into the road and the light changed leading to cars to start their move. Horns beeped, startling her as she dodged between cars. It was a miracle that she made it across in one piece, and just in time to see the ball of fur escape into a nearby store.

"Hey lady! You gotta watch where you're going!" she heard someone shout in English. She wasn't surprised to see, what she assumed was an American, by the accent, standing in front of her.

"Excuse me," she said and pushed past the young man and ran into the store. It was a small convenience store, with plenty of shelves for Mr. Fluffernoodle to climb and cause destruction.

Mai scanned the shelves until she came across the feline as she crept across one of the top shelves and toward the clerk's counter.

"Come on!" she groaned as she chased after the feline. Short as she was, Mai already had to climb a shelf or two to reach the top one to grab anything to begin with. That usually only required one hand, how was she going to grab this cat?

Realizing she'd have to figure that out later, or otherwise lose the cat entirely, Mai followed until Mr. Fluffernoodle reached the end of the shelf. She wagged her bottom as she positioned herself to strike. "Don't you dare!" Mai huffed under breath.

And dare, she did. Before Mai had reached the end of the shelf and the front of the check out line, Mr. Fluffernoodle had pounced and landed squarely on the head of a black haired man who was in the middle of paying for a few items.

Great…Mai internally groaned as she made it to the man, only slightly out of breath. "I'm sorry, sir, I've been trying to catch that cat for-"

"Since when do you call me sir?" And the man turned around causing Mai to raise her brow at him.

"You give love!" The band continued to play as Monk went up to his microphone and added along with the drummer. "A bad name!"

The music played a little longer before it ultimately faded out, a young man and a younger woman were sitting in folding chairs off to the side of the practice space. She turned to the man next to her. "They're pretty good, who knew my brother would make a decent backup singer?" But the young man didn't respond, to which the girl squint her eyes at him only to roll them and nudge him with her elbow. "Earplugs? Really, John?"

Startled, John flinched at the slight jab but smiled sheepishly as he pulled out two little blue plugs from his ears. "I'm sorry, what did you say, Hoshiko?" he asked leaving the girl to shake her head with a smile.

"So, what'd you guys think?" Monk asked as he walked over to the small audience. "Not quite the church choir is it?"

"You guys were great," John said with a smile that made him look even younger.

Hoshiko smirked and folded her arms to her brother. "Not bad, Nii-san. You're not the off-key shower singer you were growing up."

"Which is why I play and not sing," Monk joked, then ruffled his sister's hair, much to her annoyance. "And what about you? I heard you got another role, you're not the same little girl who made her cousins and brother put on plays for the family. No matter how cliché or horrible they were."

"Which is why I act and don't write the scripts." She fixed her hair as she rolled her eyes.

"Congrats, Star."

"Thanks, Nii-san."

"Hey, Takeshi, you okay? You look a little green," the drummer asked the singer.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just think something I ate didn't agree with me," Takeshi said, before turning to call back Monk. "Norio, come on, let's do this song some justice."

"I'll never understand the whole stage name thing," Hoshiko said with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head as her brother walked off.

"Isn't your stage name Star?" John asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, but at least it makes sense. Since the name Hoshiko translates to Star Child in English and growing up I was always called Star as a nickname it makes sense that I would use it. How the hell did he get Norio from Houshou?" She huffed and crossed her arms. "He just wanted to change his name."

"Maybe he did," John agreed with a shrug and a smile as he replaced the little blue plugs back into his ears.

Naru looked absolutely ridiculous as he looked down to his assistant with a fluffy cat perched on his head. It was a strange sight to say the least and Mai was very surprised she was able to keep her composure and not laugh at him. And then she realized, they had been in stranger predicaments before. "Sorry, with the amount of men with black hair and wearing a black coat walking around here I didn't think Mr. Fluffernoodle would choose your head to land on," she said with a smirk.

"Hey! No animals in my shop!" the cashier exclaimed behind Naru and the two realized that a transaction had been in interrupted.

"Forgive me, sir, but I've been-"

"She works for me," Naru said as he took Mr. Fluffernoodle off of his head and held her. "She was cat sitting for a friend of mine and obviously the cat got into mischief. I'll be sure to make a note tomorrow to dock her pay for her inability to stay on task."

Both Mai and the cashier's jaws dropped at the blatant lie. But Naru finished the transaction as if he had said nothing and took his bag before turning to leave the store. Mai saw an unusual amount of amusement in his eyes and she realized that he was joking the entire time. Since when does Naru joke?

Once outside the store Naru tried to hand the cat back over to Mai, to which Mr. Fluffernoodle immediately rejected the idea and scrambled back into Naru's arms. "Well, looks like Mr. Fluffernoodle likes you."

"You do realize he's a she?" Naru questioned as the feline nestled herself in his arms.

"Of course I do, she was named by a six year old."

"Does the child realize this Mr. is a Mrs.?"

"Yes and if you call her a he she gets very angry-ah you're distracting me!" Mai huffed as she pulled out her phone. Naru watched silently and patiently as she scrolled down to the number she was looking for. "Moshi, moshi, Keiko, I found Naomi's cat…Yeah, we're heading back over now…uh-huh, see you soon. Bye."

As Mai turned to her boss, she still saw the hint of amusement in his eyes. It was a little surprising to say the least, if anything he should be very annoyed with her right now. "Which way to Keiko's house?" he asked, startling her further as she raised a brow. "Mr. Fluffernoodle won't seem to leave my side so I may as well deliver her to the girl."

Mai bit her tongue in a failed attempt to keep from laughing. Naru's deadpanned expression saying the feline's name was just too much and Mai soon found herself gasping for breath as her boss let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, let's get Mr. Fluffernoodle back home," he said. Mai laughed harder as Naru proceeded to walk in the opposite direction of Keiko's place.

"This way, Naru," she called after him, this time amusement was in her eyes as the young man turned around and walked in the correct direction.

How the tables have turned, Mai thought with a smirk as she fell into step next to the man she had somehow fallen for.

"Are you sure about this Masako?" said a middle-aged man. He looked older than he was, his hairline was receding faster than most, which he attempted to keep hidden with a flat cap. He was sitting in a plush chair across from the young medium who sat in a similar chair.

"Yes, I'm sure, Yamamoto-san," she replied with a deep breath. She had been considering this for several months now, but she was finally going to do it. Her director-slash-producer gave her a concerned look. "I would like to delay the next season a few more months." She turned to the woman who was standing behind Yamamoto. "In the meantime, I would not like to appear on any specials, either nationally or internationally."

The woman was about the same age as Yamamoto, with jet black hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck and gray eyes. She wore a black suit, which along with her dark hair gave a stark contrast to her pale skin. "We've spoken about this, Masako, delaying the next season won't be good for your ratings, especially if you choose not to make appearances."

"It also will not be good for ratings if I am so exhausted I cannot get accurate readings on haunted houses," Masako retorted quickly, shooting a look at the woman. "Unless you would like to fabricate an episode or two, but imagine the publicity we would get."

"The only one who would suffer from a fabricated episode and its leak to the press would be you," the woman said, narrowing her eyes. "I'd watch my tone, if I were you, young lady. It's disrespectful to snap at your mother."

"You stopped being my mother during the first season," Masako snapped, standing up. "After that you became my manager and that was all you wanted. I'm finished with this conversation."

"Say we do decide to continue this break, for your mental health," the woman said as Masako reached the door. "Would you still provide your expertise for that boy? A Mr. Shibuya?"

Masako stopped as her hand fell onto the doorknob. "That's not of your concern."

"Yes it is, as it appears you want to give up everything you've gained," her mother continued. "You want to take a break so that way someone else can profit from your abilities?"

"The only one who has profited from my abilities is you, Yamamoto-san, and every other T.V. channel that I've guest starred on." She twisted the knob and exited the room. "At least when I work with him, it's more important to find the spirit than to figure out what location would give us the best ratings."

Masako shut the door behind her, but not before she heard her mother say, "Perhaps we should see if this Shibuya will do an investigation for our show."

"So what are you doing out here?" Mai asked as she walked next to her boss. "We're not exactly in Shibuya."

"I live not too far from here and needed to pick up some things on my way home from the office," he replied, lightly shaking the plastic bag in his free hand. "Did you think I lived in the office?"

"Only every other night," she answered without missing a beat, earning a look. "I figured Lin eventually wears you down to actually sleep in a bed."

"You're not entirely wrong," he said with a smirk.

Interesting, so he lives not far from me, she thought as she stared at his profile. Keiko and Michiru are going to have a field day.

Her eyes wandered down to Mr. Fluffernoodle in the man's arms. The feline was calmly perched and by the looks of it, asleep. She vaguely wondered why the man was good with cats but not children when the realization came to her. "You're very much like a cat," she blurted out, earning another odd glance.

"Is that so?"

"Well, you can be very grumpy when people bother you and like to watch things happen without involvement. You're also very prideful and carry that air around you the same way a cat does," Mai babbled as she folded her hands behind her back as she walked.

"If I'm a cat, that must make you a lost little puppy," he said, smirking. It was a jab that should have gotten a rise out of the girl and it almost did, but she knew that was exactly what he wanted.

So it was with a breath and a cheerful smile that she met his gaze and said, "And you hired me anyway." Her smile turned into a smirk that matched his as she continued, "But I'm not so little and not so lost anymore."

"Little? Yes. Lost? Not so much anymore," he answered without missing a beat, earning a pout out of the girl. Therefore, he got the rise he wanted.

"Like it's my fault I stopped growing," she huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. She looked away from him, not wanting to see the amusement in his eyes.

Keiko's house was coming up and Mai could see Naomi staring out the window next door. The little adventure was over, and from the looks of it, Michiru and Genji were eagerly waiting for her to come back to say could see the cat that got away from them. And was that Taiki in there too? Oh boy…

Why do I suddenly feel like I'm bringing home my boyfriend to meet the family? She wondered to herself as the front door to Naomi's house opened and the little girl raced out.

"Mr. Fluffernoodle! You brought her back!" she exclaimed jumping up and down in front of Naru who bent down to return the cat. "Bad kitty!"

"Just be a little more careful when you open your front door," Naru advised and Mai swore she saw the faintest of smiles. It might have been faint, but she knew it was sincere.

Lin was right, Naru is better with older children, Mai thought as her friends came out to greet them.

"Thank you, Mister!" Naomi said, hugging Naru's leg, forcing Mai to suppress a chuckle. He looked so out of place, but at least he wasn't scowling.

"Jeez, you just had to go running off before we could figure out what to do," Keiko groaned shooting a look at her friend before smiling at Naru. "Oh, hi, Shibuya-san. Michiru is still looking for a job-"

"Keiko!" Michiru shrieked earning a look from Genji.

Mai just shook her head and tried not to laugh. "Naru, you know Michiru and Keiko, and you just met Naomi, but these other two are my friends Genji and Taiki," she said, gesturing to the two young men who weren't quite sure what was happening. "This is my boss, Shibuya Kazuya."

"Nice to meet you," the two boys said with a slight bow.

"Likewise," Naru replied, copying the motion. He looked down at his watch and then to his assistant. "I need to get going, will you be all right getting home?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "Glad to see how much faith you have in me. Yes, I'll be fine going home, just like I always am," she said, annoyance evident in her voice. It only made the man smirk.

"Very well, then I will see you tomorrow. Try not to be late," he said, starting off in the direction they had come from.

"I haven't been late in weeks!" Mai called back scowling at him. Still, she couldn't help but smile as he turned the corner. "That jerk."

"So that was the famous Naru, huh?" Genji commented, folding his arms and sending a look to Taiki. "What did you think?"

"I honestly thought no one could have a bigger ego than you, but I've just been proven wrong," Taiki deadpanned with a shrug.

"My thoughts exactly."

"Don't even try to remind me about his ego," Mai started with a roll of her eyes. "I'm well aware of it and have called him out on it many times."

"Well, that certainly explains it," Michiru commented to Keiko who nodded.

"That it does."

"Explains what?" Mai raised a brow.

"Why he is as smitten with you as you are with him," Michiru said with a rather suspicious grin.

"Jeez," Mai exhaled with a sweat drop. "He is my boss, I am his assistant. Mr. Fluffernoodle landed on his head when she jumped and wouldn't let me hold her. That's why he came with me to bring the cat back. And that's it. I don't need you guys to get my hopes up especially after what happened on our last case-" She slapped her hand over mouth as she realized she said too much.

"What happened on her last case?" Taiki asked the other girls who gave a sneaky grin to each other.

"Apparently the whole team had to pretend to be dating or something to draw out the spirits," Keiko explained, shooting a knowing look at Michiru.

"Yeah, they had to share a bed and everything-"

"How did you find out about that!" Mai exclaimed her face reddening and eyes wide. The surprised look on her friends' faces answered her question for her. They didn't know.

She just told them.

"I ship it."

Mai's look of horror turned down to the little girl who she had forgotten was still there. Naomi simply held her cat and grinned showing a couple gaps where baby teeth were lost. Mai could only slump over with a groan.

"Come along, Mai," Michiru said, slipping an arm around her friend's elbow.

"Yes, you have some explaining to do," Keiko agreed, taking the other arm. "In detail."

She knew she would have to tell them eventually. She thought she could have gotten away with telling them that she and Naru only pretended to date during the case, and leave out the bit about sharing a room. It had worked, until Michiru decided to tease her.

Me and my big mouth…

So, I hope there was a bit of fluff to make up for the last couple of seriously depressing cases (aside from the last one of course). I'm honestly not sure where Masako's conversation came from but I feel like we never got to know what her life was like outside of SPR cases. It can't be easy being a child star, right? So let's see where it goes.

I'll try to update by the end of next month! My classes have just begun but my course load isn't nearly as bad as last semester, so fingers crossed that writer's block doesn't hit me too hard!

Next case: Case 12: Just a Little Green-Mai wonders why this new case is interesting enough for Naru to take. Meanwhile, Ayako seems upset but no one can figure out why. Naru tries to continue his search.

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and sticking around for 90 chapters! I'm so grateful for you guys! :D