"English"
"Japanese"
"Russian"
'Thoughts'
--
Mai sighed up at the sight of the townhouse the two men lived in. It was rather picturesque in the typical English way. Lin directed her to the sitting room before following Oliver to pack his things. Mai watched him walk away quietly before picking up her phone. Strangely Eugene preferred to stay with her than follow his still living twin. Mai tried not to think about why that was. Instead she picked up her phone and held up a hand just when he went to open his mouth.
"Hello Miss, what can I do for you?"
"Hi Andrew, sorry, can you arrange a small truck and driver? I have a feeling that our cars won't be enough to transport everything back that these two are sure to pack."
"Sure thing Miss. I'll arrange it immediately."
"Thanks Andrew."
Hanging up she once again raised her hand to stop Eugene from talking as she dialled a second number.
"My little Ptichka! You're finally returning my call! How did you find your first day at Cambridge? Are you enjoying your classes?"
"Dedushka, my classes are fine. Nothing new with them so far but that's to be expected. I'm sure it'll pick up as we go and if it doesn't, at least I have another certificate for it. Are you coming over soon? Things should have been finished up in France by now surely?"
"Yes, yes, it's done. I have a banquet to attend tomorrow night and then I'll be on the plane to England the day after. My flight is scheduled to arrive mid-morning."
"Excellent. I believe I have no classes that day so text me the time of your arrival and we'll pick you up from the airport."
"Of course my little Ptichka! I can't wait to see you again. I have presents for you!"
Mai sighed in amusement. "Kontrol-Vnuchki."
"You know it my little Ptichka! I'll see you the day after tomorrow. Kisses!"
"See you then Dedushka."
Mai finally hung up before turning to Eugene.
"What is it now? You practically talked my ear off all class. What else could you possibly need to say?"
"I may have talked but you didn't!"
"That was because I was listening to your father like a good little student should."
"Who are you talking to?"
Mai turned to look at the two men in the doorway staring at her.
"Your twin, Professor Davis. He's been nagging my ear off all morning. Don't you two communicate in the mirror usually?"
"Noll's boring. He only talks about cases. Never about anything fun."
Mai snorted delicately at that, covering her mouth to hide it.
"Doesn't surprise me much."
"You're talking to Gene? What did he say?"
"He said your conversation topics are boring."
"Idiot medium."
"Idiot scientist."
"Idiot twins." Mai muttered, surprising a laugh out of Lin.
"Have you finished packing?"
"Still got some to do, Xiao Huoban. We stopped when we heard you speaking Russian to someone."
Lin smiled at her and didn't that shock Mai. She stared at him for more than a few seconds before Oliver interrupted.
"I'm getting a little sick of the numinous shocks you keep giving us. Just how much more did you change?"
"People change, Professor Davis. Children grow up. Stop expecting me to be the same 17 year old you left behind and you'll no longer be surprised so much. Now could you please go finish packing? Andre has arranged for a truck and driver to collect everything since it certainly won't fit in our cars."
"Of course, Xiao Huoban. Come along Noll."
Lin grabbed Oliver's arm and dragged him out of the sitting room before he could irritate Mai any further.
--
They finally made it back to Mai's Manor just after 5 pm. Lin watched as Mai took a deep breath after getting out of her Rolls Royce with her driver 'Was it Andrew?' shutting the door behind her. 'and isn't that a shock of a car in itself? I'm fairly certain that's a rare model Rolls to boot.'
Mai seemed to have visibly relaxed now that she was back in the safety of her barriers. A peaceful expression captivating Lin for a moment. He vaguely remembered driving through the barriers about 5 minutes back and Lin assumed that it encompassed then entire property along the fence line. 'This is a seriously large piece of property if the drive way says anything about it.'
He finally turned his attention to the manor. It was at least 3 times the size of the townhouse. 'Is this bigger than the Davis' manor?'
He took a deep breath before follow Mai and Oliver inside.
A middle aged woman in a maid uniform stood inside greeting Mai with a slight curtsy.
"Welcome back, Miss."
"Thanks Mary. This is Professor Oliver Davis and his assistant Lin Koujo. Please arrange for Mr Lin to be moved into the room connected to mine and Professor Davis into the room next to his. The truck should be here any minute now so get the footmen to do the heavy lifting. We'll be in my office until dinner is ready. Could you also please send us a pot of earl gray while we talk?"
"Certainly Miss. The bedrooms have already been prepared and just need their person effects. I've arranged the office to the left of yours for them. I'll arrange for Angelica to bring your tea while I supervise the footmen and maids on the unpacking."
"Oh and before I forget. Ded will be here the day after tomorrow so make sure his rooms and office is ready for him. He'll be arriving mid-morning but I have a feeling we'll be doing a site visit before then."
"Very good Miss. Please leave everything to me."
Mai nodded and led the way to her office, dropping into her tan leather desk chair and waving at the two arm chairs in front of her desk. Lin dropped into his chair quickly and found it comfortable. Oliver was a little slower but not by much.
"Mr Lin, can you explain more about this soulmate bond please? Dyadya Mikhail did gloss over it at one point during my training but not in depth since he said it was rare."
"Koujo."
Mai gave a look of confusion. "Sorry?"
"Call me Koujo. We've already formed the soulmate bond, Xaio Huoban. We're past the point of calling each other formally."
Mai frowned for a second as she processed his reasoning. "Very well, Koujo, then. Now can you explain please?"
"As your uncle has mentioned, the Linghun Banlu De Nuihai, or the soulmate bond, is a rare bond. It usually forms the minute two soulmate meet but until it has been accepted by both parties it has strict demands.
The 500 metre distance limitation is just one of them and that will decrease the distance as the bond gets stronger and more demanding. Another is the requirement of touch. We will need to physically connect at least once for a few minutes each day. Probably more than that as it grows more demanding for acceptance.
Another side effect of the bond forming is the sharing of powers. You'll be able to command my shiki and I'll be able to access... whatever it is your powers now do..."
Lin looked confused then. "Forgive me, Xiao Huoban, but what are your powers now? You seem to be a little different from a medium."
"Dedushka said that our family are shamans. If you'll be accessing those powers, then you are going to need to be trained. As will I, I expect." Mai dropped her head into her hands. 'Just what I needed, more party tricks.'
Lin cringed as Mai's silent thought echoed into his mind.
"One last side effect that I feel needs to be mentioned as it appears to have already started... telepathy with each other."
Mai's head shot up to look at Lin at that. "Did you just hear me?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Xiao Huoban." Lin chuckled at Mai's resulting groan.
Oliver interrupted then. "You said that the bond usually forms as soon as you meet but why didn't yours? Why now?"
"Ah, your shiki mentioned that didn't he? You'll have to tell me their names later, Koujo. It didn't form before because my powers were still sealed. I started seeing those dreams and astral projecting because Mr Davis cracked the seal slightly when he forced a connection with me. The crack wasn't large enough to form the bond while you were still in Japan however."
"Which leads to the question of why your powers were sealed in the first place, Mai?"
"Okaasan sealed them at my birth. They were already too strong for me to handle as a baby. She wasn't expecting to die before they were supposed to unseal themselves at 20. Nor did she expect a determined spirit to crack it open before time in order to connect with his twin. Thanks for that by the way Mr Davis. The crack you left in the seal completely broke within a couple of months of you all leaving me with no protection nor any idea how to deal with the onslaught caused by it."
There was a bite to Mai's voice in that last sentence that caused Eugene to wince.
"Gene is still here?" "Why do you keep calling me Mr Davis, Mai?"
Both voices, one solid, one spiritual spoke at the same time causing Mai to sigh.
"Yes, your brother is still here, Professor Davis. From what I can see, he never leaves your side except to annoy me.
As for you Mr Davis, I call you that because that is who you are. I don't believe we're close enough for first name basis."
"Maaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiii..." A whining voice began in her ear as Eugene crouched by her chair tugged her arm in a swinging movement much like a child to her parent when they want something. Mai looked on at him bemused. To Lin and Oliver, however, Mai's arm was swim for no reason.
"You are not a child, Eugene Davis. Please stop."
"Gene."
"Ugh, fine! Gene. Now stop, please! Before I get even more bruises on my arm!"
"Oops!" Eugene released Mai's arm quickly with a satisfied smirk reminiscent of his brother's.
Mai grimaced as she saw yet another set of bruises appearing on her arm and pulled out bruise ointment from her second drawer. Lin quickly took it from her hand, opened it and started tending to her bruises.
"This is becoming a habit." Mai muttered as she watch him.